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My research on this topic is important because people are more aware of what can go on in the ocean. People who live near a beach could easily get very sick. It can also affect your food and could potentially kill you. So people should be aware

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T - Was updated in 2023

R - the whole website is based on the study of red tide

U - It is very easy to understand it even has a video

S - it does not have any resources

T - it is an official website of the U.S goverment

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Harmful algal blooms, or HABs, occur when colonies of algae-plant-like organisms that live in the sea and freshwater-grow out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds. The human illnesses caused by HABs, though rare, can be debilitating or even fatal.

While many people call these blooms 'red tides,' scientists prefer the term harmful algal bloom. One of the best known HABs in the nation occurs nearly every summer along Florida's Gulf Coast. This bloom, like many HABs, is caused by microscopic algae that produce toxins that kill fish and make shellfish dangerous to eat. The toxins may also make the surrounding air difficult to breathe. As the name suggests, the bloom of algae often turns the water red.

HABs have been reported in every U.S. coastal state, and their occurrence may be on the rise. HABs are a national concern because they affect not only the health of people and marine ecosystems, but also the 'health' of local and regional economies.

But not all algal blooms are harmful. Most blooms, in fact, are beneficial because the tiny plants are food for animals in the ocean. In fact, they are the major source of energy that fuels the ocean food web.

A small percentage of algae, however, produce powerful toxins that can kill fish, shellfish, mammals, and birds, and may directly or indirectly cause illness in people. HABs also include blooms of non-toxic species that have harmful effects on marine ecosystems. For example, when masses of algae die and decompose, the decaying process can deplete oxygen in the water, causing the water to become so low in oxygen that animals either leave the area or die.

Scientists at the National Ocean Service have been monitoring and studying this phenomenon for a number of years to determine how to detect and forecast the location of the blooms. The goal is to give communities advance warnings so they can adequately plan for and deal with the adverse environmental and health effects associated with these 'red-tide' events.

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national oceanic and atmospheric administration

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A red tide is one type of harmful algal bloom. Blooms occur when colonies of algae--simple ocean plants that live in the sea--grow out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals and birds.

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T - it was kept up to date

R - the website is all based on the red tide

U - it is very well written

S - there are no weaknesses

T - It is written by national geographic so I trust it

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Often deep red or brown in color, a typical red tide can be observed along a marine coast. A type of harmful algal bloom, red tides refer to toxic blooms of microscopic algae that occur worldwide. Within the United States, these blooms appear in three main coastal areas. They are caused by several different microorganisms, all phytoplankton that use light energy to grow. But they aren't always red.

What are red tides?

At least three species of dinoflagellates and one diatom species are responsible for the toxic mess of red tides in the United States. These microscopic forms of algae produce toxins that can sicken humans and be fatal for marine animals.

Within the United States, red tides occur most commonly in the Gulf of Mexico, off California, and in the Gulf of Maine. In each of these locales, a different microorganism-present at low levels normally-generates the algal bloom when conditions align. ( Read more about red tides in Australia.)
Gulf of Mexico
A type of toxic algae, Karenia brevis, lives in the Gulf of Mexico throughout the year at low concentrations. When environmental conditions, like temperature, nutrient levels, and wind, are right, the algae population explodes and huge blooms form. These blooms release massive amounts of brevotoxin into the ocean. With their characteristic red color, these red tides affect Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas.

Richard Stumpf, an algal blooms expert at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), says red tides tend to occur in Florida every year. In Texas, they used to bloom every ten years, but now appear every three years. Louisiana and Alabama cases tend to appear more rarely, often only when hurricanes push blooms northwest from southwest Florida.

Even at relatively low levels, K. brevis can interact with other types of algae, worsening the overall red tide. In particular, a cyanobacterium, Trichodesmium, blooms in the Gulf of Mexico after iron-rich dust drifts over from Africa. The cyanobacteria consume nitrogen from the atmosphere and when they die, they provide K. brevis with a food source of crucial elements: phosphorous, nitrogen, and iron.
Gulf of Maine
In the Gulf of Maine, Alexandrium catanella and Alexandrium fundyense are the main culprits for red tides. The result tends to only turn the characteristic red color when it blooms and concentrates in a front, the boundary between two pooling water sources.

