Scientists identify second deadly Pfiesteria species

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(Pollution runoff from farms, especially concentrated animal feedlots, is

routinely cited as a source of Pfiesteria outbreaks.)

 

March 22, 2000

Web posted at: 11:47 a.m. EST (1647 GMT)

 

Researchers have identified a second species of Pfiesteria, a toxic microbe

responsible for killing millions of fish from Chesapeake Bay to the Gulf of

Mexico.

 

" For membership in the toxic Pfiesteria complex, they have to look like

Pfiesteria, they have to act like Pfiesteria, " said JoAnn Burkholder, a marine

scientist at North Carolina State University. " They also have to be capable of

producing toxins that cause fish disease and death. "

 

The second member of the complex, dubbed Pfiesteria shumwayae, was first

detected during a 1995 fish kill in North Carolina's New River estuary,

following a major spill of effluent from a hog-waste lagoon. Several years of

testing confirmed that the organism is toxic.

 

Researchers have identified several other Pfiesteria look-alike organisms, but

P. shumwayae is the first Pfiesteria-like organism to be able to attack and kill

fish. Burkholder co-discovered P. piscicida in 1989.

 

" Look-alikes don't mean anything, they are benign species, " she said. " There are

only a couple that trigger toxins in the presence of fish. " Burkholder believes

that other Pfiesteria-like species will be found as the ability to detect the

organisms grows.

 

Pfiesteria attacks fish and causes lesions on their flesh. The microbe is

generally found in closed river systems that do not have the same flushing

action as large bodies of water. In such stagnant systems, the organism thrives

on high concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus from various sources of

pollution.

 

The more scientists learn about Pfiesteria, the more insistent they are that the

issue of water degradation be addressed.

 

Pollution runoff from farms, especially concentrated animal feedlots, is

routinely cited as a source of Pfiesteria outbreaks. According to

anthropologists at the University of Maryland, farmers resent being labeled as

polluters and many view themselves as environmentalists.

 

" These farmers and environmentalists talk the same talk. They are equally

passionate about protecting the environment, " said Michael Paolisso, one of the

anthropologists. " Neither one wants to see the water or the land polluted. "

 

Burkholder supports the call for an alliance between industry, government and

the environmental community to fight pollution. Besides, she said, the source of

Pfiesteria outbreaks is watershed-specific, and human sewage is as much of a

problem as is farm pollution.

 

" We need to do more to curb both point and non-point pollution, " she said.

" Pfiesteria is just one sign of us not doing things well enough. The more we do

to protect water, the better it will be. "

 

http://www.cnn.com/2000/NATURE/03/22/pfiesteria.enn/index.html

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