![]() ![]() Physically and economically devastating to a region. Scientists have labored for several years in an effort to develop a reliable method to predict red tides, particularly because the results of these blooms can be both Huge bloom of toxic red algae (Karenia brevis) had formed within the study area, an 8,100 square mile region between Tampa Bay and Fort Myers, Florida. In October, after a 300 percent increase of dissolved organic nitrogen, a Used the iron to convert nitrogen in the water to a form more usable for other marine life. Through a complex process involving a special enzyme called nitrogenase, the Trichodesmium As a result, TrichodesmiumĬounts shot up 10 times what they had been prior to this event. The Saharan dust reached the West Florida shelf around July 1st, increasing iron concentrations in the surface waters by 300 percent. (NOAA's) Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES). Lenes and his colleagues followed theĬlouds using data from the Advanced Very-High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), an imager aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's The study used satellite and ground based measurements to track large dust clouds leaving Africa on June 17, 1999. "Because iron is one of the most common elements in most soils, a certain percentage of the dust contains iron," The Atlantic Ocean and into the Gulf of Mexico. ![]() Easterly trade winds carry the dust across Storm activity in the Sahara Desert region generates clouds of dust that originate from fine particles in the arid topsoil. The research appears in the September issue of the scientific journal, Limnology and Investigators for ECOHAB, and one of the paper's coauthors. Student at University of South Florida's College of Marine Science, and the lead author in the study. "This is one of the first studies that quantitatively measured iron from the dust and tied it to red tides through Trichodesmium," said Jason Lenes, a graduate Gulf of Mexico a more likely environment for toxic algae to bloom. The addition of biologically usable nitrogen in the water makes the Trichodesmium, 'fixes' nitrogen in the water, converting it to a form usable by other marine life. When iron levels go up, this bacteria, called Plant-like bacteria use the iron to set the stage for red tides. Mammals, birds, and can cause skin and respiratory problems in humans.Įach year iron from Saharan dust clouds is deposited in the waters off the West Florida coast. Toxic algal blooms, sometimes called red tides, have in the past killed huge numbers of fish, shellfish, marine Part of ECOHAB: Florida (Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms), a multi-disciplinary research The research was partially funded by a NASA grant as Kicks off blooms of toxic algae, according to a new study. Saharan dust clouds travel thousands of miles and fertilize the water off the West Florida coast with iron, which Lobster tomalley (the green part or liver) is not safe to eat in general, but particularly during red tide events because this part of the lobster can build up high levels of toxins and other pollutants.Dust from Africa Leads to Large Toxic Algae Blooms in Gulf of Mexico, Study Finds Lobster meat, crab, shrimp, and most finfish do not normally accumulate toxin and are safe to eat from affected waters. ![]() Since toxins are stored in the digestive tract (stomach) and viscera (intestines) of these animals, scallops are safe to eat as long as only the cleaned adductor muscle (the only part generally eaten) is consumed. Whelks and moon snails can also accumulate dangerous levels of the toxin during red tide as they feed on contaminated shellfish.ĭuring red tide blooms, hard-shell clams, soft-shell clams, oysters, mussels, whelks, and moon snails harvested from areas affected by the blooms are not safe to eat. If toxic planktonic organisms are present, they are filtered from the water along with other nontoxic foods. Shellfish, including hard-shell clams, soft-shell clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops, are particularly prone to contamination as they feed by filtering microscopic food out of the water. Only a few marine animals accumulate these toxins. ![]()
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