Red Tide Control and Mitigation Grants

A minimum of three panel members will have red tide research experience and demonstrated scientific expertise in red tides. Each panel member will be appointed to renewable terms of three years. The Red Tide Control and Mitigation Panel will provide expert review of proposals. The FWRI Grants Committee will receive and consider these reviews and make final grant award recommendations.

The Red Tide Control and Mitigation Panel will participate in the following activities:

• Qualifications, experience, and demonstrated knowledge of the investigator(s);
• Project objectives: clarity, applicability to the grant program, reasonableness given project schedule, and investigators capabilities;
• Technical merit: design, methodology, and analyses;
• Appropriateness of the budget; and
• Overall importance.

Representation on the Red Tide Control and Mitigation Panel does not preclude that person's agency or organization, including the FWC representative, from submitting proposals for this program. However, panel members will not be permitted to evaluate or vote on proposals submitted by colleagues from the agencies or organizations they represent.

SOLUTIONS TO AVOID RED TIDE (START)

A Red Tide Control and Mitigation grant will be issued to Solutions To Avoid Red Tide (START) through the FWRI Grant Program to promote and publicize the Red Tide Control and Mitigation Grant Program. START will handle all meeting logistics for the Red Tide Control and Mitigation Panel. START is dedicated to promoting efforts for control and mitigation of red tide in an environmentally responsible manner and is committed to education outreach as its primary mitigation strategy. START is a member of the Red Tide Alliance that is comprised of Mote Marine Laboratory, the FWRI, and the Florida Department of Health.

For more information, please visit START's Web site at http://www.start1.com/

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS 2007–08

Control and mitigation – For the purposes of this grant program, "control and mitigation" is defined as projects or efforts that are designed to minimize the size, intensity, or duration of K. brevis blooms or reduce the environmental, economic, social, or public health impacts of future red tides in Florida.

Les Films de L’Espigaou - Production of a Film Documentary on Florida Red Tides for TV Broadcasting

Red tide research is the star of the show!

Florida red tide, and the progress made over the years by scientists involved in trying to understand this phenomenon, is certainly a fascinating story for the fortunate few that have the chance to know it. While the public in Florida is very interested and deeply concerned about red tide, that story and the knowledge shared by the scientific community has not yet been made widely available for their understanding. Wildlife documentary film director Julien Naar plans to help ease the effects of Florida red tide through an educational documentary film. Julien will work with red tide scientists and affected stakeholders to help tell the red tide research story through film.

Florida Department of Health - Florida Poison Information Center/Miami

Poison control, podcasts, and partnerships

The Florida Department of Health’s (FDOH) Aquatic Toxins Program, led by Andrew Reich, takes a multi-prong approach to protecting human health in regards to Florida red tide blooms. Working with the Florida Poison Information Center, directed by Dr. Richard Weisman, the Aquatic Toxins Hotline (1-888-232-8635) is a 24/7 toll-free health information resource for healthcare professionals and the public. Ongoing access and evaluation of the service will help to improve the hotline and provide current, effective outreach materials. Podcast training materials for health care professionals and marine resource managers will also be developed and made available through existing Web sites. To meet these goals, the project will partner the Aquatic Toxins Hotline with Mote Marine Laboratory, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Solutions To Avoid Red Tide, the FDOH, and the University of Miami.

Georgia Institute of Technology - Biological control of Karenia brevis toxicity

Can other organisms break down red tide toxins?

Dr. Julia Kubanek of Georgia Institute of Technology wants to better understand how phytoplankton living in the Gulf of Mexico affect the toxins produced by Florida red tide blooms. Her research will investigate whether exposure to other species can degrade brevetoxins, possibly representing a natural, biological control agent for Florida red tide, Karenia brevis, toxicity. A decrease in toxins produced by K. brevis could likely result in a decrease in the red tide’s negative impacts such as reducing fish and aquatic animal deaths and human respiratory irritations.

Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute - Examination of Fetal Uptake and Potential Developmental Effects of Brevetoxins in Mice

Human Health Research: Fetal Exposure

Based on previous research which showed Florida red tide toxins crossed the placental barrier, from mother to fetus, in mice, researchers at Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute plan to investigate what the effects of brevetoxin exposure are on mice fetuses. The tested mice will be divided into two groups to represent humans: one group of mice, equating tourists who are only recreationally exposed to red tide for short periods, and another group of mice that will serve as coastal residents who are exposed to low levels of red tide over a period of time. This research will help answer the question that many pregnant women ask each year during Florida red tide blooms: “Is it safe for me to be at the beach?”

Mote Marine Laboratory - Effects of brevetoxin exposure on signal transduction pathways in immune cells

Another piece in the public health puzzle

Dr. Cathy Walsh of Mote Marine Laboratory wants to learn more about the long-term effects of exposure to Florida red tide blooms. Previous research suggests that brevetoxins, the toxins produced by Florida red tide blooms, may affect parts of the human immune system. This study will examine response at the human cell level to determine if exposure to red tide toxins may lead to a decrease in immune function. Dr. Walsh’s results will help guide future research to develop methods for reducing harmful effects of brevetoxins to the human immune system.

