The importance of human dimensions research in managing harmful algal blooms

Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2010. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 8 (2010): 75–83, doi:10.1890/070181.Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are natural freshwater and marine hazards that impose substantial adverse impacts on the human use of coastal and marine resources. The socioeconomic and health impacts of HABs can be considerable, thereby making a case for “human dimensions” research to support HAB response. Human dimensions research is multidisciplinary, integrating social science, humanities, and other fields with natural science to enhance resource management by addressing human causes, consequences, and responses to coastal environmental problems. Case studies reported here illustrate the importance of human dimensions research. Incorporating such research into the scientific agenda – as well as into management decisions of public agencies concerned with natural resource management, environmental protection, and public health and welfare – requires the development of both strategic guidance and institutional capacity. The recent development of a multi-agency research strategy for HAB response and a strategic plan for human dimensions research represent two important steps in this direction.This paper was developed with partial support from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science

Rapid Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detection of the Algal Toxin Domoic Acid

Domoic acid (DA) is a potent toxin produced by bloom-forming phytoplankton in the genus Pseudo-nitzschia, which is responsible for causing amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) in humans. ASP symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, and in more severe cases confusion, loss of memory, disorientation, and even coma or death. This paper describes the development and validation of a rapid, sensitive, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay test kit for detecting DA using a monoclonal antibody. The assay gives equivalent results to those obtained using standard high performance liquid chromatography, fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl high performance liquid chromatography, or liquid chromatography—mass spectrometry methods. It has a linear range from 0.1–3 ppb and was used successfully to measure DA in razor clams, mussels, scallops, and phytoplankton. The assay requires approximately 1.5 h to complete and has a standard 96-well format where each strip of eight wells is removable and can be stored at 4°C until needed. The first two wells of each strip serve as an internal control eliminating the need to run a standard curve. This allows as few as 3 or as many as 36 duplicate samples to be run at a time enabling real-time sample processing and limiting degradation of DA, which can occur during storage. There was minimal cross-reactivity in this assay with glutamine, glutamic acid, kainic acid, epi- or iso-DA. This accurate, rapid, cost-effective, assay offers environmental managers and public health officials an effective tool for monitoring DA concentrations in environment samples

Better Regional Ocean Observing Through Cross-National Cooperation: A Case Study From the Northeast Pacific

The ocean knows no political borders. Ocean processes, like summertime wind-driven upwelling, stretch thousands of kilometers along the Northeast Pacific (NEP) coast. This upwelling drives marine ecosystem productivity and is modulated by weather systems and seasonal to interdecadal ocean-atmosphere variability. Major ocean currents in the NEP transport water properties such as heat, fresh water, nutrients, dissolved oxygen, pCO2, and pH close to the shore. The eastward North Pacific Current bifurcates offshore in the NEP, delivering open-ocean signals south into the California Current and north into the Gulf of Alaska. There is a large and growing number of NEP ocean observing elements operated by government agencies, Native American Tribes, First Nations groups, not-for-profit organizations, and private entities. Observing elements include moored and mobile platforms, shipboard repeat cruises, as well as land-based and estuarine stations. A wide range of multidisciplinary ocean sensors are deployed to track, for example, upwelling, downwelling, ocean productivity, harmful algal blooms, ocean acidification and hypoxia, seismic activity and tsunami wave propagation. Data delivery to shore and observatory controls are done through satellite and cell phone communication, and via seafloor cables. Remote sensing from satellites and land-based coastal radar provide broader spatial coverage, while numerical circulation and biogeochemical modeling complement ocean observing efforts. Models span from the deep ocean into the inland Salish Sea and estuaries. NEP ocean observing systems are used to understand regional processes and, together with numerical models, provide ocean forecasts. By sharing data, experiences and lessons learned, the regional ocean observatory is better than the sum of its parts

The Pseudo-nitzschia bloom of May 2015 - Impacts on culturally and economically important fisheries of the Quinault Indian Nation

The people of the Quinault Indian Nation have been harvesting fish and shellfish on the coast of what is now Washington State for millennia. Of particular cultural and economic importance are two species, the Pacific razor clam, Siliqua patula, and Dungeness crab, Metacarcinus magister. In the spring of 2015, the largest bloom of toxic Pseudo-nitzschia genus (PN) diatoms yet documented came ashore on the west coast of the U.S. and began impacting shellfish and other marine animals. This Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) event was concurrent with a large warm-water mass that began developing in 2014 in the Gulf of Alaska eventually extending south and joining with warm waters generated by a developing El Niño in equatorial waters. The 2015 HAB eventually extended from SE Alaska to southern California generating significant amounts of the potent neurotoxin, domoic acid. The Quinault Nation was conducting ongoing regulated fisheries for razor clams and Dungeness crab in April, 2015 when HAB samplers including Quinault staff recorded increasing numbers of PN in surf water samples taken along the Washington coast. By May, razor clam samples were showing rapidly increasing levels of domoic acid and razor clam fisheries were closed by emergency regulation. Quinault clam diggers lost most of the month of May to domoic acid closure, generally one of the best harvest months. Closures expanded to the Dungeness crab fishery later in the summer ending harvest of this economically important species for tribal and non-tribal harvesters. Cultural and financial impacts from these HAB closures continued through 2015 deeply impacting Quinault and other communities on the Washington coast and beyond

Taking the Long View for Oceans and Human Health Connection through Community Driven Science

The most proactive approach to resolving current health and climate crises will require a long view, focused on establishing and fostering partnerships to identify and eliminate root causes of the disconnect between humans and nature. We describe the lessons learned through a unique scientific partnership that addresses a specific crisis, harmful algal blooms (HABs), along the northeast Pacific Ocean coast, that blends current-day technology with observational knowledge of Indigenous communities. This integrative scientific strategy resulted in creative solutions for forecasting and managing HAB risk in the Pacific Northwest as a part of the US Ocean and Human Health (OHH) program. Specific OHH projects focused on: (1) understanding genetic responses of tribal members to toxins in the marine environment, (2) knowledge sharing by elders during youth camps; (3) establishing an early warning program to alert resource managers of HABs are explicit examples of proactive strategies used to address environmental problems. The research and monitoring projects with tribal communities taught the collaborating non-Indigenous scientists the value of reciprocity, highlighting both the benefits from and protection of oceans that promote our well-being. Effective global oceans and human health initiatives require a collective action that gives equal respect to all voices to promote forward thinking solutions for ocean health

Exploring the Influence of Range Restrictions on Connectivity in Sparse Assessment Networks: An Illustration and Exploration Within the Context of Classroom Observations

Range restrictions, or raters’ tendency to limit their ratings to a subset of available rating scale categories, are well documented in large-scale teacher evaluation systems based on principal observations. When these restrictions occur, the ratings observed during operational teacher evaluations are limited to a subset of the available categories. However, range restrictions are less common within teacher performances that are used to establish links (anchor ratings) in otherwise disconnected assessment systems. As a result, principals’ category use may be different between anchor ratings and operational ratings. The purpose of this study is to explore the consequences of discrepancies in rating scale category use across operational and anchor ratings within the context of teacher evaluation systems based on principal observations. First, we used real data to illustrate the presence of range restriction in operational ratings, and the effect of this restriction on connectivity. Then, we used simulated data to explore these effects using experimental manipulation. Results suggested that discrepancies in range restriction between anchor and operational ratings do not systematically impact the precision of teacher, principal, and teaching practice estimates. We discuss the implications of these results in terms of research and practice for teacher evaluation systems