Alexandrium has a fascinating life strategy, feeding, aggregating to reproduce, and then resting on the ocean floor as a dormant hard cyst over the winter. When the water temperature exceeds 50°F, generally in late spring, the cysts "perk up," says Stumpf, and swim up to the surface to start growing. Alexandrium produces the toxin saxitoxin, which remains in the gulf in low concentrations during the year and explodes during blooms.

During a bloom, filter-feeders like clams inadvertently consume the toxin as they filter the water for food (algae), and the toxin accumulates inside their tissues. At these much higher concentrations, the toxin poisons shellfish and if consumed, can lead to paralytic shellfish poisoning in people.
California
The Pseudonitzchia species of algae, forms of diatoms, more commonly create red tides off the coast of California. Some of these blooms can be harmless, because not all produce the toxin domoic acid. In contrast to dinoflagellates, which swim to access nutrients and light, diatoms float in the ocean and if nutrients abound, the algae bloom. If not enough nutrients are in the water, they die. Generally, these algae bloom in spring and summer, though the more toxic blooms often occur during the spring.

Alexandrium species are also found in California, first discovered there in 1927 after an outbreak of paralytic shellfish poisoning.

Red tide effects on animals

The neurotoxins produced by harmful algae blooms can cause massive fish kills, with dead fish washing up on shores by the thousands. The toxin works its way through the food web, with other species preying on the sick fish. Die-offs of many marine species, like whales and sea turtles, have been linked to red tides. The toxins can even produce a foam that causes seabirds to lose the waterproofing on their feathers, resulting in their death.

In Florida, manatees can be affected by brevotoxin, so much so that it can lead to respiratory problems or even death.

Red tide effects on humans

The effects of red tides don't stop at animals. People can be sickened from the toxins in the water or in tainted shellfish. K. brevis, the dinoflagellate causing red tides in Florida, can cause respiratory problems, particularly for people with asthma or allergies.

Red tides cause an estimated $82 million in economic losses each year due to beach and fishing closures, including associated drops in tourism and seafood revenues.

Human Influences on red tides

Climate change complicates the frequency and occurrence of red tides. Wind and temperature are expected to increase with a warming planet. With more wind stirring up nutrients, dinoflagellates can get food easier. But diatoms prefer calmer conditions.

Scientists predict that climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of hurricanes, potentially moving blooms to new locations. In Florida, a red tide lasted for 17 months after big hurricanes blew through in 2004 and 2005. And in 2017 after Hurricane Irma, another giant red-tide imperiled the state.

Additionally, more nutrients, running into the ocean from excess fertilizer on farms or lawns, can contribute to blooms. K. brevis is increasing in Florida's waters, more abundant year-round now than in the 1950s, most likely because of higher nutrients. If the algae don't have enough nitrogen, it dampens the bloom, says Stumpf.

Potential Solutions

Treatments of aluminum sulfate are sometimes used to fight algal blooms in small lakes or canals, but is not effective in the much larger ocean. In the 1950s, scientists tried using copper sulfate. That killed the algae, but also everything else in the water.

The best "fix," says Stumpf, is mitigation through forecasting. "Right now, red tides in Florida are a crisis. We are trying to make it an inconvenience," he says.

Stumpf and a team of scientists have created red tide forecasts that are released biweekly to let people know how safe an area in Florida (and elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico) is for recreation. The forecasts take advantage of satellite images to estimate the size and impact of a bloom. The NOAA team has also introduced a new tool, called HABscope, for citizen scientists to help collect data on blooms. A miniature microscope, the HABscope, , attaches to a smartphone and allows a user to capture short videos of water samples collected from different locations in Florida. Counting the number of microalgae cells in the water sample lets scientists determine the risk or severity of a bloom.

