“The syndrome is being studied in seven states under a program funded by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Florida study represents the state’s first examples of a syndrome of illnesses similar to the Pfiesteria piscicida outbreaks which hit several southeast states,” says Alan Rowan, an epidemiologist with the Florida Department of Health. During 1998, Florida doctors diagnosed the 13 patients ( ranging in age from 12 to 70) to have the condition called Estuarine Associated Syndrome with symptoms of skin lesions, nausea, diarrhea, memory and neurological problems similar to those suffered by fisherman, scientists, and tourists in Maryland and North Carolina who came in contact with waters contaminated by Pfiesteria, according to Alan Rowan.

Outbreaks of Pfiesteria piscicida have resulted in human health warnings issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency but officials at the Florida Department of Health insist Pfiesteria has not been found in the state despite evidence of human illnesses and fish kills with lesions. They claim a similar HAB species called Cryptoperidiniopsis brodyi found in the St.Lucie, St.Johns, and Indian Rivers is possibly to blame for the fish deaths.

“Pfiesteria has not been found in Florida, and no health standard for harmful algae blooms are warranted,”  says Lee Demateis, spokeswoman for the FDEP Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI). Some scientists suggest Florida government officials don’t want to incite harmful algae bloom hysteria in the public, and hurt the state’s pristine image for its tourist and seafood related industries

“In Maryland the public overreacted to 2 or 3 small lesion fish kills, and it cost the state $43 million in lost revenue to seafood related industries,” says Dr. Kevin Sellner, the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) Coordinator under NOAA’s Coastal Ocean Program.  See http://www.fmri.usf.edu/ecohab/scientists.htm.

Florida historically has experienced harmful algae blooms for millions of years, and until recently the only species to receive media attention is Gymnodinium breve, commonly known as Red Tide. In the last 22 years there have been 21 outbreaks of Red Tide in Florida and millions of dollars have been lost in seafood and tourist industries according to the FDEP. The frequency of Red Tide outbreaks and fish kills have scientists concerned that human sewage pollution from bulging coastal populations and farm chemical runoff could be contributing factors.

Over 400 million gallons of municipally treated sewage is injected underground daily through Florida’s 120 coastal Class 1 underground injection control (UIC) wells and according to FDEP monitoring tests, the waste effluent is migrating into the state’s largest underground source of drinking water, the Floridan Aquifer, which discharges along the coastlines. Dr. JoAnn Burkholder, research coordinator for the Aquatic Botany Laboratory at North Carolina State University, and her team of researchers confirmed Pfiesteria and other harmful algae blooms are associated with nitrate/phosphate runoff from hog and poultry farms and human sewage.

“In North Carolina there is a connection between nutrients in human waste and Pfiesteria outbreaks, and nutrients from this waste can be highly stimulatory to HABs,” Dr.Burkholder says.

Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida has been closely monitoring and researching Red Tide outbreaks and scientists there say although Gymnodinium breve forms miles offshore it can be effected by the municipal Class 1 UIC well sewage as it nears shorelines. see: http://www.mote.org  and http://www.redtide.whoi.edu/hab. “Red Tides thrive in nutrient deficient waters, but our research indicates nutrient seepage from underground swells might be feeding these organisms and Class 1 UIC sewage migrating offshore certainly isn’t helping the situation,” says Dr. Richard Pierce, Mote’s Director.

The big question is how many of the state’s 55 different toxic species can be stimulated to grow by the nitrates and phosphates found in human sewage and farm runoff according to Dr.Jan Landsburg, a research scientist with the FDEP’s FMRI. “There does seem to be more outbreaks in shore regions, but it could be due to numerous factors and science has a long way to go to tie up the loose ends,” says Dr. Landsburg.

