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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]