Heal the Bay Blog

We collected a sample of water off the Santa Monica Pier today, and got a bit of a surprise. Instead of the blue-gray water that we usually collect, a rusty, brownish-red liquid filled the collection jar. Welcome back red tide!

Aquarium staff has been bombarded with questions regarding what people perceive as “polluted water” these past few days. So here’s a little background on this interesting phenomenon.

The term red tide is a bit of a misnomer as the color of the water is usually not red, and the blooms are not associated with the tides. Hmm….ponder that wonder of science.

Red tides occur when there is a high concentration of mostly dinoflagellates, a small, single-celled phytoplankton that possess two flagella, or whiplike projections. The water appears as a rusty-brownish color as the light reflects off the accessory pigments in the cells of the numerous phytoplankton, or algae, floating on the surface.

Dinoflagellates reproduce by fission, meaning the single cell divides in half and then creates two new cells, and so on and so on as the population continues to grow exponentially. Under the right conditions the organisms can reproduce once a day, creating a massive population bloom. During the peak of the red tide there can often be tens or hundreds of thousands of dinoflagellates in one drop of water.

This phenomenon can occur all over the world, and about 200 species are known to cause the red tide. However, during a red tide other organisms aside from the dinoflagellates have been found, such as cyanobacteria and diatoms.

Contrary to what many believe, not all red tides are harmful. But to be clear, many can cause adverse health effects.

Many of the dinoflagellates that are responsible for these occurrences are simple organisms. However about a third of the species causing red tides have the ability to produce toxins as metabolic by-products.

During a toxic bloom, mussels, clams and other shellfish that filter feed plankton as a food source, end up concentrating high amounts of the dinoflagellates and can tolerate the toxins by storing it in digestive glands or other tissues. However, when people eat these animals they can suffer nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, tingling or numbness. Fatalities can occur in the most severe cases. This is known as Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) and one species of dinoflagellate in the genus Alexandrium is the culprit. That’s the reason behind the annual mussel harvesting quarantine along the entire California coast from May 1- Oct. 31.

Red tides are unpredictable and the causes of them are not entirely known, however, red tides have been occurring more frequently. Some factors that may contribute to the blooms are reduced salinity, optimal light and nutrients, warm surface temperatures, transport in ballast water of ships and pollution. Sewage and fertilizer found in urban runoff contribute a high level of phosphates and nitrates into the ocean environment. Burning of fossil fuels also contributes to the amount of nitrogen, and is considered the greatest source to the open ocean environment. Excessive amounts of these nutrients cause the primary producers to grow rapidly.

Primarily a problem in coastal habitats, the algae grow quickly and reduce the amount of sunlight that is able to penetrate to the bottom. As the phytoplankton blooms and then dies, and as metabolic wastes builds up from the zooplankton and fish that feed on the abundant phytoplankton, decay bacteria break down the matter and in the process use up the oxygen. Also, due to the turbulence in the water the decaying phytoplankton become crushed and create a foaming effect on the shore.

What does all this mean to the beachgoers and lovers of the sea? Some believe that swimming, boating, or breathing sea spray that is affected with red tide organisms can cause eye irritations, skin discomfort and sore throats, so be careful out there! But do go out there and check it out. It’s pretty amazing.

Oh, and if you have the chance to visit the ocean at night, check out the bioluminescence that occurs in the waves. These dinoflagellates can take energy from a chemical reaction and convert it to light energy so that they produce an awesome blue-green light that looks like a fireworks show in the water.

Happy exploring!

—Vicki Wawerchak, Director, Santa Monica Pier Aquarium

Vicki Wawerchak, director of the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, has been chronicling the process of readying a very special marine artifact for exhibit. Below is the fourth and final installment about the prepping of whale baleen.

Previous installments in this series:

1. A Whale of a Tale (December 22, 2010)

2. Brushing Up On Our Baleen (January 5, 2011)

3. Unraveling the Mysterious Baleen (January 11, 2011)

I hate waiting. Especially if it is for something I am really excited about. So when we finished prepping the baleen for the drying-out process, the next step was to wait. And wait. And wait.