In the Gulf of Maine, crews in the late fall collect sediment samples to count the number of Alexandrium cysts. They incorporate that level into biological models to predict the number that will survive until the next season. Then, scientists combine that predicted number with salinity and ocean current data in physical models to help forecast how bad a bloom will be in the next year. Usually if they find a lot of cysts, the Gulf of Maine will have a larger bloom. But that's not always the case, and scientists are still trying to figure out why the forecasts were off this year.

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Red tides and algal blooms, facts and information

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Often deep red or brown in color, a typical red tide can be observed along a marine coast. A type of harmful algal bloom, red tides refer to toxic blooms of microscopic algae that occur worldwide. Within the United States, these blooms appear in three main coastal areas.

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T - The people who wrote this article are a organisation focused on red tide and helping fish.

R- the website is based on the study of the red tide

U - it is very understandable and easy to read

S - there a lot of strengths and no weaknesses

T - it is continually kept up to date

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Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission

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Red tides, also called harmful algal blooms (HABs), occur when microscopic algae multiply to higher-than-normal concentrations, often discoloring the water. Although more than 50 HAB species occur in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the most well-known species is Karenia brevis, the red tide organism. K. brevis is found year-round at background concentrations of 1,000 cells per liter or less. Each cell is typically 20 to 45 micrometers long and 10 to 15 micrometers deep. It has two whip-like appendages called flagella that propel and direct it through the water at a speed of one meter per hour. In Florida waters, K. brevis thrives in high-salinity (salt content) areas but can tolerate a wide range of salinities and temperatures. The species forms nearly monospecific (single species) blooms by outcompeting or excluding other phytoplankton species.

K. brevis produces brevetoxins capable of killing fish, birds and other marine animals. Brevetoxins may also cause health problems in humans, including respiratory irritation when wave action breaks open cells and the toxins become airborne. People who consume shellfish contaminated with brevetoxins can suffer Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning.

Blooms of K. brevis also affect Florida's economy. Coastal communities that rely on tourism lose millions of dollars when dead fish wash up on beaches or beachgoers experience eye and respiratory irritation, and shellfish-harvesting businesses lose income when shellfish beds are closed. A study of three red tide blooms that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s estimated losses from each to be between $15 million and $25 million.

K. brevis blooms occur in the Gulf of Mexico almost every year, generally in late summer or early fall. They are most common off the central and southwestern coasts of Florida between Clearwater and Sanibel Island but may occur anywhere in the Gulf. Blooms are less common but do occur along the southeastern Atlantic coast as far north as North Carolina. Most blooms last three to five months and affect hundreds of square miles, but they can continue sporadically for as long as 18 months, affecting thousands of square miles.

Prior to the early 1970s, red tides in Florida were believed to originate inshore because blooms and respiratory irritation were most often observed first around passes and barrier islands. We now know that Florida's red tides begin in nutrient-poor water 18 to 74 kilometers (11 to 46 miles) offshore.

Blooms develop in four stages. The initiation stage occurs when a K. brevispopulation first accumulates and moves into an area. During the second stage, growth, the population steadily increases. Within a few weeks, K. brevis concentrations may be high enough to kill fish. The third stage is maintenance, during which wind and currents control the bloom's movement. If the bloom moves inshore, nutrient runoff from land may promote bloom expansion. A bloom can linger in coastal areas for days, weeks or even months. The fourth stage is dissipation or termination. During this stage, mechanisms such as winds and currents disperse the cells, introduce new water masses that reduce the concentration of K. brevis cells or move the bloom to a different area.

Biologists have documented the occurrence and abundance of K. brevis for more than 50 years, during which detection and monitoring technologies have changed dramatically. To monitor and track blooms of K. brevis, the HAB group combines water sampling and enumeration (cell counts), molecular tools, toxin analysis, detection via satellite imagery and predictive models of bloom movement. Data generated through traditional environmental sampling, in combination with data generated through newer approaches such as remote sensing and modeling, may give scientists the ability to forecast red tides and potentially mitigate their effects.

