[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Seaweed Wages Chemical Warfare Against Corals

 

Atlanta, GA - Seaweed and coral reefs may seem to be happy partners in our planet's oceans, but an ongoing battle — complete with chemical warfare — appears to be brewing beneath the sea surface.

That's the conclusion of a new study that finds the seaweed (a type of algae) is actually killing corals and preventing them from returning to damaged areas to create new reefs.

Coral reefs around the world are being attacked from all sides, with climate change, overfishing, disease and excess nutrients from fertilizer runoff all taking their toll. The factors add up to a situation where seaweed has an easier job taking hold than coral.

"Corals are under an onslaught from lots of things — climate change, overfishing and others. They have declined due to all of these things, but they actually can recover in many parts of the world, as long as seaweed doesn't get in the way and create a layer of toxic stuff," said Mark Hay, a marine ecologist at Georgia Tech in Atlanta who co-authored the new study, published Oct. 17 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Typically, corals rule the underwater kingdom. But when overfishing takes away the fish that munch on algae and seaweed, big swaths of green and brown stuff can enter the picture and blanket the coral. Seaweed can cover close to 60 percent of the ocean bottom, the researchers said.

When the seaweed and corals come into contact, the algae attacks with special organic compounds known as terpenes, which probably originally gave the plants toxic protection against infectious microbes, or fish looking for a quick meal. But they're bad news for the reefs.

"These molecules cause coral bleaching. We don't know the nitty-gritty of the mechanism behind this, but preliminary studies show that the coral being damaged by up-regulating genes responsible for fighting cytotoxins, reducing free radicals, and initiating cell repair," said Douglas Rasher, a graduate student at Georgia Tech, the other study co-author. That means that the corals aren't able to fight off the attacking toxins. One way to fix this, Hay said, could be to give the coral small doses of the seaweed's toxins over time to make them build up a response, working like a vaccine to inoculate the coral.

To examine how the seaweed and the coral were interacting, Hay and Rasher worked in Fiji testing the competition between three species of coral and eight seaweed species. They found that most of the types of algae started to kill the coral within two weeks through direct contact, changing the coral's color and, in some cases, killing it quickly. The team also created extracts of the seaweed and applied it to the corals, with similar effects. There were some differences in the level of toxicity, though, with some seaweed being deadlier than the rest.

Using this information, people can create coral management plans, Rasher told OurAmazingPlanet. For example, Fiji has a unique system of marine-protected areas that are governed by local elders. If they can apply the science and eat fewer of the fish that eat the toxic seaweed, the corals have a better chance of surviving.

"While local managers can do little about the global reasons for coral decline, they can do something about local stresses, using data-driven management methods," Rasher said.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] New book: "Death At Sea World"

 

(Opinion/Press release)

Candace Calloway Whiting
Candace Calloway Whiting has studied and trained dolphins, seals, and orca whales. She is currently a volunteer at the Center for Whale Research at Friday Harbor.

"Death at SeaWorld" – Exposing the Dark Side of Captivity

This press release could not have come at a better time, as SeaWorld continues to battle the U.S. Government on the wisdom of forcing trainers into life endangering routines, fights with Marineland over where an orca should live, faces a lawsuit from PETA on 13th amendment rights (slavery), copes with leaks about their links to the dolphin slaughter in Taiji, and is shown to have huge influence over government decisions about rescued animals. People need cogent, compellingly written explanations of what really goes on at SeaWorld – and this book will deliver.

DEATH AT SEAWORLD
Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity

DAVID KIRBY – April 2012
From The New York Times bestselling author of Evidence of Harm and Animal Factory—a groundbreaking scientific thriller that exposes the dark side of SeaWorld, America's most beloved marine mammal theme park.

Death at SeaWorld centers on the public battle with the multimillion-dollar marine park industry over the controversial and even lethal ramifications of keeping killer whales in captivity. Following the story of marine biologist and U.S. Humane Society advocate Naomi Rose, Kirby tells the gripping story of the two-decade fight against PR-savvy SeaWorld, which came to a head with the tragic death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010. Kirby puts that horrific animal-on-human attack in context. Brancheau's death was the most publicized among several brutal attacks that have occurred at SeaWorld and other marine mammal theme parks.

