HARBOR BRANCH - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

HARBOR BRANCH MARINE MAMMAL SPECIALIST WILL DISCUSS POTENTIAL ROLE OF HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS IN MASS STRANDINGS

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) such as red tides produce some of the most deadly natural toxins known, and they appear to be increasing on a global basis. For this week's Harbor Branch Ocean Science Lecture, Dr. Gregory Bossart, director of the institution's Marine Mammal Research and Conservation group, will discuss the at times devastating impact of HABs on marine mammals. The talk will include a special focus on HABs potential role in mass stranding events such as recently occurred in the Keys and Ft. Pierce.

Marine mammal, seabird, and fish deaths stemming from HABs are a worldwide phenomenon. A variety of species of dinoflagellates, a type of plankton, are associated with HABs and all produce potent neurotoxins. Florida red tides often result in massive fish kills and marine bird losses. In 1996, at least 149 endangered Florida manatees died in an unprecedented event caused by inhalation of red tide toxin. In 2002 and 2004, mass mortality events involving Atlantic bottlenose dolphins occurred in the northern Gulf of Mexico, and these deaths were also attributed to Florida red tide toxins. Effects of HAB toxins on humans can include complete paralysis, respiratory distress, eye irritation, and even death. Similar signs are observed in marine animals.

Harbor Branch and other scientists are still working to determine if HAB toxins played a role in the recent mass stranding of rough tooth dolphins the Keys. Bossart and his colleagues have over the years developed unique methods for detecting even very small concentrations of toxins in marine mammals, so they are often involved in investigations surrounding mass stranding events.

Dr. Gregory Bossart came to Harbor Branch in 2000 as director of the Marine Mammal Research and Conservation group. Overall, he has spent 24 years working in marine mammal and avian medicine and wildlife pathology. In addition to working with animals in Florida, Dr. Bossart is also a clinical veterinary consultant to a number of South and Central American Institutions and conducts conservation outreach programs in Brazil, Mexico, Columbia, Belize, and Guyana. He received his doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978, and a Ph.D. in comparative immunology from Florida International University in 1995.

NOTE: THIS WEEK ONLY, THE FIRST TALK WILL BE AT 5:00 INSTEAD OF 4:00

Bossart will give his presentation, titled "Harmful Algal Blooms, Biotoxins and Marine Mammal Mortalities: An Emerging Crisis?", at the Johnson Education Center on the Harbor Branch Campus, 5600 US 1 North, Ft. Pierce, Fla., at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 30. For press inquiries, including interview and photo and b-roll requests, please contact Mark Schrope at 772-216-0390 or schrope@hboi.edu. Public questions about the series should be directed to the Marine Education Office at 772-465-2400 ext. 506 or education@hboi.edu.

Additional events in the series will be held on consecutive Wednesdays through April 13. Each talk is free to the public, and followed by a meet-the-speaker reception.

February 23 - John Reed - Deep Sea Reefs Discovered off Florida

March 2 - Edie Widder - Deep Scope: A Window into the Deep

March 9 - Megan Davis and Serena Cox - The Lobster Crawl: A Very Spiny Event

March 16 - Ned Smith - Upwelling and Downwelling in the Ocean: More Important Than You Might Have Thought

March 23 - Shirley Pomponi - After the Storms: Harbor Branch Moving Forward

March 30 - Greg Bossart - Harmful Algal Blooms, Biotoxins and Marine Mammal Mortalities: An Emerging Crisis? (Note: Lectures on this date will be at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.)

April 6 - Peter McCarthy - Marine Microbes: A New Resource for Biotechnology

April 13 - Kevin Gaines - Aquacultured Marine Ornamentals: Sustaining the Aquarium Industry

HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution was founded in Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1971 to support the exploration and conservation of the world's oceans. The institution has held to this mission and grown into one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions with a 500-acre campus, over 200 personnel, and a fleet of sophisticated research ships and submersibles.