

In recent years, Karenia blooms have persisted nearly year-round in concentrations that have had devastating consequences for aquatic wildlife, fisheries, tourism, and human health.Ī brief but comprehensive overview of Red Tide is available online at: A similar event may have happened in 1971. A 2018 red tide outbreak off the coast of central and southwest Florida devastated marine life and caused an estimated $184 million in damage to the local economy. The low oxygen concentrations that devastated marine life were correlated to red tide and a thermocline. In August of 2005, a rare mass mortality event killed Gulf aquatic life over a 2,100-square mile area about 10 miles offshore from the Tampa Bay area. Karenia is usually present in the Gulf at background concentrations of about 1000 cells per liter. The Gulf of Mexico is an epicenter of Karenia blooms, which historically have occurred in late summer or fall. Experts agree that reducing coastal wastewater and stormwater nutrient pollution is a worthwhile endeavor that should not be postponed until a definitive scientific correlation is made to red tide. It is known that Karenia blooms can begin in low-nutrient waters of the offshore Gulf, and that nutrient pollution in coastal waters feed algae, including Karenia. Unlike many algal blooms, it has been difficult to establish a relationship between man-made pollution and Karenia blooms. The occurrence of various HABs is increasing globally, and the evidence showing increases in the frequency, intensity, duration, or distribution of Karenia blooms and their source has caused much spirited debate among scientists and the public. This is an example of a Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB), a condition that plagues oceans around the world. In Florida, red tide describes a higher-than-normal abundance of Karenia brevis, a naturally occurring dinoflagellate alga. Red tide is a descriptive term for discolored water that is applied by people around the world to some very dissimilar organisms.
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