Death at SeaWorld introduces real people taking part in this debate, from former trainers turned animal rights activists to the men and women that champion SeaWorld and the captivity of whales. In section two the orcas act out. And as the story progresses and orca attacks on trainers become increasingly violent, the warnings of Naomi Rose and other scientists fall on deaf ears, only to be realized with the death of Dawn Brancheau. Finally he covers the media backlash, the eye-witnesses who come forward to challenge SeaWorld's glossy image, and the groundbreaking OSHA case that challenges the very idea of keeping killer whales in captivity and may spell the end of having trainers in the water with the ocean's top predators.

Death at SeaWorld exposes the backroom politics, profit-centered policies and dangerous conditions at SeaWorld, America's most beloved marine mammal park.

DAVID KIRBY is the author of Evidence of Harm, which was a New York Times bestseller, winner of the 2005 Investigative Reporters and Editors award for best book, and a finalist for the New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism, and Animal Factory, a highly acclaimed investigation into the environmental impact of factory farms. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Opinion: Killer whales & 13th Amendment

 

Killer Whales In Captivity: Not a 13th Amendment Problem
By Jason G. Goldman | October 27, 2011 | 11

An animal rights group has sued SeaWorld. Their claim is that SeaWorld should not be holding killer whales in captivity. So far, this is a fairly unsurprising story, and one that may have merit enough to debate. But here's where the story seems to go off the rails: the argument is that the thirteenth amendment of the US Constitution, which abolished slavery, applies to killer whales. And that SeaWorld's keeping of captive killer whales violates the whales' thirteenth amendment rights. According to The Guardian, the suit, which was "filed late on Tuesday in a US district court in San Diego, lists five performing orcas at SeaWorld's parks in California and Florida – Tilikum, Katina, Corky, Kasatka and Ulises – as the plaintiffs in the complaint." You might recall that Tilikum was the whale involved in an unfortunate incident in 2010 in which a trainer was killed.

I am not a legal scholar, so I can not comment on whether or not such a lawsuit could be effective. But let me be perfectly clear: the question of whether whales and other cetaceans should be kept in captivity is a discussion worth having. Using the thirteenth amendment as a tool, however, is not only unreasonable, but inappropriate.

It seems like this is a good time to revise and repost an old piece of mine that I originally published in May, 2010, on whether human rights ought to be extended to whales and dolphins:

A recent commentary in Science argues that dolphins should be considered people. Sort of people. Non-human people.

The argument begins with the extreme intelligence of dolphins. They have larger brains than humans, and the ratio of brain to body size for dolphins is greater than that for the great apes. Indeed, dolphins are the second most encephalized animals on the planet, after humans. Encephalization refers to the extent that the brain is folded up onto itself – it is evolution's trick for increasing the overall size of the brain by increasing its surface area quite a bit without increasing its volume by much. This allows for increases in brain size relative to body size. In the broadest of terms, it could be said that encephalization correlates with intelligence – but that, of course, hinges on what you mean by "intelligence." The second part of the argument is that the brains of dolphins and similar cetaceans (like killer whales) have spindle neurons which – in humans, at least – are involved in things like emotion, social cognition, and mentalizing, or the capability to discern what others are thinking.

Thomas White, a philosophy professor from Loyola Marymount University, argued that this is what makes a dolphin a person. A non-human person, though. Daniel Bassett explained: "They are alive, aware of their environment, have emotions, have distinct personalities, exhibit self control, and treat others with respect or ethical consideration."

I've got some problems with these arguments. First, I don't think that we can make ethical or moral judgments about the behavior of dolphins, because it means applying our standards of morality to other animals. For example, it is typical for male dolphins to rape female dolphins. Infanticide is also common in some dolphin populations. How does this bear on dolphin ethics? Does it make them unethical? By human standards, it sure does. But we probably shouldn't be applying our morals and ethics to other species.

