NOAA Fisheries announced the discovery of a link between blooms of harmful algae called red tides and conditions with low or no oxygen (hypoxia).
The discovery comes from a recently published study reporting that in areas where red tides occur from early summer to fall, hypoxia was more likely to be observed, according to an April 26 release.
“What we now better understand is why some red tide events are more severe than others, particularly for fish,” Brendan Turley, a University of Miami scientist, said in the release. “For example, during the event in 2005, it was estimated that about 30 percent of the red grouper population was killed.”
The red tide phenomenon is seasonal, and hypoxia is observed sometimes, the release reported. Hypoxic conditions are incompatible with most marine life, so the red tide-hypoxia events can wreak havoc in marine ecosystems, causing mass death among marine organisms.
Scientists are concerned the red tide-hypoxia events will be facilitated by the conditions enforced by climate change, according to the release. NOAA scientists and other groups are working to predict these changes and events so that communities can plan ahead and thus increase their resiliency.
Researchers from NOAA and the University of Miami Rosenstiel School’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies worked on the paper, the release said.