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T - This is trustworthy because it is sponsored by the U.S government

R - The pure focus of this website is to teach us how they treat red tide

U - It is very easy to read and there are detailed diagrams to help to

S - There are no weakness’s on this website

T - It was made within the last 5 years

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Control and Treatment – Harmful Algal Blooms

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There is a general consensus that prevention is the preferred management strategy for HABs, but this management strategy can be difficult to implement, and there are presently few active efforts aimed at directly preventing blooms. A growing field of research is focused on methods and technologies to control or suppress blooms. These approaches include strategies that kill HAB organisms or limit growth, and/or physically remove cells and toxins from the water column. Bloom control or suppression activities can be controversial, however, due to concerns regarding unintended ecosystem impacts of these controls. Most mitigation studies fall under four broadly defined categories, summarized below. In practice, perhaps the best known involves physical or mechanical control (e.g., flocculation), but in addition to mechanical control, there are several other categories or strategies that theoretically could be used to control or suppress HABs and their toxins.

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T - This trustworthy because it takes data from other websites and uses it. It also shows where it got its research from so you can look in more.

R - It is reliable because it has evidence and proof to back up what it is saying.

U - it is very understandable and easy to read.

S - There are no weaknesses

T - It was updated within the last 3 years

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"Red tide" is the common name for what many experts refer to as "harmful algae blooms." Harmful algae blooms (HAB) are the sudden proliferation of one or more marine species of microscopic organisms called phytoplankton, primarily dinoflagellates. Some of these species produce neurotoxins and in large enough numbers, these organisms can collectively cause negative and sometimes fatal effects in fish, birds, marine mammals, and even humans.

There are approximately 80 species of aquatic plants that can cause harmful algae blooms. Additionally, blooms can occur in both marine as well as freshwater environments. In high concentrations, some HAB species can turn the water a reddish color, which is the source of the name "red tide." Other species can turn the water green, brown, or purple, while others, although highly toxic, do not discolor the water at all.

Most phytoplankton are harmless. They are essential elements in the foundation of the global food chain. Without them and their ancestors, higher life forms, including humans, would not exist and could not survive.

Human Causes

Red tides are caused by the rapid multiplication of dinoflagellates, which are a type of phytoplankton. There is no single cause of red tides or other harmful algae blooms, though abundant nourishment must be present in seawater to support the explosive growth of dinoflagellates.

A common source of nutrients is water pollution. Scientists generally believe that coastal pollution from human sewage, agricultural runoff, and other sources contributes to red tides, along with rising ocean temperatures. On the Pacific coast of the United States, for example, red tide occurrences have been increasing since at least 1991. Scientists have correlated the increase of Pacific red tides, and other harmful algae blooms, with a rise in sea surface temperature of approximately 0.13 degrees Celsius every decade from 1971 to 2010 as well as increased nutrients in coastal waters from sewage and fertilizers. On the other hand, red tides and harmful algae blooms sometimes occur where there is no apparent link to human activity.

Currents and Other Causes

Another way nutritive materials are brought to surface waters is by powerful, deep currents along coastlines. These currents, called upwellings, come from nutrient-rich bottom layers of the ocean and bring to the surface massive amounts of deep-water minerals and other nourishing matter. It appears that wind-driven, near-coast upwelling events are more likely to bring the right types of nutrients to cause large-scale harmful marine blooms, while current-generated, offshore upwellings seem to lack some necessary elements.

Some red tides and harmful algae blooms along the Pacific coast also have been associated with cyclical El Niño weather patterns, which are influenced by global climate change.

Interestingly, it appears that iron deficiencies in seawater may limit the ability of dinoflagellates to take advantage of the abundant nutrients present. The inverse of such deficiencies occurs at times in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida. There, large amounts of dust blown west from Africa's Sahara Desert, thousands of miles away, settle on the water during rain events. This dust is believed to contain significant amounts of iron, enough to reverse the water's iron deficiencies and to trigger large red tide events.

