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One of the ways that ocean conservation can resonate with a broad population of people is to, for better or worse, make it self-serving. In other words, show a direct link between the ocean and mankind. Those involved in ocean conservation know that there is a shopping list as long as your arm of benefits derived from conserving our marine resources, but many are the result of an inter-related domino effect and sometimes those multiple degrees of separation can, for many people, seem obscure, thereby diluting the urgency of the cause. It becomes a bit more remote when it is a series of "if this happens, then this happens..."
So let's bring it home: Alzheimer's, AIDS, coronary artery disease, arthritis, diabetes, obesity.
These are just a few of the health conditions that scientists are turning to the oceans for treatment in the form of pharmaceuticals (medicinal drugs), nutraceuticals (vitamins and food supplements), and functional foods. Pharmacologists are studying many of the organic compounds found in the sea and discovering direct benefits to mankind in the form of preventative treatments or treatments of active conditions.
One such subject of study is algae in its many forms - from seaweed to red tides. Seaweeds have various levels of antioxidants which can be isolated and used as food supplements or as part of medical treatments for several conditions including coronary heart disease and cancer. Antioxidants serve to protect cells from other elements that would damage or destroy them.
Algal blooms, like "red tides", can kill fish through neurotoxins, but it's those same toxins that can be used to develop anti-inflammatory or anti-neurodegenerative compounds. Much like how medicines have been developed from unlikely sources like spider or snake venom, there are strides being made with algal-based neurological agents to develop treatments for HIV (particularly in response to drug resistance to some of the current drug therapies), arthritis, Parkinson's disease and many other conditions where prevention or treatment of nerve cells would be beneficial.
In many cases, marine-based compounds are beneficial when incorporated or synthesized with other molecules or chemicals, constructing new molecules that can be used to control cancer or serum cholesterol and other conditions.
According to a study, "The Odyssey of Marine Pharmaceuticals: A Current Pipeline Perspective," published in Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, "The global marine pharmaceutical pipeline consists of three Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs, one EU registered drug, 13 natural products (or derivatives thereof) in different phases of the clinical pipeline and a large number of marine chemicals in the preclinical pipeline. The preclinical pipeline continues to supply several hundred novel marine compounds every year and those continue to feed the clinical pipeline with potentially valuable compounds. From a global perspective the marine pharmaceutical pipeline remains very active, and now has sufficient momentum to deliver several additional compounds to the marketplace in the near future."
So, in a very direct way, the ocean saves lives. A healthy ocean means healthy humans. Ocean advocates know this to be true on a variety of levels, through a myriad of inter-related ecological systems or processes. But knowing that a healthy ocean could provide the treatment to perhaps save the life of a loved one from a debilitating or deadly disease - that can grab the attention of the uncommitted in a heartbeat.
Read more about algae's neuroprotective abilities.
Read more about potential marine-based anti-HIV agents.
We have all heard of the benefits of seafood; in particular the omega-3 fatty acids that are found in oily fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines. In fact, according to a recent article in TIME magazine, the market for omega-3 supplements has doubled since 2006, reaching $1 billion in sales.
One fish in particular, the menhaden, plays an important role in the production of omega-3. But its popularity has equated to overfishing and that has produced some definite negative consequences on water quality and other industrial fish populations.
Not a typical fish for the dinner table, the menhaden is a filter feeder and acquires its omega-3 potential by feeding on omega-3-rich algae. In addition to a general filtering of the water (up to 7 gallons per minute!), the menhaden helps to keep the level of algae in check. Algal blooms deplete oxygen, adding to the production of "dead zones" in the ocean. While the populations of menhaden being fished within its Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico range, have not necessarily reached a critical status, their reduced numbers have produced impacts that have been felt in other fisheries, like the Chesapeake Bay which wrestles with declining commercial fish populations due to dead zones.
But are there alternatives? One possible alternative being developed is the industrial production of the omega-3-rich algae on which menhaden feeds. Makes sense - just go to the source. As part of the emerging field of algae production (also an alternative to corn-based ethanol), it's been shown that omega-3 can be derived from algae in addition to flax seed and canola oils.
