![]() ![]() the ecology and oceanography of harmful algal blooms ). These activities lead to increased funding and interest in HAB research (e.g. There were also concerted efforts by the HAB research and response community to increase national and international attention on the apparent increase in HABs and the resulting increased risk for human exposure and subsequent adverse health effects (e.g. Pseudo-nitzschia, Pfiesteria, and the phytoplankton producing the newly discovered toxins, the Azaspiracids) ( Abraham and Baden 2006 Backer et al., 2003a Backer et al., 2005a Backer and Fleming 2008 Fleming et al., 2001 Fleming et al., 2004 Okamoto and Fleming 2005 Twiner et al., 2008 Zaias et al., 2010). Much of this interest was driven by media attention on the discovery of several new HAB organisms purportedly associated with animal and human exposures and health impacts (e.g. ![]() In the 1980s and 1990s, there was increased interest in and research activity on harmful algal blooms (HABs). Other brevetoxin-producing dinoflagellate blooms have been identified in diverse geographic locations worldwide, including New Zealand, Australia and Scotland ( Baden and Fleming 2007 Hernandez Becerril et al., 2007 Haywood et al., 2004 Kirkpatrick et al., 2004a Nozawa et al., 2003 Steidinger et al., 1983). More recently, Florida red tides have spread as far as the eastern coast of Mexico and have been entrained in the Gulf Loop, the current that brings Gulf waters to the shores of North Carolina. Humans are susceptible to the effects of brevetoxin exposure, and public health surveillance activities have documented cases of intoxications from eating contaminated seafood and many respiratory complaints from inhaling contaminated aerosols ( Kirkpatrick et al., 2004a).įlorida red tide blooms have been documented on the Florida west coast since the 1800s. PbTx or Ptychodiscus toxins), which can cause illness and mortalities in fish, seabirds, and marine mammals. brevis produces a group of potent natural neurotoxins, the brevetoxins (i.e. brevis), formerly known as Gymnodinium breve and Ptychodiscus brevis. The Review includes a brief discussion of the Florida red tide organisms and their toxins, and then focuses on the effects of these toxins on animals and humans, including how these effects predict what we might expect to see in exposed people.įlorida red tides are predominantly associated with the blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis ( K. This long-term interdisciplinary approach has allowed the team to engage the local community, identify measures to protect public health, take emerging technologies into the field, forge advances in natural products chemistry, and develop a valuable pharmaceutical product. Florida red tide research has benefited from a consistently funded, long term research program, that has allowed an interdisciplinary team of researchers to focus their attention on this specific environmental issue-one that is critically important to Gulf of Mexico and other coastal communities. ![]() These harmful algal blooms are caused by the dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, and similar organisms, all of which produce a suite of natural toxins known as brevetoxins. This paper reviews the literature describing research performed over the past decade on the known and possible exposures and human health effects associated with Florida red tides. ![]()
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