Effects on Human Health

Most people who become ill from exposure to the toxins in harmful algae do so by eating contaminated seafood, particularly shellfish. However, toxins from some harmful algae can also infect people by spreading through the air.

The most common human health problems associated with red tides and other harmful algae blooms are various types of gastrointestinal, respiratory, and neurological disorders. The natural toxins in harmful algae can cause a variety of illnesses. Most develop rapidly after exposure occurs and are characterized by severe symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness, and headaches. Most people recover within a few days, though some illnesses linked to harmful algae blooms can be fatal.

Effects on Animal Populations

Shellfish are filter feeders, pumping water through their internal systems in order to collect their food. As they eat, they may consume toxic phytoplankton and accumulate toxins in their flesh, eventually becoming dangerous, even deadly, to fish, birds, animals, and humans. Some species of algae are toxic only to shellfish, and not humans or other creatures.

Harmful algae blooms and subsequent shellfish contamination can cause massive fish kills. The dead fish continue to be health hazards after their death because of the risk that they will be eaten by birds or marine mammals.

Tourism and Fishing

Red tides and other harmful algae blooms have serious economic as well as health impacts. Coastal communities that rely heavily on tourism often lose millions of dollars when dead fish wash up on beaches, tourists fall ill, or shellfish warnings are issued because of harmful algae blooms.

Commercial fishing and shellfish businesses lose income when shellfish beds are closed, or harmful algae toxins contaminate their fish. Charter boat operators are also affected, receiving numerous cancellations even when the waters they typically fish are not affected by the harmful algae blooms.

Economic Impacts

Tourism, recreation, and other industries may be adversely affected even though they are not directly hurt by the algae. When a bloom is reported, many people grow cautious, even though most water activities are safe during red tides and other harmful algae blooms.

Calculating the actual economic cost of red tides and other harmful algae blooms in both marine and freshwater environments is difficult considering the myriad factors involved. According to a 2011 U.S. House of Representatives report about the risks of algal blooms, the cost of HABs exceeds "a billion dollars over the last several decades." Another study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution calculated the average annual cost from harmful algae blooms from 1987 to 1992 to be approximately 500 million dollars in 2000. And with experts predicting an increase in HABs, the economic costs will also likely increase.

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"Red tide" is the common name for what many experts refer to as "harmful algae blooms." Harmful algae blooms (HAB) are the sudden proliferation of one or more marine species of microscopic organisms called phytoplankton, primarily dinoflagellates.

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T - it is trustworthy because it is all based on what scientists from a big research laboratory have to say.

R - It is reliable because it shares quotes that the scientists say and dives deeper into them

U - It is very understandable and easy to read.

S - there are a lot of strengths and only one weakness

T - it was made 6 years ago

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SARASOTA - As one of Mote Marine Laboratory's resident red tide researchers, Richard Pierce, lectured on the facts and future of red tide Monday evening, one question kept coming up from the audience: What can we do to stop red tide?

One man suggested changing the water density in red tide-affected parts of the Gulf of Mexico. A woman wondered whether alternate forms of energy could have an effect. But the consensus from the panel of Mote red tide scientists at the talk was clear: At this point, there is no sure way to eradicate red tide or even significantly lessen the concentration of the blooms of Karenia brevis, the red time organism.

"It's not currently possible to control red tides in the Gulf," Pierce, Mote's assistant vice president for research and the program manager of its Ecotoxicology team, said while concluding his lecture to a filled hall of about 150 people. "In many cases, we can reduce the risk, but we probably won't get rid of it."

In the meantime, Mote scientists have made some promising discoveries, such as an algae byproduct that could inhibit red tide growth and its toxins, according to Pierce. The Phytoplankton Ecology team, led by program manager Vincent Lovko, is working on that prospect, but both Lovko and Pierce said it was in the trial period.

"We're not going to go out there and start dumping things in the water," Pierce said. "But there could be ways we could knock it back or at least control it within specific areas."