For fishermen who have been bringing in menhaden for years (it's also used for fishmeal for feeding poultry and farmed-raised salmon), a shift from commercial fishing boats to high-tech algae farms is not an easy or likely transition. This is part of the economic dilemma that we face when we consider what steps are necessary to protect species or the environment. As has been experienced in the automotive industry and other collapsed fisheries, important as these changes are, they are not without their major hurdles.
Click here to read the TIME magazine article by Tim Padgett.
Yin-Yang news for coral reefs. The bad news: the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a study that predicts that coral reefs in the Coral Triangle - a wide expanse that includes the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste - could be wiped out by the end of the century due to climate change. This would not only represent a tremendous loss of coral species, but also the fish that are supported by the reef ecology. And then there's the millions of people who depend on the reefs for food and other marine resources.
"This is the planet's crown jewel of coral diversity and we are watching it disappear before our eyes," said Catherine Plume, director of WWF's Coral Triangle Program.
Now the good news: One of the forces threatening coral reefs, due to increasing temperatures or human interaction, is the increased growth of algae that essentially smothers or crowds out coral species. Hawaii is planning on banning the taking of three species - parrotfish, chubs (a type of surgeonfish) and urchins - that feed on invasive algae. The ban, if approved by Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, starts with the island of Maui and would be a first for the state.
More good news: Japan is developing a new restoration process for re-planting coral reefs that involves growing coral polyps on ceramic pods and ensuring genetic diversity. While currently focused on Japanese reefs, the project with its new techniques hopes to expand to a worldwide level. As promising as their efforts are, it must be tempered with the need for addressing the problems that have brought coral reefs to the point where they require replanting techniques - coastal development, chemical pollution, and of course, climate change.
News bytes from Seaweb.org
The ocean is being bombarded from several directions and the effects can be not only predicted with computer models but can be seen right now first-hand. Some time ago I ran a post on the impact of domoic acid on wild life (and potentialy humans, too). Domoic acid is a toxin produced by phytoplankton algae and the issue presented in the post was that man's "treated" sewage waste products, pumped far off shore were, in essence, over-fertilizing the algae and thereby increasing the level of algae-based toxins.
We know about avoiding consuming shellfish during certain months due to annual concentrations of these and other shellfish toxins. And we avoid swimming in the ocean during periods of "red tides" when the phytoplankton population explodes. Unfortunately, sealife does not know or cannot avoid exposure and so there has been an increase in poisoned animals, in particular seals and sea lions which are susceptible to domoic acid's neurological effect..
Just this past weekend, a diver friend of mine opted for a hike at Palos Verdes peninsula in Southern California when dive conditions were not good. In just one hike around the point, he came across eight dead mature sea lions. All dead due to shellfish neuro-poisoning? Perhaps. in fact, based on reports from local marine mammal centers, very likely.
But treated sewage is not the only source of the problem. Algae can also be fed by the increasing levels of CO2. On the positive side, there are blueprints for algae-based alternative fuel plants to channel the greenhouse gases they produce during processing back into their algae crop. But outside of those controlled environments, in the open sky and open ocean, CO2 produces ocean acidification, which is gaining a lot of attention lately, and feeds the phytoplankton algae, adding to a vicious cycle.
Another example of the cascade effect of our actions, greenhouse gas emissions not only disrupt global temperatures and raise the ocean's ph level above acceptable limits, but also over-feed phytoplankton which impacts sealife and our commercial use of shellfish.
The growth of Nanotechnology - the science of developing compounds at an extremely small, molecular level - has brought some interesting developments, from new pharmaceuticals to our odor-eating, anti-bacterial socks. But with the emergence of this new field there also has grown concerns that it might turn out to be a substantially sharp two-edge sword.
Many of these new nano-compounds can enter the environment and scientists are just beginning to see the implications. When these compounds enter aquatic ecosystems, the impacts may appear very subtle at first because the components of the ecosystem affected are they themselves quite small. Scientists are looking at the effects of nano-compounds like various metals or carbon-based particles on aquatic bacteria, algae, and small fish.
