Toxic algae bloom off West Coast might be largest ever: scientists

Victoria Cavaliere PlanetArk 17 Jun 15;

A toxic algae bloom in the Pacific Ocean stretching from California north to Washington state might be the largest ever detected off the U.S. West Coast, scientists said on Tuesday.

The bloom, which first appeared in May, involves microscopic algae that produce a neurotoxin potentially fatal to humans called domoic acid, according to researchers at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Levels of domoic acid in California's Monterey Bay are some of the highest scientists have ever observed, Raphael Kudela, professor of ocean sciences at the Santa Cruz campus, said in a statement.

"The domoic acid levels are extremely high right now in Monterey Bay, and the event is occurring as far north as Washington state," he said. "It appears this will be one of the most toxic and spatially largest events we've had in at least a decade."

Researchers are concerned that shellfish and other marine life, including razor clams, crabs, hake and West Coast sardines, could have elevated levels of domoic acid.

The acid has been responsible for several deaths and has sickened more than 100 people, according to the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Fish and shellfish can accumulate the toxin without ill effect, the agency said, but in humans it crosses into the brain and interferes with nerve signal transmission.

Earlier this month, Washington authorities closed crab fishing from the border with Oregon through southern Washington because of elevated marine toxin levels, the agency said in a statement.

This week, a team of scientists set out from Oregon in a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel to study the bloom, the agency said on Tuesday.

Scientists will try to determine whether the massive size of the bloom is linked to this year's warmer-than-average water conditions from Washington to Southern California, the agency said.

The ship will sample water from the Mexican border to Vancouver Island, the Seattle Times reported.

(Editing by Peter Cooney)

Hordes of red crabs wash up on Southern California beaches
Marty Graham Reuters Yahoo News 18 Jun 15;

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of tiny crabs have been washing up on Southern California beaches, marring the sandy coastline with streaks of red, as warm ocean currents carry them farther north and closer to shore than usual, officials said on Wednesday.

The red tuna crabs have been dying in hordes on beaches from San Diego to Orange County, although some have been washed back out to sea alive.

Such strandings take place periodically and are not necessarily a threat to the species, according to Linsey Sala, collection manager for the Pelagic Invertebrates Collection at the University of California, San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography,

"This is definitely a warm-water indicator," Sala said. "Whether it's directly related to El Nino or other oceanographic conditions is not certain."

Scripps has cautioned people not to eat the crabs because the creatures may have ingested toxin-producing phytoplankton.

Scientists have noted the presence of a toxic algae bloom in the Pacific Ocean stretching from California north to Washington state that might be the largest ever detected off the U.S. West Coast. Sala could not say if the crab strandings might be related to the algae bloom.

The crabs are unusual in that they can spend most if not all of their lives free swimming in the water column rather than close to the bottom, although larger adults will make excursions to the seafloor, Sala said.

The plankton-eating crabs, native to the waters of the Gulf of California, Baja California and the California Current, are one to three inches (2.5-7.6 cm) long and resemble tiny lobsters. Their scientific name is Pleuroncodes planipes and they also are known as pelagic red crabs.

"They are mostly grazers in the upper 200 meters (yards) of the ocean," Sala said. "Because they can swim in the water column, they can be transported by strong currents."

Warmer water brought them north and ashore, Sala said.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Will Dunham)