Before Pierce delved into all of the possible ways to mitigate red tide's effects, he focused on its little-known origins. One of the widely held myths about red tide is that it is a direct effect of human impact on the environment, much like global warming. But Pierce said that is not so - in fact, one of the earliest cases of red tide occurred in the 1500's and was documented by Spanish explorers along the Florida Gulf Coast. The phenomenon occurred far before the Industrial Revolution, Pierce added, and emerged as a "periodic occurrence."

He displayed a chart to show the various nutrients the organism uses to survive, including mineral deposits from swamps and dust blown over from the Sahara Desert. But just how the organism is formed - and what its biological purpose is in the first place - is difficult for scientists to say.

"It's a very complicated mish-mash of sources and types of nutrients that are utilized by the Karenia brevis," Pierce said. "We often say, 'This isn't rocket science, it's far more complicated.'"

When fish consume the organism in the water, they are harmed by what are called neurotoxins, which affect their nervous systems and essentially make them "nervously excited to death," Pierce said. That accounts for the dead fish that line the shore during a particularly high concentration of a red tide bloom.

But what of the respiratory effects in humans? Those drift up from bubbles in the water, which turn into air bubbles and affect noses and eyes of people near the shore. While red tide symptoms are generally noticeable only when someone is near the water, there can be serious poisoning from consuming shellfish with these toxins. The immediate indications of that include slurred speech, partial limb paralysis, nausea, and a feeling like one's nerves are on fire.

What Mote scientists ultimately want to do is predict and understand red tide movements and growth. One of Mote's overall goals is to establish a total coastal observation system, which would span the Gulf Coast and give people interested in going to the beach on any part of the Gulf coast a better sense of what they might find there.

Since Florida red tide is found mainly in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the last questions of the night had a woman asking why the organism was not found elsewhere. Was there something other ecosystems had that we didn't?

"It exists here because this is where it grows well," Pierce said. "This is an area where this organism can thrive and overcompete."

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Can we get rid of red tide? Not yet, according to Mote scientist

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SARASOTA - As one of Mote Marine Laboratory's resident red tide researchers, Richard Pierce, lectured on the facts and future of red tide Monday evening, one question kept coming up from the audience...

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You may be wondering how the red tide can affect our lives from the food to eat or how it can affect the wildlife swimming in those harmful algae blooms. It can affect your life by making you very ill when you are eating your favourite seafoods. It can also affect you when you are taking a walk on the beach and all you see are groups of dead fish washing up on shore.

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Often deep red or brown in color, a typical red tide can be observed along a marine coast. A type of harmful algal bloom, red tides refer to toxic blooms of microscopic algae that occur worldwide. Within the United States, these blooms appear in three main coastal areas. They are caused by several different microorganisms, all phytoplankton that use light energy to grow. But they aren't always red.

What are red tides?

At least three species of dinoflagellates and one diatom species are responsible for the toxic mess of red tides in the United States. These microscopic forms of algae produce toxins that can sicken humans and be fatal for marine animals.

Within the United States, red tides occur most commonly in the Gulf of Mexico, off California, and in the Gulf of Maine. In each of these locales, a different microorganism-present at low levels normally-generates the algal bloom when conditions align. ( Read more about red tides in Australia.)
Gulf of Mexico
A type of toxic algae, Karenia brevis, lives in the Gulf of Mexico throughout the year at low concentrations. When environmental conditions, like temperature, nutrient levels, and wind, are right, the algae population explodes and huge blooms form. These blooms release massive amounts of brevotoxin into the ocean. With their characteristic red color, these red tides affect Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas.

Richard Stumpf, an algal blooms expert at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), says red tides tend to occur in Florida every year. In Texas, they used to bloom every ten years, but now appear every three years. Louisiana and Alabama cases tend to appear more rarely, often only when hurricanes push blooms northwest from southwest Florida.