It was a bit easier because I wasn’t going to be at the Aquarium for a few days so I didn’t feel the need to check on it daily. But when I finally returned, I barely set my bag down and turned on the computer before I went to check on our newly prepped specimen.  (Baleen are plates with hard bristles inside a whale’s mouth that trap and filter small organisms for nourishment.)

And to our excitement, the marine artifact was drying perfectly. The bristles were straight, the color was good, and the piece did not curl. Whew! But now we had to wait a few more days before we could take it out of the contraption we designed.  We continued to monitor it daily because as the moisture evaporated from the baleen, the piece shrunk. That meant the C-clamps had to be tightened and the drying rack had to be readjusted.

As a scientist who works with numerous live animals (including humans) every day, I have a few priorities. One is to ensure we provide an inviting, comfortable, safe, learning environment for students, the general public, volunteers and staff. The other is to ensure we provide a safe, healthy, high water quality habitat for all the animals we have on exhibit. From the smallest skeleton shrimp to our biggest bass, we want to make sure that the environment we create mimics their natural one. I do not take these tasks lightly.

The amount of care given to our live animals is replicated with our marine artifacts that we acquire through the many partnerships and relationships we have created through the years. The utmost care, attention to detail and responsibility needs to be executed when prepping and dealing with these artifacts. 

We understand that they were obtained from once-live animals and therefore we have an obligation to make sure we succeed not only in the prepping process, but also in how we use them for education. The room for error is small and at times the need to succeed can be overwhelming.

And succeed we did. We untied the lines that were holding the baleen plates together, carefully removed all the wood that we used to separate the baleen plates and slowly unscrewed the C-clamps.

What was left was a beautifully dried out specimen that is going to enhance our education capabilities. Most of the staff at the Aquarium had never seen a full section of baleen like this before, let alone used one this large as an educational tool. So, I am sure the passion and excitement that each one of them feels will come out when using the artifact to educate the general public about the majestic gray whales that migrate annually right off our beautiful coast.

Please visit the Aquarium during Whale of a Weekend, Feb. 19-20, to view the baleen first hand. Check back after the weekend to read how we used the baleen during education programs and how it was received. 

Vicki Wawerchak, director of the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, chronicles the process of readying a very special marine artifact for exhibit. Below is the third installment about the prepping of whale baleen, plates of hard bristles inside a whale’s mouth that trap and filter small organisms for nourishment.

Previous installments in this series:

1. A Whale of a Tale (December 22, 2010)

2. Brushing Up On Our Baleen (January 5, 2011)

After the final cleanout of the baleen plates, Aquarium staffers passed around ideas about how best to separate the individual plates to allow for adequate drying. Thoughts included everything from using cardboard, PVC pipe to plastic sheeting. We finally settled on using wood. We inserted the wooden boards carefully, again using the toothbrush to straighten out the individual bristles and to ensure they wouldn’t bend while securing the piece to the drying rack.

Meanwhile, we received an email from our contact at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito — the facility that gave us the baleen specimen — with more details about the animal whose baleen will soon be used to educate our visitors.

The carcass of the gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus, was floating between Alcatraz Island and Fort Mason in San Francisco, causing a hazard to vessel traffic in the Bay. The U.S. Coast Guard towed the body to a nearby beach, where Marine Mammal Center staff examined it. They determined the whale to be a juvenile male, estimated to be two to four years old.  While they noted lacerations typical of a great white shark bite, staffers guessed the wounds probably occurred post mortem. Cause of death was undetermined.

With the additional knowledge of the baleen’s origins, we turned our concern back to the specimen. We worried about the baleen curling during the drying process. To prevent this, we secured the whole plate with twine and tied it onto a plastic grating that we elevated on a board. The elevation of the baleen allowed for increased air circulation as well as a way to allow for any dripping that might occur. We then secured two L-shaped brackets on either side of the entire piece and used C-clamps to position the artifact to ensure the shape of the piece would not change as it lost moisture.

As we finished securing the baleen on our homemade drying rack, we moved the piece inside the Aquarium’s Green Room and set it up with a few fans to aid with air circulation and to speed up the drying process. And then the wait began … this step is going to take about two weeks. 

Check back next week to read about the unveiling – and see the final product.