Unauthorized use is prohibited.Įven at relatively low levels, K. Louisiana and Alabama cases tend to appear more rarely, often only when hurricanes push blooms northwest from southwest Florida. In Texas, they used to bloom every ten years, but now appear every three years. Richard Stumpf, an algal blooms expert at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), says red tides tend to occur in Florida every year. With their characteristic red color, these red tides affect Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas. These blooms release massive amounts of brevotoxin into the ocean. When environmental conditions, like temperature, nutrient levels, and wind, are right, the algae population explodes and huge blooms form. ( Read more about red tides in Australia.)Ī type of toxic algae, Karenia brevis, lives in the Gulf of Mexico throughout the year at low concentrations. In each of these locales, a different microorganism-present at low levels normally-generates the algal bloom when conditions align.
Within the United States, red tides occur most commonly in the Gulf of Mexico, off California, and in the Gulf of Maine. The algae color ranges from rusty orange to green to bioluminescent, depending on the pigment of the cells and local atmospheric conditions. And despite the name, not all red tides are red. These microscopic forms of algae produce toxins that can sicken humans and be fatal for marine animals. What is a red tide?Īt least three species of dinoflagellates and one diatom species are responsible for the toxic mess of red tides in the United States.
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