In 2010, the Telegraph further explained White's argument: "He said that sperm whales have sonars to find fish that are so powerful that they could permanently deafen others nearby if used at full blast. Yet the whales do not use sonars as weapons, showing what Whitehead called a human-like sense of morality."

Do we know that sperm whales are aware of the potential destructive capacity of their sonar? For example, do they ever actually use their sonar as a weapon, if threatened? And even if it was true that sperm whales could use their sonar as a weapon and still refrain from doing so, what if that is simply the result of an automatic and non-conscious process? In other words, what if their non-use of sonar as a weapon isn't intentional, but "hard-wired"? Does it still count as morally right? Does morality hinge on explicit decision-making? I do not think we have the answers to these questions, yet.

And then there's the issue of spindle neurons. Cetaceans and humans diverged in evolution approximately 95.2 million years ago. Dolphins spent millions of years evolving in the oceans, while humans have spent some millions of years evolving on dry land. The function of spindle neurons in our brains and in dolphin brains may be similar, and while researchers are starting to gather evidence that there are structural similarities, this does not necessarily say anything about brain function. Dr. Jacopo Annese of UCSD said, "It's a pretty story, but its very speculative…We don't know, even in humans, the relationship between brain structure and function, let alone intelligence." And of course, far less is known about dolphins.

As we figure out better methods for testing animals, more and more species are going to fall into cognitive categories that we used to think were unique to humans. This is not to say that humans are exactly the same as non-human animals (though we are more similar than different), nor is this to say that animals shouldn't be afforded various protections. But to give them "human" rights or to call them "non-human people" is absurd. "Legal protection for cetaceans?" Sure, I've got no problem with that.

Humans have long had a particular fascination with dolphins and whales. As Lori Marino wrote in 2004, "throughout the ages, an enduring mystique has developed around dolphins. Even today some people continue to impute dolphins with mystical abilities such as extra-sensory perception and, in alternative medicine circles, special healing powers." Are these arguments simply the latest version of this phenomenon?

The argument that whales should not be kept in captivity for the sake of entertainment may be reasonable. The intentions of those who would prevent the use of captive whales in entertainment may be noble. But to use the thirteenth amendment, which abolished the slavery of human beings, as a tool in achieving those ends, is inappropriate at best.

Grimm, D. (2010). Is a Dolphin a Person? Science, 327 (5969), 1070-1071 DOI: 10.1126/science.327.5969.1070-c

Marino, L. (2004). Dolphin cognition. Current Biology, 14 (21) DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2004.10.010

Image via Flickr/Fremlin

Again, this post is NOT about whether whales should be kept in captivity for entertainment purposes. It is about using the thirteenth amendment as a means to a particular end.

About the Author: Jason G. Goldman is a graduate student in developmental psychology at the University of Southern California, where he studies the evolutionary and developmental origins of the mind in humans and non-human animals. Jason is also Psychology and Neuroscience Editor for ResearchBlogging.org and Editor of Open Lab 2010. He lives in Los Angeles, CA. Follow on Google+. Follow on Twitter @jgold85.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Old member returning!

 

Nice to be back into MBI.....Left quite a while ago and was very pleased to see this group still running a top speed. And I might add, that is very "sweet" logo we now have.

Bryan

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] member new

 

English not good but glad for member list

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] RED TIDE, FISH - USA: (TEXAS)

 

RED TIDE, FISH - USA: (TEXAS)
*****************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

Date: Mon 24 Oct 2011
Source: Corpus Christi Caller Times [edited] <http://www.caller.com/news/2011/oct/24/red-tide-outbreak-continues-to-kill-fish-cause/>

The most widespread bloom of toxic red algae to plague Texas in a decade continues to kill fish and cause respiratory irritation along Coastal Bend beaches and bayfronts.

