News and Features by Research Area or Topic
Posted on January 30th, 2013 in Harmful Algal Blooms, Physiology, Molecular Ecology
A recently published finding may contribute to the development of a long-elusive affordable ciguatoxin detector, crucial for equatorial peoples worldwide at risk of contracting a severe type of seafood poisoning. While researching toxicity differences in the several species of tropical algae that cause ciguatera, researchers from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and partners [...]
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Posted on October 30th, 2012 in Harmful Algal Blooms, Physiology, Molecular Ecology
To find the cause of a massive fish kill in the Neuse River near New Bern, North Carolina, state officials and a river advocacy foundation sent samples to the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science laboratory in nearby Beaufort for analysis. Most of the dead fish exhibited large, open skin ulcers. Using molecular assays, the [...]
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Posted on October 17th, 2012 in Harmful Algal Blooms, News Clips, Physiology, Molecular Ecology
A massive fish kill on the Neuse River that has been ongoing for nearly a month has resulted in thousands of menhaden washed up on beaches near Neuse Harbor. Mitch Blake, Neuse Riverkeeper, viewed the area Tuesday afternoon, saying there were several hundred thousand dead fish washed up on the beach and in the river. [...]
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Posted on October 16th, 2012 in Harmful Algal Blooms, Outreach, Physiology, Molecular Ecology
A study by National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science researchers posits a new theory to help explain a long-standing puzzle in plankton ecology: despite limited nutrients, why is there such a high diversity of microscopic algae species? The study reveals that competing microalgal species are subject to evolutionary tradeoffs between cellular attributes that promote growth and reproduction (small [...]
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Posted on May 21st, 2012 in Harmful Algal Blooms, Human Health, International, Physiology, Molecular Ecology, Technology Transfer
Researchers from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science developed effective, inexpensive molecular lab tests for field samples to detect algae responsible for a widespread seafood-borne illness. In this month’s Journal of Phycology, the scientists describe assays to detect and quantify six species of Gambierdiscus that cause ciguatera fish poisoning in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and [...]
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Posted on March 25th, 2011 in Ecology & Oceanography, Harmful Algal Blooms, Physiology, Molecular Ecology
Brown tide, a harmful algal species that annually plagues mid-Atlantic shellfisheries, owes its success to genes that help it thrive in shallow, nutrient-enriched estuaries, according to new findings from a researcher funded by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science’s Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms Program (ECOHAB). Analysis uncovered that the organism possesses [...]
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Posted on March 11th, 2007 in Ecology & Oceanography, Physiology, Molecular Ecology
Background First discovered in the late 1980s, Pfiesteria bloomed in 1997 in Chesapeake Bay tributaries in association with fish kills and human health problems, resulting in large economic losses due to lost seafood sales and tourism. That outbreak led to a large research effort to understand the causes and prevent or minimize the impacts of [...]
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