Although many Karenia species have been described as of yet, K. brevis blooms move based on winds and tides; pinpointing a red tide at specific moment is difficult. Algal blooms can occur at any time of year, but usually increase between September and February. K. brevis is the main producer of brevetoxin, which is a powerful toxin. It has killed millions of marine organisms, and mostly occurred in gulfs and coast. It happened in the Gulf of Mexico primarily, especially on the Western Gulf coastal area of Florida. Although uncommon, it occurred in other parts of the Gulf as well, such as the Texas coast and Indian River Lagoon on the Atlantic coast of Florida. The reasons for red tides are not completely clear, and bloom dynamics, include …show more content…
Preventive measures attempt to stop blooms from occurring, minimize their incidence or limit their extent. The most effective way to prevent adverse health effects to humans from the red tides is to prevent exposure to the toxins and organisms. Lowering the amount of nutrients that are discharged into local watersheds is a top priority for prevention advocates that engage in red tide debates. Reduced nutrient loads will improve water quality throughout watersheds, in addition to lowering the intensity of terrestrial fluxes when a red tide is in close proximity to the coastline. Reduced loads may or may not lead to a discernible change in red tide patterns, but they will certainly improve the health of local watersheds. An important issue that prevention advocates need to consider, however, is the modalities of reducing nutrient loads and the most appropriate venues for affecting change. The major sources of local water quality impairment includes domestic and industrial wastewater, urban and suburban stormwater, agricultural runoff and hydrological changes. Local water quality problems could be associated with domestic and industrial point sources but stricter regulatory controls and new wastewater treatment technologies have substantially reduced pollution from these sources. Non-point sources now account for most of the water quality problems in the state with urban stormwater and agricultural runoff being the primary concerns. And unlike point source discharges, non-point sources are difficult to measure, monitor and control. In the case of NSP, this means monitoring shellfish beds for organisms and toxins as well as closing shellfish beds to harvest when specified levels are detected. When aerosolized red tide reach specific levels, water and air monitoring can detect high levels in the air, and cause respiratory
Florida red tide blooms were linked to many emergency room check-ins regarding respiratory and intestinal ailments (Pierce and Henry, 2008). Even though some of these illnesses were attributed to toxic seafood consumption, many of the hospitalizations are a result of breathing in the aerosol from these toxic blooms, causing asthma attack and bronchitis. The blooms toxic aerosol floats to the seas surface in bubbles, which are blown on shore. The authors of the article states, “Future illnesses would range between $2 and $24 million,” if the futures yearly blooms continue (Hoagland et al, 2014). Due to the problems that the critical blooms create, there needs to be a remedy to reduce the high toxic bloom levels to insignificant
Economically speaking, these algal blooms are responsible for millions of dollars in losses annually. Local economies prosper thanks to the millions of recreation tourists who benefit from this vacation destination, but in 2011 alone, Lake Erie algal blooms cost Ohio’s recreation fishing industry and Maumee Bay State Park an estimated combined total loss of 3.7 million dollars US (McLean et al., 2014). Not to mention, treating the toxic water to make it potable again has costly demands, as well (Yeoman, 2011).
In this research paper I will talk about how a large decrease in the algae population in the Chesapeake Bay will cause problems for not just fish and other species but the people who fish and make a living off of it. A large decrease in algae population will have a domino effect on the food chain. Having a major decrease in algae will hurt how others species live and protect themselves.
The Chesapeake Bay is the nation’s largest estuary with six major tributaries, the James, the Potomac, the Susquehanna, the Patuxent, the York, and the Rappahannock Rivers, feeding into the bay from various locations in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia (Chemical Contaminants in the Chesapeake Bay – Workshop Discussion 1). These areas depend on the Bay as both an environmental and an economic resource. Throughout the last 15 years the Chesapeake Bay has suffered from elevated levels of pollution. Nitrogen and phosphorous from wastewater treatment plants, farmland, air pollution, and development all lead to reduced water clarity and lowered oxygen levels, which harm fish, crabs, oysters and
Studies have repeatedly shown that as oxygen concentrations decrease, the abundance and diversity of fish decrease (Breitburg). Fish kills, in which large numbers of dead and dying fish float to the surface or wash onto shore, are probably the most dramatic and publicly visible manifestation of hypoxia and nutrient over-enrichment of coastal waters(Breitburg). In addition to mass mortalities that are easily observed, high mortality of fish lacking a swim bladder can occur leaving little or no visible evidence of fish at the surface or littering beaches (Breitburg). With no fish, shrimp, or crabs the Louisiana fishing market takes a huge hit that the economy feels in a major way. The gulf accounts for almost one-fifth of the countries fishing landings, which total to be three billion dollars (Petrolia). Fishing is not only a major part of Louisiana’s economy but also its culture. Without wildlife in our waters microorganism are given more opportunity to grow leading to bacteria infected waters. These bacteria infected waters could cause major health risks for those who come in contact with
When there are excessive loads of Nitrogen and Phosphorous in the water, Alage can “bloom” to harmful levels, changing water color, and eventually stripping dissolved oxygen from the water when they die, fall to the bottom, and decay. This dissolved oxygen is critical to the health of the Chesapeake Bay’s critters and
Did you ever wonder how things you do everyday effect the Chesapeake Bay watershed and Its tributaries? Well, It turns out to be not so good. One of the main causes for the Bay’s bad health are nutrients which are caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the air and water. Plants and animals need nutrients to survive but when too many nutrients are in the water they fuel the growth of algae blooms and create conditions that are harmful for aquatic creatures.