Rust-colored water stretched from Matagorda Bay to South Padre Island on Monday [24 Oct 2011], according to Meridith Byrd, a harmful algae specialist with Texas Parks & Wildlife. Local reports include dead fish and discolored water in Corpus Christi Bay near Ingleside by the Bay, a fish kill at Goose Island State Park, and respiratory discomfort and stressed fish in San Antonio Bay. There also are reports of heavy aerosols along most Padre Island beaches with moderate deposits of dead fish along parts of Mustang Island from Port Aransas to just north of Packery Channel.

Biologists estimate this red tide outbreak has killed about 3 million fish. The previous outbreak in 2009, which was confined to an area from roughly Port Aransas to Mexico, killed an estimated 5.5 million fish.

Beachgoers in Port Aransas last weekend [22-23 Oct 2011] endured heavy aerosols, which cause itchy eyes, sore throats, and coughing, Byrd said. The effects remained in the air there Monday, but were not as strong. Dead fish along Mustang Island mostly were mullet, ladyfish, and menhaden. The heaviest concentration of dead fish littered the beach near the Fish Pass jetty.

Red algae thrive and multiply in warm salty seawater. Drought conditions create saltier bays by limiting freshwater flow from rivers and by not offsetting normal evaporation with rainfall. Generally, red tide blooms subside when coastal waters cool.

A cool front is expected to hit the Coastal Bend this week [week of 24 Oct 2011]. Byrd said the gulf and bay temperatures must drop to about 60 deg F [15.5 deg C] to reverse the outbreak. Bay temperatures were in the mid-70s [deg F/mid 20s deg C] Monday.

[Byline: David Sikes]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap alerts
<promed@promedmail.org>

[The areas mentioned can be located via the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at <http://healthmap.org/r/1mZZ>. - Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]

[The opening to this article talks about red algae. While there is red algae, it is not what causes red tide. Red tide is much larger in scope and can be toxic.

Red tide is caused by several toxic algae. Depending upon the toxin, it is also known as paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), because it causes shellfish to be toxic for consumption.

_Alexandrium_ spp. is one of many members of this genus. Some members may not be toxic. However, generally, the genus is found in coastal waters high in nitrogen content. These organisms produce a neurotoxin, like many of the organisms capable of causing paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). The neurotoxin is considered fatal for humans consuming contaminated shellfish and may be dangerous to humans and animals who swim in waters that are 'blooming' with the organisms.
Ocean spray containing the organisms may also cause illnesses, including rashes and eye irritation in people. Some species of this genus are capable of causing 'red tide' that may be visible for long distances along a coast line.

PSP is a significant problem in several geographic areas, especially on both the east and west coasts of the US. Produced by several closely related species in the genus _Alexandrium_, PSP toxins are responsible for persistent problems due to their accumulation in filter-feeding shellfish, but they also move through the food chain, affecting zooplankton, fish larvae, adult fish, and even birds and marine mammals.

_Alexandrium_ blooms generally do not involve large-cell accumulations that discolor the water and may instead be invisible below the water surface. Low-density populations can cause severe problems due to the high potency of the toxins produced. Furthermore, _Alexandrium_ spp.
can grow in relatively pristine waters, and it is difficult to argue that anthropogenic nutrient inputs are stimulating the blooms. These characteristics are important when considering mitigation and control strategies.

Often PSP is associated with red tides or algal blooms. Red tide is caused by an organism called _Karenia brevis_, which in high concentration can make the water look red. The organism releases a toxin that paralyzes the respiratory system of fish and other marine life.

Airborne toxins, water spray, and splashes in an outbreak have kept people from beaches while leaving others with irritated eyes and throats. Red tide irritates the skin of people exposed to it and can cause itchy eyes, scratchy throats, and coughs. Harvesting from affected areas for personal consumption is discouraged. Red tide poisoning symptoms include nausea and dizziness and may last for several days.

