Red Tides
Red tides also known as harmful algal blooms, HAB for short, are a toxic, single celled algae called photoplankton. This organism produces a toxin that affects the central nervous system of fish so that they are paralyzed and can't breathe. As a result, red tide blooms often result in dead fish washing up on beaches. From biblical times to present day this killer of marine animals and health risk to humans is affecting rivers and coast lines all over the world. Despite how long we have known about red tides there is not much we can do to stop them or determine where it will strike next. Certain blooms of algae are termed red tides when the tiny pigmented plants grow to a great abundance. The term red tide is misleading in the name. "Red tides are only occasionally red, also appearing as orange, brown, and even green. And they never occur literally as tides, which are the rises and falls of the sea." (New York Times: Aug. 27,1997) Some cases of red tides do not show any change in the color of the water at all. This makes a red tide very hard to predict or find. Red tides often occur when fresh water runoff creates a stratified surface layer above colder nutrient-rich waters. "heavy rains might have helped the red t
New York Times: "Thousands of Gulf Fish Die; Red Tide Is Probable Cause", New York Times: "In a Sealed Lab, a Warrior Against Pollution", ides develop by pouring fresh water and nutrients into surrounding sea waters," (New York Times: Sept. 19, 1996) Fast growing algae quickly strip away nutrients in the upper layer, leaving nitrogen and phosphorus only below the interface of the layers, called the pycnocline. Many swim at speeds of 10 meters a day, and some go through vertical migration rising to the top of the water to get sun and then swimming down to the pycnocline to take up nutrients at night. Another cause of red tides is from human pollution. "nutrient runoff from human development, the heavy use of fertilizer and livestock farms is feeding the growth of marauding swarms." (New York Times: Aug. 27, 1996) Dr. Jane Lubchenco, a prominent ecologist at Oregon State University said, "There is a correlation between increased nutrients in coastal waters and increased frequency of photoplankton blooms." One bloom of the red tide can kill millions of fish at a time.
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Approximate Word count = 928
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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