Currently, state environmental and health departments rely on common sense and local communities to warn the public of the health risks associated with Red Tide, and neither government agency has ever issued a state human health advisory for harmful algae blooms. The FDEP does ban shellfish harvesting in beds exposed to Red Tides because the organism’s toxins become concentrated in the mollusks which feed on them. “There are no federal standards for Red Tide contaminated shrimp or fish because they don’t concentrate the toxin in their bodies, and we don’t have the knowledge to tell the public whether fish caught in a Red Tide are safe or not safe to consume,” says David Heil, Bureau Chief of the FDEP’s Bureau of Marine Resource–Regulation Development. “There has never been anybody I know who got ill from eating fish caught in a Red Tide,” he says.

Red Tide does cause respiratory and eye irritation problems, and the FDEP advises people suffering from asthma and the elderly to avoid beaches where it comes ashore. In the last several years the FMRI found over 204 manatees that died from respiratory suffocation due to Red Tide exposure. “Right now we are advising people not to consume or touch sick or dead fish in Red Tides and other fish kill waters,” says Alan Rowan. “Further research needs to be done before we would issue a health advisory to avoid waters where sick or dead fish are found in HAB waters,” he says

Highlighting the human health threats from the increasing Red Tide and other species of harmful algae blooms would devastate Florida’s coastal economies according to officials at Mote and FMRI. “What’s not well documented is the Red Tides impact on our state’s economy,” says Dr. Carmelo Thomas, research  scientist at the FMRI. “The impact of fish kills from these algae blooms to the multi-billion dollar tourist economy has a halo effect with cancellation of reservations all along the coasts and people stop buying seafood,” says Thomas.

Dr. Sellner cautions Florida’s nutrient loads from sewage and farm runoff to coastal waters should be as low as practically possible to minimize the chances for HAB outbreaks, and their negative impact on the state’s marine reliant economies. “Yes, more nutrients from sewage should support more activity, and yes there is more pollution, but the research is divided on whether these organisms are being stimulated by land pollution activities or other causes outside of nutrient loading,” says Dr. Sellner. “It’s completely up to Florida to develop a checklist of HAB indicators for closing rivers and beaches, however, I wouldn’t let my children swim in Red Tide or enter those waters where those 13 Florida residents contacted Estuarine Associated Syndrome,” he says.

(C)Donald Sutherland 1999 address: 205 Winter Street, Hopkinton, MA 01748 phone: 508-496-3676  email:donaldsutherland-iso14000@worldnet.att.net

Woods Hole Oceanographic Technical Report, WOI-98-03

ABSTRACT

Substantial impacts of boating activity discussed at this workshop include: sediment and contaminant resuspension and resultant turbidity; laceration of aquatic vegetation with loss of faunal habitat and substrate stability; toxic effects chemical emission of boat engines: increased turbulence; shearing of plankton; shorebird disturbance; and the biological effects of chemically treated wood used in dock and bulkhead construction.

These discussions revealed that many of the issues of concern remain inadequately defined and described. But sufficient hard data was referred to or presented to substantiate the inference that recreational and commercial boat operation is far from a benign influence on aquatic marine environments.

This is particularly so in temperate climes due to the unfortunate synchrony, with only a few exceptions, between peak seasons for boating and the occurrence of planktonic, embryonic and larval stages of vertebrates and invertebrates in estuaries and coastal waters.

Therefore, the chance of plants and organisms being affected by power boat operations appear to be substantial in shallow, heavily used boating areas such as those along the entire U.S. eastern and Gulf Coasts. As such, motor boat operation should be conducted and managed in such a manner as to minimize those impacts.

Built over millions of years, coral reefs are home to more than 25 percent of marine species, making them the most biologically diverse of marine ecosystems. Corals produce reefs in shallow tropical and sub-tropical seas and have been shown to be highly sensitive to changes in their environment.

Researchers identified the main threats to corals as climate change and localized stresses resulting from destructive fishing, declining water quality from pollution, and the degradation of coastal habitats. Climate change causes rising water temperatures and more intense solar radiation, which lead to coral bleaching and disease often resulting in mass coral mortality.