Previously the organism causing red tide was known as _Gymnodinium breve_, but it has been reclassified in the taxonomy of dinoflagellates. Its new name is _Karenia brevis_, or _K. brevis_.
Karenia was chosen in honor of Dr Karen Steidinger, a prominent red tide scientist from the Florida Marine Research Institute in St Petersburg, Florida (<http://www.mote.org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=%28renamed%29%20Red%20Tide%20Update_608&category=Ecotoxicology>).
- Mod.TG]

[see also:
Red tide, shellfish - USA: (MA) alert 20110506.1400 2010
----
Paralytic shellfish poisoning - USA: (ME) warning 20100714.2353
2007
----
Paralytic shellfish poisoning, human - USA (ME) 20070802.2508 Red tide, aquatic mammals - USA: (FL) 20071231.4199 Manatee deaths, red tide - USA (FL) 20070403.1129
2006
----
Red tide, shellfish - USA (WA) 20060824.2388
2005
----
Red tide - USA (TX) 20051002.2886
Red tide - USA (FL) (06) 20050925.2829
Red tide- USA (FL) (05): sea turtles 20050819.2437] .................................................sb/tg/mj/dk/ll
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted or archived material.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] Large red tide bloom off Sanibel coast

 

Large red tide bloom off Sanibel coast

Oct 26, 2011 5:42 PM EDT

SANIBEL ISLAND, FL -

Recent satellite images are showing a large red tide bloom off five miles off the coast of Sanibel Island.

State biologists are reporting the bloom to be 25 miles long and 10 miles wide.

Water samples have confirmed the presence of red tide in Pine Island Sound, Placida Harbor and Charlotte Harbor, as well as in low concentrations at Port Boca Grande.

Water samples were clean in Collier, Sarasota, Manatee, Hillsborough, and Pinellas counties.

No dead fish have been spotted.

FWC will release the next set of test results on Friday.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] BOTULISM, FISH, AVIAN - CANADA (02): (ONTARIO)

 

BOTULISM, FISH, AVIAN - CANADA (02): (ONTARIO)
**********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

Date: Mon 24 Oct 2011
Source: The Barrie Examiner, QMI (Quebec Media, Inc) Agency report [edited] <http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3344545>

Type E botulism to blame for bird deaths, MNR says
--------------------------------------------------
About 1000 dead birds washed up on along a 3 km [2 mi] stretch of Nottawasaga Bay shoreline on the weekend [22-23 Oct 2011].

Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) clean-up crews were in the Wasaga Beach area on Monday [24 Oct 2011] to dispose of carcasses on provincial park property.

The largest number was found near Allenwood Beach, northeast of the main beach area. At least 1000 dead birds had washed up on shore.

The ministry hasn't done a survey to confirm how many birds washed up as of Monday, but MNR spokesman John Cooper says the number is unusually high for this area.

Cooper says this sort of die-off -- in terms of time of year and species -- is typical of type E botulism, a potentially fatal form of bacteria. "We had a much smaller die-off at this time of year last year [2010] in this area," said Cooper, adding there were hundreds last year as opposed to thousands this year.

The ministry received sporadic reports of dead fish and birds beginning in late August 2011, but cases increased in frequency and distribution in the past month, with the steepest increase in dead birds occurring at the end of last week and over the weekend [21-23 Oct 2011].

"We've had some recent stormy conditions that have washed many of these birds up on shore," said Cooper, adding it appears the birds were already dead when they washed up.

"It's a factor of wind currents, with the strong winds we've had recently, because these are birds that normally would be out in the deeper water," Cooper said.

Reports from the public suggest the birds are mainly long-tailed ducks, but also include loons and grebes, he added.

"These aren't birds that are in the marshes or shallow areas along the lakeshore," Cooper said "They could be dying out there and their bodies may never make it to shore."

In an earlier interview, Cooper said botulism is a "naturally occurring event" and little is known about the ecology of the bacterium which produces the botulism toxin.

The bacterium naturally occurs as harmless spores in lake-bottom sediment. Under certain conditions -- rich nutrient source, lack of oxygen, and optimum temperature -- the bacterium begins producing the toxin. It then enters the food chain, primarily affecting birds and fish.

