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Science
Friday > Archives
> 1999
> January
> January 22, 1999: Live from Anaheim, CA
American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting
Hour One: Ocean Diseases
Yes, we know it's cold and flu season. But parts of the oceans are sick, too, and they can't curl up in bed with a cup of chicken soup. Ocean diseases seem to be spreading, and scientists aren't sure if these are simply isolated occurrences or a sign of a larger problem ... and some diseases in the ocean could affect your health. | Water-borne diseases, such as cholera, have been around for a long time. But scientists are increasingly becoming aware that the ocean harbors other bacteria and viruses as well - many of them unstudied - and are beginning to study how these ocean-borne diseases may affect people.
There are many ocean-borne diseases that can affect ocean life. In the 1960's, oyster harvesters off the shores of Maryland typically caught between two and three million bushels a year. But then a parasite, Perkinsus marinus, made its way up the coast from southern waters. That parasite causes a disease called Dermo - and over the past eight years, the annual oyster catch off the Maryland coast has averaged only 150,000 bushels a year. | 
A cluster of Maryland oysters. | MSX, a disease caused by another parasite, is infecting some of the same populations. Scientists are studying the spread of both diseases, and trying to figure out whether or not their spread is related to shifts in ocean surface temperature. | In the 1980's, a water-borne pathogen wiped out a type of sea urchin, causing dramatic shifts in parts of reef ecosystems. Now there appears to be an increase in diseases affecting coral. One fungal disease has been reported to cause lesions and tumors that can destroy entire reefs.
Are there actually more ocean diseases around, or are we just noticing them more? Or might there be another factor - a change in ocean temperature, salinity, or something else - that is making ocean species more susceptible to infection? | 
Coral reef image courtesy ICRI. | On this hour of Science Friday, live from the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Anaheim, we'll talk about diseases in the ocean, their causes, and whether or not these ocean diseases might somehow be harmful to humans.
Listeners respond to this program
Guests:
Rita Colwell
Director, National Science Foundation
Past President, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute
Arlington, VA
Drew Harvell
Professor, Ecology and Systematics
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY
James Porter
Professor of Ecology and Marine Science
University of Georgia
Athens, GA
Eileen Hofman
Professor of Oceanography
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
NOAA's National Ocean Service
Cholera Info from
the FDA's Bad Bug Book
International Coral Reef Initiative
NOAA Reports
on Coral Health
This segment produced by:
Annette Heist
Web producer:
Charles Bergquist
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