Talk:Algal bloom

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Contents 1 Cleanup 2 Satellite image 3 References 4 Links

[edit] Cleanup

The intro is a majority of this article... we need to reorganize it. -- Anonymous 02:28, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

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I removed the italicized sentence:

Coastal pollution produced by humans appears to be a causal factor in red tides in some parts of the world, but red tides also occur in places where there are no associated human activities. Some red tides produce large quantities of toxins, which kill fish and are accumulated by filter feeders, like shellfish. This bioaccumulation of toxins is why one must be careful eating shellfish collected at certain times of the year.

Can someone find a reference backing this up? Surely this can't be true of all shellfish as that would include crab which are not filter feeders. This statement sounds like the adage that one should consume raw oysters only in months that end with 'r', but that concern is over bacteria – not cyanotoxins. Kent Wang 04:31, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I guess in many places crabs are considered "shellfish", so the statement really should read clams and oysters (specifically). You are correct that concern over bacteria in clams and oysters, especially where sewage contamination is a potential problem, is real. However, you are incorrect in associating the old adage(s) about safe and unsafe months in which to consume oysters has anything to do with bacteria. Reason it out. Eating oysters in certain months is a climatic thing related to blooms of phytoplankton containing toxins. These blooms are largely under control of climate and have been for a long time (months not ending in "r" are Spring and Summer months), predating human environmental influences in some cases (thus the adages). Harmful (to human consumers) bacteria come from human waste contamination. How that would be associated with certain months is difficult to imagine. I'd feel no safer eating an oyster collected from near a sewer outfall in December than I would in June. - Marshman 19:39, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I still disagree. Did you simply deduce this conclusion or have found actual scientific studies? The explanations for the 'r' rule that I've read in both Saveur and Cook's Illustrated attribute the origin of the rule to the increased chance of bacteria development in warmer seasons but they also state that as long as specimens are refrigerated properly the rule can be ignored (and that the rule only makes sense in the northern hemisphere), which indicates that algal blooms are not a common concern. I'd be happy with the inclusion of the statement if either scientific evidence is produced or if the statement is modified so that only those oysters collected in areas prone to algal blooms need be concerned. Kent Wang 18:32, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Of course I did not deduce it (I did not even add it to the article). I assumed the explanation was so well known to everyone living near certain sea coasts (I'm familiar with Northern California) that I find your explanation strange (who are Saveur and Cook?; are you in the Southern Hemsiphere?). Apparently there may be different explanations for different places/concerns. I'll need to get some references together, obviously. It would certainly NOT be safe to collect an oyster contaminated as result of a "red tide" and freeze it to make it safe. Of course the same would go for bacterial contamination, but safety there could be enhanced by vigorious cooking whether starting with fresh or frozen product. Your (or their?) comment as well about only making sense in the northern hemisphere is of dubious merit if bacterial contamination is of concern, although obviously the "r" rule would not pertain to southern hemisphere temperate zones or languages other than English for red tide concerns - Marshman 19:04, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC).

Saveur and Cook's Illustrated are two of the most popular magazines in the professional culinary world in the United States. I lived on Galveston Island on the Texas coast for seven years and have never heard of algal blooms to be a concern for oyster-lovers. Here's my proposed revised statement:

This bioaccumulation of toxins causes bivalves – like oysters and clams – collected in areas affected by algal blooms to be potentially dangerous for human consumption.

This wording ties the warning directly to algal blooms, not indirectly through seasons. Also, I just remembered that bivalve is really the term that you're looking for. The shellfish article explicitly states that it includes crabs, lobsters and shrimp. I love to eat shellfish and would hate for inaccurate warnings to unnecessarily discourage others from eating them. Kent Wang 03:12, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Your wording is just fine. I may add to it if I can get some refernce(s) for the "old adage" stuff, but for now, I would certainly agree we are talking only about 1) biivalves and 2)algal blooms. I love them all, but I'd prefer others go easy on consumption so I don't get left out! 8^) - Marshman 05:10, 16 Mar 2005 (UTC)

The article has been edited to reflect the above agreed upon wording. Kent Wang 05:47, 18 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Question: Years ago I was reading an article in The Economist, I am pretty sure it was about red tide, it had a headline that read something like: "A Known Killer, It's Killed Before, It'll Strike Again". The point was that the algae was killing fish intentionally (if I may so anthropomorphize). The mechanism being to poison fish, they fall to the bottom, and provide food for the algae. Was this red tide? Is it true? Kent Borg 5 June 2005.

[edit] Satellite image

While cleaning up the bloom article and turning it into a proper disambiguation page, I removed the rather fetching image that was on that page. Perhaps it can be of some use? I'm not familiar with the teritory, so I'll just stick it in here.

Bz2 23:38, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

I changed the picture from Nasa in the article to this one, because the algal bloom is easier to see than in the other one. BabySinclair 15:55, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] References

I corrected and revised the references today and inserted footnotes into the body of the text by using the <ref>-tag. Hope that was okay! Ioverka 01:19, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Links

I have noticed a lot of algal bloom in the UK recently and recall reading something about the damage it is doing to the ecosystem. Does anyone know of more information about this, possibly in the form of a link or a section on the subject? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.72.50.75 (talk) 16:17, 9 September 2007 (UTC)