As an example, one recent study indicated that "carbon black nanoparticles" affect the fertilization of brown algae. And there is concern that the silver nanoparticles used as an odor-remover in socks can, when released through machine washing, impact the bacteria that is necessary in breaking down organic matter - a very important function in water treatment facilities, lakes, rivers, and oceans. When any aquatic system loses its ability to consume organic matter, you are looking at a major and probably fatal disruption of the entire balance of the ecosystem.
While we focus on aquatic pollutants that are more visible - like plastics, crude oil, and discharged chemicals, we must also hold commercial science responsible for the effects of even the smallest of compunds that are entering the water, land, and air. I have great faith in science, but whether for commercial or purely research purposes, it must be held to the highest standards in balancing the rewards versus the impact on the planet.
The week-long International Coral Reef Symposium, being held in Fort Lauderdale, FL, wraps up today having brought together nearly 3,000 scientists to discuss issues and possible solutions to address the ongoing degradation of our coral reef ecosystems. Many of the results and discussions are making their way into scientific journals and newspapers worldwide.
You have all probably heard about how corals reefs have been negatively impacted by pollution, climate change, and the souvenir trade from the Caribbean to the South Pacific. The latest worldwide assessment of over 700 species shows 32.8% threatened with extinction, with a capital E. With the loss of these reefs, the inevitable domino effect follows with the loss of fish and other animal life - which carries an economic impact on tourism and subsistence fisherman in many of these tropical locales.
When I do underwater presentations as a volunteer diver at the Aquarium of the Pacific back home in Southern California, I try to impress upon the audience the importance of these marine ecosystems even though they may be thousands of miles away - they can never be "out of sight, out of mind."
- Non-biodegradable trash (plastic bags, styrofoam, etc.) and chemicals (oil, fertilizers) originating from the California coast, can travel thousands of miles to tropical locales.
- Carbon emissions and its subsequent effect on temperatures impact the coral in a variety of ways, from disrupting the symbiotic relationship of internally-stored zooxanthellae (single-celled algae) to an increase in external algae and bacteria that crowds out or kills coral species.
- Conversely, the loss of faraway coral reefs effects the chemical balance of the seas and the exchange of chemicals between sea and air, which in turn can affect temperature gradients, currents, and winds - all of which can impact us worldwide.
Just another example of all we're all connected - land, sea and air - from coral to humans, we're all part of Nature. Here's some links to learn more about what you can do: NOAA, Nature.org.
On 06/02/07, RTSea wrote: One of the issues we must address is how we are impacting our marine environments with methods that we have, in the past, thought were ecologically safe. Treated sewage discharged miles of shore is now found to be producing excess nitrogen which is fueling the growth of algaes, some of which are highly toxic and cause everything from rashes and coughing spells to advanced neurological problems and even death.
The Los Angeles Times wrote a sobering series of award-winning articles in August of "06 about this situation, titled "Altered Oceans." You can view an online multi-media presentation of the articles and/or purchase a DVD of the series by logging on to http://www.latimes.com and typing in Altered Oceans in the Search window.
We stand at an aquatic precipice, pushing our marine ecosystems to various tipping points and we are seeing the effects now - in Florida reefs denuded of coral and covered by algae and seaweed, ailing seal populations in Southern California crippled by domoic acid - an algae byproduct, and in "Fire Algae"-infested areas of Australia"s Great Barrier Reef.
The time to act is now.
One of the ways that ocean conservation can resonate with a broad population of people is to, for better or worse, make it self-serving. In other words, show a direct link between the ocean and mankind. Those involved in ocean conservation know that there is a shopping list as long as your arm of benefits derived from conserving our marine resources, but many are the result of an inter-related domino effect and sometimes those multiple degrees of separation can, for many people, seem obscure, thereby diluting the urgency of the cause. It becomes a bit more remote when it is a series of "if this happens, then this happens..."
In many cases, marine-based compounds are beneficial when incorporated or synthesized with other molecules or chemicals, constructing new molecules that can be used to control cancer or serum cholesterol and other conditions.