Some birds likely ingested the toxin by eating bottom-feeding fish which have died and floated to the water's surface. In the case of the long-tailed duck, they dive and pick up food from the bottom of the lake, making it more likely for them to ingest the toxin. Cooper says this is the largest bird die-off the Georgian Bay area has seen, but there have been much larger die-offs in the Great Lakes, pointing to a case in eastern Lake Erie about a decade ago when about 18 000 birds died. The fish die-offs include channel fish, freshwater drum, carp, and lake whitefish.

Wasaga Beach Provincial Park staff have disposed of about 120 dead sturgeon. Cooper says sturgeon, and other fish that swim and feed along the bottom, are most prone to contamination.

Samples were sent to the University of Guelph on 6 Oct 2011 to test for fish and bird diseases, including the type E botulism toxin, which Cooper says is quite likely the cause. The ministry is still waiting for results. Cooper says the botulism toxin takes effect within a day and people should be wary of abnormally behaving fish and birds. [How interesting! The title leads one to believe that type E botulism has been confirmed, and this paragraph says, "quite likely‚" clearly indicating that it has not been officially confirmed. - Mod.TG]

He says the toxin is very susceptible to heat and fish should be cooked thoroughly.

Cooper says the bacteria become active in dead organisms, so the ministry is advising people to keep their children and pets away from dead animals on the shoreline.

The ministry is cleaning up provincial park land and private landowners are responsible for disposing of fish or birds on their property. Cooper says there are 3 options: leave the carcass and let it decay, bury it, or double-bag it for municipal waste pickup. [If the birds and fish are left to decay, then the problem only perpetuates itself. As maggots move into the carcasses those maggots are perfect food for other birds. As those birds come to feed they are ingesting the botulism and there will be more dead birds. Leaving the dead carcasses is not only smelly, but causes the die off to be much larger. - Mod.TG]

He says if landowners choose to dispose of the birds, they should wear gloves and wash up after.

Cooper says these birds and fish don't pose a health risk to humans and the toxin is not in the water.

Several members of the Hamilton Conservation Authority parks management were at a local conference and stopped by the Allenwood Beach to see if the dead birds were still on-site Monday [24 Oct 2011].

Evidence of zebra mussels convinced Bruce MacKenzie, Hamilton Parks superintendent that Lake Huron was suffering the same fate they had in Lake Erie in 2004.

"It has to be the right water conditions, and a whole bunch of things have to line up," said MacKenzie. "But when I saw the zebra mussels -- they look like little crabs -- that's what we were seeing, too."

MacKenzie said they filled a 40-yard [37 m] dumpster with dead ducks and loons from a 16 km [10 mi] stretch along the Burlington Skyway Bridge that allows Fort Erie to empty into Lake Ontario.

"It seems to be a fall thing," he said.

Together with park manager Brian Hall, they walked along the stretch of Allenwood Beach where the birds had washed ashore last Friday [21 Oct 2011]. Hall explained that in 1988, indiscriminate ships from Europe that were supposed to empty their ballast (holds) out at sea, left it too late and dumped their dirty water -- including zebra mussels and another invasive species called the goby fish -- into the Great Lakes.

[Byline: Kristen Smith]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap alerts
<promed@promedmail.org>

[This appears to be a more detailed article than the piece that was posted on 23 Oct 2011 (archive no 20111023.3153).

For a more detailed look at the botulism situation, readers are referred to the moderator's comment in ProMED-mail post 20111009.3031.
- Mod.TG]

[Georgian Bay can be located on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at <http://healthmap.org/r/1mZ->. - Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]