Shallow water corals have a symbiotic relationship with algae called zooxanthellae, which live in their soft tissues and provide the coral with essential nutrients and energy from photosynthesis and are the reason why corals have such beautiful colors. Coral bleaching is the result of a stress response, such as increased water temperatures, whereby the algae are expelled from the tissues, hence the term “bleaching.” Corals that have been bleached are weaker and more prone to attack from disease. Scientists believe that increased coral disease also is linked to higher sea temperatures and an increase in run-off pollution and sediments from the land.

Researchers predict that ocean acidification will be another serious threat facing coral reefs. As oceans absorb increasing amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, water acidity increases and pH decreases, severely impacting corals’ ability to build their skeletons that form the foundation of reefs.

The 39 scientists who co-authored this study agree that if rising sea surface temperatures continue to cause increased frequency of bleaching and disease events, many corals may not have enough time to replenish themselves and this could lead to extinctions.

“These results show that as a group, reef-building corals are more at risk of extinction than all terrestrial groups, apart from amphibians, and are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change,” said Roger McManus, CI’s vice president for marine programs. “The loss of the corals will have profound implications for millions of people who depend on coral reefs for their livelihoods.”

Coral reefs harbor fish and other marine resources important for coastal communities. They also help protect coastal towns and other near-shore habitats from severe erosion and flooding caused by tropical storms. Staghorn (Acroporid) corals face the highest risk of extinction, with 52 percent of species listed in a threatened category. The Caribbean region has the highest number of highly threatened corals (Endangered and Critically Endangered), including the iconic elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) which is listed as Critically Endangered. The high biodiversity “Coral Triangle” in the western Pacific’s Indo-Malay-Philippine Archipelago has the highest proportions of Vulnerable and Near-Threatened species in the Indo-Pacific, largely resulting from the high concentration of people living in many parts of the region.

Corals from the genera Favia and Porites were found to be the least threatened due to their relatively higher resistance to bleaching and disease. In addition, 141 species lacked sufficient information to be fully assessed and were therefore listed as Data Deficient. However, researchers believe that many of these species would have been listed as threatened if more information were available. The results emphasize the widespread plight of coral reefs and the urgent need to enact conservation measures. “We either reduce our CO2 emission now or many corals will be lost forever,” says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General. “Improving water quality, global education and the adequate funding of local conservation practices also are essential to protect the foundation of beautiful and valuable coral reef ecosystems.”

Coral experts participated in three workshops to analyze data on 845 reef-building coral species, including population range and size, life history traits, susceptibility to threats, and estimates of regional coral cover loss. The reef-building corals assessment is one group of a number of strategic global assessments of marine species the GMSA has been conducting since 2006 at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Other assessments are being conducted on seagrasses and mangroves that are also important habitat-forming species, all marine fishes, and other important keystone invertebrates. By 2012, the GMSA plans to complete its comprehensive first stage assessment of the threat of extinction for over 20,000 marine plants and animals, providing an essential baseline for conservation plans around the world, and tracking the extinction risk of marine species.

The results of the coral species assessment will be placed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in October 2008. Currently, the assessments can be found at

http://www.sci.odu.edu/gmsa/about/corals.shtml

http://www.sci.odu.edu/gmsa/about/corals.shtml

reprinted from In Grove Miami Magazine 1990

This early article offers a good perspective on Reef Relief’s efforts to protect coral reefs.

by Dana Robbin

North America’s only living coral reef appears to be thriving. Six miles offshore and some 158 miles in length, this underwater Eden swings like a charm on a bracelet from a band of tiny islands called the Florida Keys, out past the Dry Tortugas.

Iridescent and vital, it pulses with life, with jellyfish, sponges, anemones, and snails…turtles, crabs, spiny lobsters and rays…purple sea fans, and soft stony corals.

The tiny reef-building coral “polyp” is no bigger than a pinhead. Encased in a calcareous (containing calcium) exoskeleton, it is fragile and delicate; a simple little creature with a life span of centuries that, together with millions of other little microscopic animals, creates living coral formations in shapes of leaves, fans, brains, and tendrils of plants. Adding new coral to old, and passing nutrients through, they build ever so slowly; some less than an inch per year.

