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Introduction
In the Gulf of Mexico, there have been occurrences of an algae bloom, also called a
Red Tide. In these particular blooms, dinoflagellate Karenia brevis, is what has been growing
and causing damage to local aquatic life. This has caused the millions of deaths of fish and
various other animals, such as sea turtles and birds. These Red Tides have been studied before,
Scientists from the National Parks Service, and similar groups, began to research more
into this when there had been multiple reports of dead mammals along the Texas coast. Scientists
in Texas believed that the dead animals on the coast could be linked to the bloom. Algae blooms
generally can be harmful to animals, as well as humans. Other studies were being conducted on
blooms of this nature because of the growth of microorganisms, as well as their interaction with
other organisms. The researchers wanted to investigate and determine the potentially lethal
They researched this to see if there had been a link between the Red Tide of Karenia
brevis, also called K. brevis, and the dead animals on the coast. By studying this, scientists found
the first confirmed report of terrestrial mammalian wildlife mortalities related to a K. brevis
Because of the work done by the National Parks Service, there is more research into these
blooms, so now others can study why they occur and how to protect people and other organisms
from them. By studying them, they can know what these blooms will do and in turn, scientists
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can help make the Gulf of Mexico safer for wildlife, and safer for anyone or anything that will
interact or come in contact with the wildlife that is being affected by the blooms.
In order to obtain information on the algae, scientists gathered samples of the Red Tide
blooms, and they also used information on the dead coyotes and dogs from the veterinaries that
they were sent to. They checked to see if these animals had any infections or diseases prior to
coming in contact with the Red Tide bloom. Recently killed fish were also studied from a variety
of location along the coast. Sand and water sample were also taken from these sites. Studying the
effects of the bloom was done by using different tissue and liquid samples.
In terms of techniques that were used in gathering the data, the scientists used Liquid
Chromatography to study the Presence of brevetox- ins in canid tissues and fluids (Castle,
2013, pg. 956). They also monitored the toxins with a six-point system of calibration using a
Results
The data that was found from the results of the tests indicated that the brevetoxins from
the bloom were found in the bodily fluids as well as the tissues of almost all to the dead coyotes
and dog. These toxins were most often found in the liver of these animals. They also found that
multiple of the coyotes and dogs tested, there was a notable rise in mercury levels in their
kidneys, as well as their liver. In the samples of sand that they tested, in every sample, they found
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strong concentrations of the brevetoxin. This helps to show how potent invasive the blooms were
on that environment.
Much of the data that was observed by the scientist and the National Park Service was
closely aligned to what they had expected based on their hypothesis, although they found it
surprising that the samples of the sand from the various beach locations had a strong
Discussion
After reviewing the results, the scientists believed that the brevetoxins were the likely
cause of death of the coyotes and the dog. This was due to the intake of fish that had become
toxic due to contact with the Red Tide algae bloom. The fish that had been studied typically had
enough toxins to be considered to contain a lethal dose for a human, which would be considered
Because they did not have an extensive selection of dead animals, they were unable to
make any further investigation into the natural effect of the brevetoxins on other animals. Further
research would be necessary for the scientists to be able to come to a more firm conclusion. In
the future, scientist would hope to be able to study the effects of a toxin of this nature, without
Despite this being a fairly successful study, it did face some limitations. Some of the
potential limitations are that they did not have very many animals to study. Another hinderance is
that the Red Tide only occurs so often, so they are not able to study it at all times. Studying more
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animals, and a bigger population of potentially effected animals would make their finding more
concrete.
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Bibliography
Castle, K. T., Flewelling, L. J., Bryan, J., Kramer, A., Lindsay, J., Nevada, C., . . . Landsberg, J.
H. (2013). Coyote (Canis Latrans) And Domestic Dog (Canis Familiaris) Mortality And
Morbidity Due To A Karenia Brevis Red Tide In The Gulf Of Mexico. Journal of Wildlife
Diseases, 49(4), 955-964. doi:10.7589/2012-11-299