The Health of our Fish and Our Bodies in Jeopardy

Now, more than ever plastics and toxins that are harmful to our health are contaminating the seafood we eat. For a long time it has been known that fish have been exposed to toxic chemicals in rivers and oceans the most wide spread being Mercury but garbage floating around is just as bad for us. "The ocean is basically a toilet bowl for all of our chemical pollutants and waste in general," says Chelsea Rochman, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis. "Eventually, we start to see those contaminants high up in the food chain, in seafood and wildlife." The problem of these toxins and garbage being present in the environment the fish live in is not only for the health of the fish but when the fish eat the plastic and we eat the fish, we are taking in harmful plastics and toxins from those plastics. "Plastics — when they end up in the ocean — are a sponge for chemicals already out there," says Rochman. "We found that when the plastic interacts with the juices in the [fish's] stomach, the chemicals come off of plastic and are transferred into the bloodstream or tissue." The fish on the marine plastic diet were also more likely to have tumors and liver problems. There is a lot of plastic floating around in the oceans where our food comes from. This is an awful problem, which will increasingly become a problem for both the fish and the humans who eat the fish. The Environmental Protection Agency does put out advisories to warn consumers when fish get contaminated with chemicals in local U.S. waters. But a lot of our seafood now comes from foreign waters, which the EPA does not monitor. Just a tiny fraction of imported fish get tested for contaminants.

Citation:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/12/12/250438904/how-plastic-in-the-ocean-is-contaminating-your-seafood

Sharks Return to Home

New research conducted in Bimini in the Bahamas spanning more than 2 decades has shown that female Lemon sharks returned to the place the were born almost 15 years after they were born. In the study the sharks born in Bimini returned there. They started the study in 1995 in which they captured, tagged, and released more than 2000 baby sharks over the almost 20 year study conducted. This 20-year study has been the first to prove that natal philopatry and long term fidelity to parturition sites in sharks. "We used each shark's individual DNA fingerprint to construct a large family tree," explained Dr. Kevin Feldheim, the A. Watson Armour III Manager of the Pritzker Laboratory for Molecular Systematics and Evolution at The Field Museum and the lead author of the study. "We found that newborn sharks captured in the mid-1990s left the safety of the islands when they were between five and eight years old. Yet, despite leaving and visiting many other islands in their travels, these sharks 'remember' where they were born after a decade of roving, and are able to find the island again when they are pregnant and ready to give birth," Dr. Feldheim added. After this 19 year study it was easy for them to conclude that the sharks return to the place their born nearly 15 years later after being far away from that place since birth.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131205102202.htm

New Research

The ever-changing oceans have a rise of acidification occurring, which may propose a threat to many of the earth’s animals. The question many scientists are now asking is “Will the earths animals, especially oceanic, be able to survive these increases in ocean acidification?” While a tough topic to give a definitive answer, the problem occurring is proposing a threat to all animals, not just the ones in the ocean. While a definite threat, evolution tells us that it is possible to overcome such situations but it’s a matter of how fast they can adapt. At the University of California Santa Barbara, they have begun research on sea urchins to try and see fi they can adapt and survive in waters with higher acidity levels. They did specific research on the larvae of the sea urchins as well as fully-grown to compare the different tolerances and adaptations of them. As the urchin larvae’s grew in the higher acid water, researchers found that they developed smaller body sizes, which they can relate to the acid. This showed that something in the genetic makeup of the urchins, there is a tolerance for higher acidity. While this showed promise for certain species, they are not certain if it will apply for a majority of the oceans creatures. They believe that most can adapt but that most creatures will adapt too slow which can cause mass extinction of that animal. While it is interesting to view these tests, only time will tell which creatures will survive this difficult evolutionary segment.

http://www.popsci.com/article/science/can-marine-life-survive-more-acid-oceans-0

Marine Algae used for Biofuels

The Scripps Institute of oceanography at UC San Diego have developed ground breaking advances in a method to greatly enhance biofuel production in tiny marine algae. In order to obtain this feat they developed a method to genetically engineer a key growth component in biofuel production. These developments come from a need for everyone to depend on traditional bio fuels less. A large hurdle has been lipid production slowing advancements but Scripps has figured out a way to overcome that problem. They have used data of generic expression to target specific enzyme inside a group of microscopic marine algae known as diatoms. "These results demonstrate that targeted metabolic manipulations can be used to increase accumulation of fuel-relevant molecules. with no negative effects on growth," said Emily Trentacoste, a main developer on this. "We have shown that engineering this pathway is a unique and practical approach for increasing lipid yields." It is a huge scientific advancement. Just a few years ago it was said to be impossible to claim such a feat but it has been done now. As a main marine research institution in the US, it is fitting that Scripps is the school to develop such groundbreaking and innovative processes for the whole marine and fuel industry.

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2013/11/21/scripps.oceanography.researchers.engineer.breakthrough.biofuel.production

http://scoopsandiego.com/news/local/scripps-institution-of-oceanography-makes-advances-in-algae-to-biofuel/article_aa40ce4a-5233-11e3-a716-001a4bcf6878.html