The coral reef of the Keys is one of the world’s richest ecosystems. It is home to 150 species of tropical fish, and 50 species of coral. Surrounded by dense mangrove forests and flowering seagrass beds, it provides a nursery and breeding habitat for one third of Florida’s endangered species, including the manatee, Key Deer and crocodile. Yet this coral barrier is itself in peril.

Once insulated from the Miami mainland and the stresses of urban living by a thin, treacherous roadway and 32 bridges, the Keys’ corals have become the world’s busiest dive destination. Busier even than Australia’s Great Barrier Reef that at 1,240 miles in length, is the world’s largest ecosystem and the only living structure visible to the naked human eye from outer space. In fact, ten times busier, and on the critical list.

The Keys’ corals are dying. Diseases of known and unknown origins are breaking out in epidemic proportions. Algal blooms of unprecedented size are suffocating our dive sites. Once pristine waters stand murky and green. Question is: Is it too late?

Not according to Craig and DeeVon Quirolo, cofounders of a non-profit grass roots organization established in 1986 to “preserve and protect” the living coral reef. If we didn’t think it could be done, we wouldn’t be trying,” says DeeVon, ex-law student turned natural-food restaurateur turned publisher and full-time environmentalist.

She and her husband Craig met in the early 1970’s. At that time, he was running some of the first snorkeling charters off Key West in aquarium-glass waters that magnified schools of tropical fish resplendent over star and brain corals. Also at that time, the reef that had, throughout history, defined the island’s character and secured its economic prosperity by snagging the treasure-chested hulls of wooden sailing ships for opportunistic pirates and wreck salvors, was becoming the lolita of a burgeoning tourist industry.

Having weathered 450 million years, hurricanes, tornadoes, and two world wars, the coral reefs of the Keys have met their march: human beings. Virgin strands of branching corals like elkhorn and staghorn were toppled by anchors mindlessly tossed. Soft coral “polyps” were crushed by careless divers crawling hand-over-hand over corals that appeared immortal, but were not.

The Quirolos were realists. They understood that, having found this 18-karat gemstone, no one was moving north. So they set out to define a reef-saving etiquette for the 75,000 Keys’ residents, and the millions of tourists. They designed and installed 116 mooring buoys, giving boaters an alternative to dropping anchor on the fragile corals. At the edge of Key West Harbor, they set up an environmental information center. They held information symposiums for the hospitality industry, created a “sea-fan” membership campaign, hosted film festivals on marine conservation, sponsored beach clean-ups, developed school curriculum programs, helped underwrite valuable marine research, and launched an underwater photo monitoring program to keep tabs on changes at the reef.

Their “Do not touch, stand on or take the coral” message was translated into French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. And on Earth Day, 1990, a top honor was presented: Then President Bush singled out the environmental group as his 123rd “Point of Light,” for its success in turning the Keys’ attitude towards their reef from benign neglect to informed stewardship.

Then the water quality washed up as the number one coral-killer. The job got even tougher. “Now,” says DeeVon, “we’re into the hard stuff, the issues that will take lifestyle changes to resolve.”

Like “nutrient” rich waters that feed disease and algae growth from Florida Bay and Miami’s Biscayne Bay. Like impacts from the Everglades, South Florida’s agricultural areas, and West Florida’s phosphate mining. Like Keys’ own land-based pollution; the inadequate and primitive sewage treatment facilities, chemical fertilizers, illegal cesspits, and pesticides.

To save the living coral, so akin to human bone it can be used in transplant surgery, the Quirolos and their team of volunteers and experts have had to take on the Big Leaguers; becoming coalition builders and advocates in addition to educators, tackling governmental bodies and manufacturing associations.

Not without avail: A ten year ban on offshore oil drilling, cancellation of navy explosives testing, Florida’s Keys National Marine Sanctuary legislation, a phosphate ban for Monroe County, and restrictions on the harvesting of marine life, are but the opening credits on a list that’s long, and lengthening.

Still, the Quirolos warn, “Without aggressive water quality regulations, enforcement, and no-use zones for recovery and monitoring, the reef will not be here for future generations.”

Battered, the coral garden is in our hands.