Lessening the Hazards of Florida Red Tides: A Common Sense Approach
In the Gulf of Mexico, especially along the southwest Florida coast, blooms of the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis are a coastal natural hazard. The organism produces a potent class of toxins, known as brevetoxins, which are released following cell lysis into ocean or estuarine waters or, upon aerosol...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-07-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00538/full |
| _version_ | 1818176271031468032 |
|---|---|
| author | Porter Hoagland Barbara Kirkpatrick Di Jin Gary Kirkpatrick Lora E. Fleming Steven G. Ullmann Andrew Beet Gary Hitchcock Kate K. Harrison Zongchao C. Li Bruce Garrison Roberto E. Diaz Vince Lovko |
| author_facet | Porter Hoagland Barbara Kirkpatrick Di Jin Gary Kirkpatrick Lora E. Fleming Steven G. Ullmann Andrew Beet Gary Hitchcock Kate K. Harrison Zongchao C. Li Bruce Garrison Roberto E. Diaz Vince Lovko |
| author_sort | Porter Hoagland |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the Gulf of Mexico, especially along the southwest Florida coast, blooms of the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis are a coastal natural hazard. The organism produces a potent class of toxins, known as brevetoxins, which are released following cell lysis into ocean or estuarine waters or, upon aerosolization, into the atmosphere. When exposed to sufficient levels of brevetoxins, humans may suffer from respiratory, gastrointestinal, or neurological illnesses. The hazard has been exacerbated by the geometric growth of human populations, including both residents and tourists, along Florida’s southwest coast. Impacts to marine organisms or ecosystems also may occur, such as fish kills or deaths of protected mammals, turtles, or birds. Since the occurrence of a severe Karenia brevis bloom off the southwest Florida coast three-quarters of a century ago, there has been an ongoing debate about the best way for humans to mitigate the impacts of this hazard. Because of the importance of tourism to coastal Florida, there are incentives for businesses and governments alike to obfuscate descriptions of these blooms, leading to the social amplification of risk. We argue that policies to improve the public’s ability to understand the physical attributes of blooms, specifically risk communication policies, are to be preferred over physical, chemical, or biological controls. In particular, we argue that responses to this type of hazard must emphasize maintaining the continuity of programs of scientific research, environmental monitoring, public education, and notification. We propose a common-sense approach to risk communication, comprising a simplification of the public provision of existing sources of information to be made available on a mobile website. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T20:13:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1e69c1c3122a47eb8d767415b8c9f8bc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T20:13:32Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-1e69c1c3122a47eb8d767415b8c9f8bc2022-12-22T00:52:14ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452020-07-01710.3389/fmars.2020.00538536469Lessening the Hazards of Florida Red Tides: A Common Sense ApproachPorter Hoagland0Barbara Kirkpatrick1Di Jin2Gary Kirkpatrick3Lora E. Fleming4Steven G. Ullmann5Andrew Beet6Gary Hitchcock7Kate K. Harrison8Zongchao C. Li9Bruce Garrison10Roberto E. Diaz11Vince Lovko12Marine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United StatesGulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesMarine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United StatesPhytoplankton Ecology Program, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, Sarasota, FL, United StatesEuropean Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter Medical School, Truro, United KingdomDepartment of Health Management and Policy, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United StatesMarine Policy Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United StatesRosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United StatesGulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesSchool of Journalism and Mass Communications, San José State University, San Jose, CA, United StatesSchool of Communication, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, United StatesTetrad Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United StatesPhytoplankton Ecology Program, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, Sarasota, FL, United StatesIn the Gulf of Mexico, especially along the southwest Florida coast, blooms of the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis are a coastal natural hazard. The organism produces a potent class of toxins, known as brevetoxins, which are released following cell lysis into ocean or estuarine waters or, upon aerosolization, into the atmosphere. When exposed to sufficient levels of brevetoxins, humans may suffer from respiratory, gastrointestinal, or neurological illnesses. The hazard has been exacerbated by the geometric growth of human populations, including both residents and tourists, along Florida’s southwest coast. Impacts to marine organisms or ecosystems also may occur, such as fish kills or deaths of protected mammals, turtles, or birds. Since the occurrence of a severe Karenia brevis bloom off the southwest Florida coast three-quarters of a century ago, there has been an ongoing debate about the best way for humans to mitigate the impacts of this hazard. Because of the importance of tourism to coastal Florida, there are incentives for businesses and governments alike to obfuscate descriptions of these blooms, leading to the social amplification of risk. We argue that policies to improve the public’s ability to understand the physical attributes of blooms, specifically risk communication policies, are to be preferred over physical, chemical, or biological controls. In particular, we argue that responses to this type of hazard must emphasize maintaining the continuity of programs of scientific research, environmental monitoring, public education, and notification. We propose a common-sense approach to risk communication, comprising a simplification of the public provision of existing sources of information to be made available on a mobile website.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00538/fullharmful algal bloomFlorida red tideKarenia breviseconomic effectpolicy responsesocial amplification of risk |
| spellingShingle | Porter Hoagland Barbara Kirkpatrick Di Jin Gary Kirkpatrick Lora E. Fleming Steven G. Ullmann Andrew Beet Gary Hitchcock Kate K. Harrison Zongchao C. Li Bruce Garrison Roberto E. Diaz Vince Lovko Lessening the Hazards of Florida Red Tides: A Common Sense Approach Frontiers in Marine Science harmful algal bloom Florida red tide Karenia brevis economic effect policy response social amplification of risk |
| title | Lessening the Hazards of Florida Red Tides: A Common Sense Approach |
| title_full | Lessening the Hazards of Florida Red Tides: A Common Sense Approach |
| title_fullStr | Lessening the Hazards of Florida Red Tides: A Common Sense Approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lessening the Hazards of Florida Red Tides: A Common Sense Approach |
| title_short | Lessening the Hazards of Florida Red Tides: A Common Sense Approach |
| title_sort | lessening the hazards of florida red tides a common sense approach |
| topic | harmful algal bloom Florida red tide Karenia brevis economic effect policy response social amplification of risk |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00538/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT porterhoagland lesseningthehazardsoffloridaredtidesacommonsenseapproach AT barbarakirkpatrick lesseningthehazardsoffloridaredtidesacommonsenseapproach AT dijin lesseningthehazardsoffloridaredtidesacommonsenseapproach AT garykirkpatrick lesseningthehazardsoffloridaredtidesacommonsenseapproach AT loraefleming lesseningthehazardsoffloridaredtidesacommonsenseapproach AT stevengullmann lesseningthehazardsoffloridaredtidesacommonsenseapproach AT andrewbeet lesseningthehazardsoffloridaredtidesacommonsenseapproach AT garyhitchcock lesseningthehazardsoffloridaredtidesacommonsenseapproach AT katekharrison lesseningthehazardsoffloridaredtidesacommonsenseapproach AT zongchaocli lesseningthehazardsoffloridaredtidesacommonsenseapproach AT brucegarrison lesseningthehazardsoffloridaredtidesacommonsenseapproach AT robertoediaz lesseningthehazardsoffloridaredtidesacommonsenseapproach AT vincelovko lesseningthehazardsoffloridaredtidesacommonsenseapproach |