Water samples taken along Southwest Florida coasts show levels of the algae associated with red tide - Karenia brevis - range from 10,000 cells per liter to more than 1 million cells per liter.ĭead fish: Red tide numbers strong as fish kills reported throughout Naples-Collier areaĭead eels: The slithery creatures are washing up on Fort Myers, Naples beaches. Petersburg and Naples, according to data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The worst water samples are along Florida's West Coast, between St. With spring break just days away, red tide has been reported in several Florida locations, bringing respiratory problems to some and fish kills to some beach hot spots. Photo credit Kevin Bright.Watch Video: Red tide may have killed the dead fish washing ashore in SW Florida Gonyaulax bloom near Anacortes, WA, July 2014. Ulva bloom on Sand City Beach in Monterey Bay, CA, July 2014. King's Harbor in Redondo Beach, March 2011. Smith.ĭense, green bloom of Tetraselmis spp. Kisfaludy.ĭolphins swimming through a dense bloom of Tetraselmis off San Diego, CA. This bloom has been an annual occurrence since 2010. Photo credit EOPS, July 31.ĭense, green bloom of Tetraselmis spp., a prasinophyte, during August 2012 at Scripps Pier, La Jolla, CA. Toxic Akashiwo bloom in Sinclair Inlet, Puget Sound. Toxic Akashiwo bloom in Case Inlet, Puget Sound.

Herum.Ībalone and gumboot chitons killed by bloom of Gonyaulax (above). Foam produced by the bloom stripped feathers of their waterproof coating.īloom of the toxin-producing dinoflagellate Gonyaulax, off of the Sonoma coast. The yellow staining on the feathers of this Pacific Loon was caused by a non-toxic Akashiwo bloom. October 2015.Ī dense bloom of microcystis in Pinto Lake, Watsonville, CA. Gurkse.ĭo you have Harmful Algal Bloom or Red Tide photos that you would like to contribute to this page? Email us at bloom of Alexandrium in the San Lorenzo River, Santa Cruz, CA. Johnson.Īlexandrium catenella bloom in the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge, Fremont, CA. Red tide seen near Fort Bragg, CA, October 7, 2011. May 2011.Īkashiwo sanguinea bloom, Monterey Bay, October 2010.īloom seen near Devil's Slide, south of San Francisco, in October 2012. Many dinoflagellates are bioluminescent.Ī dense Noctiluca bloom in Monterey Bay, California. Photo credit E Kisfaludy.ĭinoflagellate bloom at night. Whale swimming in Lingulodinium bloom, photographed from a small plane.

Lingulodinium bloom, photographed from a small plane. Still others negatively impact the system indirectly by depleting oxygen, blocking sunlight, or interfearing with the waterproofing of seabird feathers.Ĭlick here for a list of toxin-producing phytoplankton. Some species cause fish kills by clogging or lacerating fish gills. Some phytoplankton species produce toxins, which can affect humans, fish, marine mammals and seabirds. There are a number of ways in which algal blooms can have a negative impact and be considered harmful. Discoloration of the water alone is not an accurate way to determine whether harmful conditions are present. Some red tides in California are harmless, while others may contain toxins or be detrimental in other ways. In California, red tides generally occur in the fall. Very dense blooms can change the color of ocean water, leading to red (or brown, or orange) tides. Algal blooms occur when environmental conditions allow explosive growth of phytoplankton.

Red algae bloom