Algae blooms have been an issue in the Chesapeake Bay, especially in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Algae is a natural and critical part of the ecosystem, however in large doses it is harmful to the plants and organisms within the ecosystem. Algae blooms can block out sunlight and kill other plants in the water. Algae depends on various factors such as water, nutrients and carbon dioxide to grow. Eutrophication of the Inner Harbor has lead to algae blooms that have caused large fish kills in the past. When there is an over abundance of certain chemical nutrients eutrophication can occur. Runoff from land and farms is the main cause of excess nutrients into the water. The most common nutrients that are related to algae outbreaks are nitrate nitrogen and phosphate. In addition, a lack of dissolved oxygen can also be an indicator for the process of eutrophication and risk of an algae outbreak. A particular type of algae commonly found in Maryland is known as Prorocentrum minimum. Prorocentrum tends to cause “mahogany tides” causing water to be brown and have an odor. There has been a campaign launched by the Healthy Harbor
Spanning lengths over 300,000 meters, this it is a watershed that extends over six states, the District of Columbia, and meets the needs of over 15 million individuals. With its high rate of productivity, its economic and social importance to the surrounding areas, and its close proximity to the U.S. capital, the Chesapeake has the recipient of significant attention for quite some time(Boesch, Donald). One of the issues that threatens this important estuary is eutrophication. For the majority of the 20th century, research, guidelines, and management activity were focused on other issues like wetland loss, over harvesting of fisheries, infectious wastes, etc (Davidson et al, 1997). It took until the final quarter of the century for widespread realization to hit that eutrophication had deteriorated the Bay, with extreme consequences for the Bay’s resources(Malone et al., 1993). After awareness of the impact of eutrophication on water bodies began to increase, when it came to making policies and managing the Chesapeake Bay, eutrophication reduction took precedence over any other issues. As the Bay remains a very important body of water, the significance of understanding one of the major processes responsible for its degradation remains as well. This paper aims to understand the contributing factors of eutrophication in the Chesapeake Bay, with a special focus on the effects of air and
Red tide is the common name for a large concentration of certain species of dinoflagellates. This event accumulates harmful algal blooms quickly, resulting in discoloration near the surface water. Dense enough algal blooms cause harmful toxins strong enough to affect people and the oceans ecosystem as a whole. Karenia brevis is the most troublesome species of dinoflagellate in the Gulf of Mexico. This species reproduces by asexual cell division, therefore, given the right conditions, the population can rapidly increase in size. K. brevis needs large amounts of the correct nutrients to reproduce at toxic speed. The nutrients responsible for supporting Florida's red tide are nitrogen and phosphorus.
Red tide is a very serious issue that severely affects the West Coast of Florida. Red tide is defined as a toxic bloom in red dinoflagellates. It has major impacts on its surroundings. Algal species that have harmful effects are commonly referred to as Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Toxic red tide is threatening tourism in West Florida as well as wildlife, specifically the endangered manatees as it extends down the Florida coast. When conditions are right, dinoflagellates will bloom in very large numbers. Red tides name comes from the color that the blooms give the water when there are high concentrations of algae. Don Anderson, a senior scientist at the Woods
what led my creative mind to full sail? well in the beginning since baby years; before I could even babble, music and technology have always been there. as a strong point and very high significance in my everyday life. I can think back to times I used to take rides cruising along listening to Bob Marley or R Kelly. no matter what the musical composition was in, I deeply fell in love with it. from the drop of a bassline to the punch and pop of the snare, music has always been there. I never really knew exactly what I wanted to choose and pursue up until 2-2 1/2 years ago. I've changed my mindset and my daily routine. it all started during freshman year playing football and trying to do the thing that the "Average" high school boy does. But!
The ethnography that I choose to read was titled Celtic Tides: Traditional Music in a New Age by Martin Melhuish. The book is written from the perspective of Melhuish as he talks about places he has been and memories that he had from growing up in Ireland. Celtic music has seen a huge rise in popularity worldwide over the past century due to mass media and spectacular musicians that brought it into the public spotlight. Melhuish’s goal was to find out, what is the “Celtic thing”? Why does it touch our hearts and give us vivid images of times long past? The author begins the book by investigating Celtic music in the most unlikely place, the country capital of the United States Nashville, Tennessee.
In the past, industry was a huge source of pollution in the Bay, along with sewage treatment plants. After regulations were put in place to correct these pollution point sources, local governments were required to establish and implement plans for improving the pollution from non-point sources and their impact on the TMDL. After years of committing to specific deadlines for a 40 percent reduction in nutrient pollution and missing those deadlines without consequences, the EPA took another approach, a mandatory pollution diet for the Bay that would include penalties for not progressing sufficiently. The “three recurring problems in the nonpoint source pollution regulatory framework deal with the voluntary participation, scientific and
In the movie The Prince of Tides, the kind of Psychotherapy being portrayed is Psychodynamic. Psychodynamic therapy is a deriving from the psychoanalytic tradition, views individuals as responding to unconscious forces and childhood experiences and seek to enhance self-insight. The therapist in the movie uses the patients brother to find out the root of the patients disturbing Psychodynamic behavior. By doing so she discovers the darkness of the family’s history.