Even at relatively low levels, K. brevis can interact with other types of algae, worsening the overall red tide. In particular, a cyanobacterium, Trichodesmium, blooms in the Gulf of Mexico after iron-rich dust drifts over from Africa. The cyanobacteria consume nitrogen from the atmosphere and when they die, they provide K. brevis with a food source of crucial elements: phosphorous, nitrogen, and iron.
Gulf of Maine
In the Gulf of Maine, Alexandrium catanella and Alexandrium fundyense are the main culprits for red tides. The result tends to only turn the characteristic red color when it blooms and concentrates in a front, the boundary between two pooling water sources.

Alexandrium has a fascinating life strategy, feeding, aggregating to reproduce, and then resting on the ocean floor as a dormant hard cyst over the winter. When the water temperature exceeds 50°F, generally in late spring, the cysts "perk up," says Stumpf, and swim up to the surface to start growing. Alexandrium produces the toxin saxitoxin, which remains in the gulf in low concentrations during the year and explodes during blooms.

During a bloom, filter-feeders like clams inadvertently consume the toxin as they filter the water for food (algae), and the toxin accumulates inside their tissues. At these much higher concentrations, the toxin poisons shellfish and if consumed, can lead to paralytic shellfish poisoning in people.
California
The Pseudonitzchia species of algae, forms of diatoms, more commonly create red tides off the coast of California. Some of these blooms can be harmless, because not all produce the toxin domoic acid. In contrast to dinoflagellates, which swim to access nutrients and light, diatoms float in the ocean and if nutrients abound, the algae bloom. If not enough nutrients are in the water, they die. Generally, these algae bloom in spring and summer, though the more toxic blooms often occur during the spring.

Alexandrium species are also found in California, first discovered there in 1927 after an outbreak of paralytic shellfish poisoning.

Red tide effects on animals

The neurotoxins produced by harmful algae blooms can cause massive fish kills, with dead fish washing up on shores by the thousands. The toxin works its way through the food web, with other species preying on the sick fish. Die-offs of many marine species, like whales and sea turtles, have been linked to red tides. The toxins can even produce a foam that causes seabirds to lose the waterproofing on their feathers, resulting in their death.

In Florida, manatees can be affected by brevotoxin, so much so that it can lead to respiratory problems or even death.

Red tide effects on humans

The effects of red tides don't stop at animals. People can be sickened from the toxins in the water or in tainted shellfish. K. brevis, the dinoflagellate causing red tides in Florida, can cause respiratory problems, particularly for people with asthma or allergies.

Red tides cause an estimated $82 million in economic losses each year due to beach and fishing closures, including associated drops in tourism and seafood revenues.

Human Influences on red tides

Climate change complicates the frequency and occurrence of red tides. Wind and temperature are expected to increase with a warming planet. With more wind stirring up nutrients, dinoflagellates can get food easier. But diatoms prefer calmer conditions.

Scientists predict that climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of hurricanes, potentially moving blooms to new locations. In Florida, a red tide lasted for 17 months after big hurricanes blew through in 2004 and 2005. And in 2017 after Hurricane Irma, another giant red-tide imperiled the state.

Additionally, more nutrients, running into the ocean from excess fertilizer on farms or lawns, can contribute to blooms. K. brevis is increasing in Florida's waters, more abundant year-round now than in the 1950s, most likely because of higher nutrients. If the algae don't have enough nitrogen, it dampens the bloom, says Stumpf.

Potential Solutions

Treatments of aluminum sulfate are sometimes used to fight algal blooms in small lakes or canals, but is not effective in the much larger ocean. In the 1950s, scientists tried using copper sulfate. That killed the algae, but also everything else in the water.

The best "fix," says Stumpf, is mitigation through forecasting. "Right now, red tides in Florida are a crisis. We are trying to make it an inconvenience," he says.

Stumpf and a team of scientists have created red tide forecasts that are released biweekly to let people know how safe an area in Florida (and elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico) is for recreation. The forecasts take advantage of satellite images to estimate the size and impact of a bloom. The NOAA team has also introduced a new tool, called HABscope, for citizen scientists to help collect data on blooms. A miniature microscope, the HABscope, , attaches to a smartphone and allows a user to capture short videos of water samples collected from different locations in Florida. Counting the number of microalgae cells in the water sample lets scientists determine the risk or severity of a bloom.