[see also:
Botulism, fish, avian - Canada 20111023.3153 Botulism, avian - USA (04): (NV) 20111009.3031 Botulism, avian - Canada: (AB) 20110818.2502
2008
---
Botulism, avian - Canada: Great Lakes 20080103.0031
2004
----
Botulism, birds, fish - Canada (Lake Ontario): susp. 20040825.2376
2002
----
Botulism, fish, birds - Canada, USA (Lake Erie) (03) 20021209.6023 Botulism, fish, birds - Canada, USA (Lake Erie) (02) 20021011.5519 Botulism, fish, birds - Canada, USA (Lake Erie) 20021010.5508
2001
----
Botulism, fish, birds - Canada & USA 20010901.209
2004
----
Botulism, birds, fish - Canada (Lake Ontario): susp. 20040825.2376
2002
----
Botulism, fish, birds - Canada, USA (Lake Erie) (03) 20021209.6023 Botulism, fish, birds - Canada, USA (Lake Erie) (02) 20021011.5519 Botulism, fish, birds - Canada, USA (Lake Erie) 20021010.5508
2001
----
Botulism, fish, birds - Canada & USA 20010901.2095] .................................................sb/tg/mj/dk/ll
*##########################################################*
************************************************************
ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the
information, and of any statements or opinions based
thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in
using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID
and its associated service providers shall not be held responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted or archived material.

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[MARINE_BIOLOGY_INTERNATIONAL] An online global map of coral and zooxanthellae data for climate change study is

 

Honolulu, HI - A team of researchers from the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) have developed an interactive global map of corals and zooxanthellae as part of a hybrid web application titled GeoSymbio. This application provides global-scale biological and ecosystem information on symbiotic zooxanthellae called Symbiodinium which are uni-cellular, photosynthetic dinoflagellates that live inside the cells of other marine organisms like anemones, jellyfish, and corals.

Symbiodinium are responsible for providing energy to their coral hosts which drives the deposition of calcium carbonate and results in the creation of coral reefs. The differential responses of corals and Symbiodinium types to environmental stressors have important implications for the resiliency of coral reef ecosystems to climate change. Dr. Tim McClanahan, Senior Conservation Zoologist for the Wildlife Conservation Society, stated that, "Given the pace of climate change and scientific developments around

Symbiodinium, GeoSymbio will catalyze the use of this knowledge towards increasing reef resilience and improved management decisions".

The genus Symbiodinium encompasses nine distinct genetic lineages or clades, with many sub-cladal types within each clade. The GeoSymbio application provides the genetic identification and taxonomic description of over 400 distinct Symbiodinium subclades in invertebrate hosts that have been sampled from a variety of marine habitats, thereby providing a wealth of information for symbiosis researchers in a single online location. By utilizing Google Apps, the team was able to develop this web-based tool to discover, explore, visualize, and share data in a rapid, cost-effective, and engaging manner.

GeoSymbio is the first comprehensive effort to collate and visualize Symbiodinium ecology, diversity, and geography in an online web application that is freely accessible and searchable by the public. To provide access to this information, GeoSymbio was designed to serve four basic functions: (1) geospatial visualization, (2) text-based queries, (3) knowledge summaries, and (4) downloadable data products for further analyses. The application structure draws information from a variety of digital sources and uses a suite of query and visualization tools, with the core of the application hosted remotely or "in the cloud" using Google Sites.

The application's development began in early 2011, when the HIMB researchers were tasked with compiling global data on coral-based Symbiodinium for analysis, as part of the "Tropical Coral Reefs of the Future" working group at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS).

In previous years, the team had created a database with approximately 2500 records of these Symbiodinium data from sources such as GenBank (the primary repository for Symbiodinium and all other organisms' genetic sequence information) and journal articles, however, the information was only accessible within the research group. This changed in 2011 when the research team decided to create and share a low-cost, integrative web application based on the symbiont database.

Erik Franklin, one of the lead developers of the project is excited about the product that he recently presented at the Environmental Information Management 2011 Conference. He stated that: "building the capacity to examine the diversity of Symbiodinium on coral reefs has global and societal implications for tropical nations and thus, the dissemination of this information is essential.

One of the major barriers to progress was that the geographic details of the Symbiodinium records were not documented well in existing databases, and our GeoSymbio app now resolves this problem and provides open data sharing". GeoSymbio provides the first and only web-based application for data discovery, visualization, and sharing of global-scale Symbiodinium research. This tool should expedite new insights into their ecology, biogeography, and evolution in the face of a changing global climate.

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