Mote Marine Laboratory - Expansion of the Beach Conditions Reporting System to Collier County: Reducing the Public Health Impacts from Karenia brevis aerosols

The Beach Conditions Reporting System: Coming soon to a beach near you!

Researchers at Mote Marine Laboratory, led by Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, have developed a real-time Beach Conditions Reporting System to help decrease the human health effects of Florida red tide. This project will bring the reporting system to 10 beach sites in Collier County. With reports made twice daily at each site by beach park rangers and staff, Collier County residents and visitors will be able to determine beach conditions at their favorite beach via Mote Marine Laboratory's beaches hotline [941-BEACHES, (941) 232-2437] or from their Web site (www.mote.org/beaches) before heading out for a day at the beach. Because red tide blooms, once onshore, can be extremely variable, this system allows beach visitors to make informed decisions on which beach has minimal exposure to toxins. This project compliments previous systems that have been implemented in Pinellas, Manatee, Sarasota, and Lee counties.

Smithsonian Institution - Parasitic Amoebophrya sp. in Karenia species: Examining its presence and role in natural bloom decline, and its potential as biological control agent

What about something natural?

Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, is a dinoflagellate. Amoebophrya is a parasite that infects and kills other dinoflagellates. Dr. Mario Sengco of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center wants to find out if this parasite is found naturally within Karenia brevis cells and if it could potentially be used as a bloom control method. The benefit of discovering a natural biological control agent, such as a parasite, would eliminate the need to introduce new elements to Gulf waters for bloom decline. Parasitic infections by Amoebophrya prevent the host cells from dividing, and eventually result in the death of host cells in a short period, possibly two to three days.

University of Florida - Mitigation through strategic education and outreach

Polling the Public

Public discussions on how to relieve and control the effects of Florida red tide can become a bit heated. This research project, spearheaded by Dr. Sherry Larkin at the University of Florida, takes a look at the public perceptions of the various control and mitigation methods considered for use on Florida red tide blooms. Members of the research team will also estimate the economic value of each method and develop educational materials regarding each method. This project aims to address public concerns about red tide and better communicate existing information as well as to help natural resource managers with making informed policy decisions. For project updates, please visit http://plaza.ufl.edu/slarkin.

University of North Carolina at Wilmington - Mitigating the harmful effects of Florida red tides using brevetoxin-specific complexing agents

Cysteine to the rescue?!

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, the University of South Florida, and at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach are building on previous research to investigate a new approach to reducing the harmful effects of Florida red tides. Research has found that the amino acidcysteine and related compounds can react in seawater with the toxins produced by Florida red tide and thus act as detoxifying agents. This project will determine appropriate treatment doses, evaluate how long the compounds last in seawater, study the effects of these compounds on marine life, and evaluate how these compounds could be applied or dispersed for open water treatment and how much that would cost. This research is unique because it targets the toxins rather than the toxin-producing organisms.

University of South Florida - Measurement of Airways Inflammation in Asthmatic Children During Red Tide Exposure

What are the effects of red tide exposure to asthmatic children?

Some human health research has looked at the response of asthmatics over the age of 12 to red tide exposure. However, not much is understood about the response of younger children. Researchers at the University of South Florida will study airway inflammation in asthmatic children during periods of red tide. Scientists will study children’s exhaled air to look for airway inflammation. The process is non-invasive and useful in monitoring a person’s response to anti-inflammatory medications. The ultimate goal of this research will be to provide recommendations regarding appropriate medications for asthmatic children during red tide blooms.

University of South Florida - Nutrient controls contributing to Karenia brevis blooms in the Gulf of Mexico

Part of the nutrient question.

Florida red tide blooms are extremely complex. Determining bloom dynamics and identifying what nutrient and environmental conditions contribute to blooms will greatly help control and mitigation efforts. Researchers at the University of South Florida and Old Dominion University have developed a project that will investigate one piece of the nutrient puzzle. Dr. Jason Lenes and Dr. Margaret Mulholland will test their theory that increasing the amount of the nutrient silica in an ecosystem will favor the growth of other, more beneficial phytoplankton species rather than Karenia brevis. They also hypothesize that this shift will reduce the abundance of prey items for Karenia brevis to feed upon. These experiments will help us to better understand the complicated process of red tide bloom growth and maintenance in the Gulf of Mexico and may lead to a shifting point where nutrient ratios could be altered to control these large blooms.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - Estimating the Socio-Economic Costs of Mitigating Respiratory Ailments Caused by Florida Blooms of Karenia brevis

What are the costs of red tide related respiratory irritation?

The economic cost of Florida red tide can be hard to determine, but researchers at the Marine Policy Center at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are tackling this problem by looking specifically at one piece of the economic puzzle. They, along with researchers at Mote Marine Laboratory and the University of Miami, will focus on the economic damages and management costs associated with human respiratory irritation that is a consequence of aerosolized toxins from a red tide bloom reaching the coast. This information can be useful in minimizing these costs in the future.