In the Gulf of Maine, crews in the late fall collect sediment samples to count the number of Alexandrium cysts. They incorporate that level into biological models to predict the number that will survive until the next season. Then, scientists combine that predicted number with salinity and ocean current data in physical models to help forecast how bad a bloom will be in the next year. Usually if they find a lot of cysts, the Gulf of Maine will have a larger bloom. But that's not always the case, and scientists are still trying to figure out why the forecasts were off this year.

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Red tides and algal blooms, facts and information

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Often deep red or brown in color, a typical red tide can be observed along a marine coast. A type of harmful algal bloom, red tides refer to toxic blooms of microscopic algae that occur worldwide. Within the United States, these blooms appear in three main coastal areas.

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Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission

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Red tides, also called harmful algal blooms (HABs), occur when microscopic algae multiply to higher-than-normal concentrations, often discoloring the water. Although more than 50 HAB species occur in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the most well-known species is Karenia brevis, the red tide organism. K. brevis is found year-round at background concentrations of 1,000 cells per liter or less. Each cell is typically 20 to 45 micrometers long and 10 to 15 micrometers deep. It has two whip-like appendages called flagella that propel and direct it through the water at a speed of one meter per hour. In Florida waters, K. brevis thrives in high-salinity (salt content) areas but can tolerate a wide range of salinities and temperatures. The species forms nearly monospecific (single species) blooms by outcompeting or excluding other phytoplankton species.

K. brevis produces brevetoxins capable of killing fish, birds and other marine animals. Brevetoxins may also cause health problems in humans, including respiratory irritation when wave action breaks open cells and the toxins become airborne. People who consume shellfish contaminated with brevetoxins can suffer Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning.

Blooms of K. brevis also affect Florida's economy. Coastal communities that rely on tourism lose millions of dollars when dead fish wash up on beaches or beachgoers experience eye and respiratory irritation, and shellfish-harvesting businesses lose income when shellfish beds are closed. A study of three red tide blooms that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s estimated losses from each to be between $15 million and $25 million.

K. brevis blooms occur in the Gulf of Mexico almost every year, generally in late summer or early fall. They are most common off the central and southwestern coasts of Florida between Clearwater and Sanibel Island but may occur anywhere in the Gulf. Blooms are less common but do occur along the southeastern Atlantic coast as far north as North Carolina. Most blooms last three to five months and affect hundreds of square miles, but they can continue sporadically for as long as 18 months, affecting thousands of square miles.

Prior to the early 1970s, red tides in Florida were believed to originate inshore because blooms and respiratory irritation were most often observed first around passes and barrier islands. We now know that Florida's red tides begin in nutrient-poor water 18 to 74 kilometers (11 to 46 miles) offshore.

Blooms develop in four stages. The initiation stage occurs when a K. brevispopulation first accumulates and moves into an area. During the second stage, growth, the population steadily increases. Within a few weeks, K. brevis concentrations may be high enough to kill fish. The third stage is maintenance, during which wind and currents control the bloom's movement. If the bloom moves inshore, nutrient runoff from land may promote bloom expansion. A bloom can linger in coastal areas for days, weeks or even months. The fourth stage is dissipation or termination. During this stage, mechanisms such as winds and currents disperse the cells, introduce new water masses that reduce the concentration of K. brevis cells or move the bloom to a different area.

Biologists have documented the occurrence and abundance of K. brevis for more than 50 years, during which detection and monitoring technologies have changed dramatically. To monitor and track blooms of K. brevis, the HAB group combines water sampling and enumeration (cell counts), molecular tools, toxin analysis, detection via satellite imagery and predictive models of bloom movement. Data generated through traditional environmental sampling, in combination with data generated through newer approaches such as remote sensing and modeling, may give scientists the ability to forecast red tides and potentially mitigate their effects.

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There are no unanswered questions

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