The Greater Caribbean Center for Ciguatera Research: Climate Change and Human Health

Michael Parsons1, Robert Sobol2, Donald M Anderson3, Mindy Richlen4, Deana Erdner5, Alison Robertson6, Jennifer Pierce2, Jenna James2, Casey Daniel2, Tyler B Smith7 and Janel Lowman2, (1)Florida Gulf Coast University and the Greater Caribbean Center for Ciguatera Research, The Water School, Fort Myers, FL, United States, (2)University of South Alabama, Department of Pharmacology and Mitchell Cancer Institute, Mobile, AL, United States, (3)Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Biology, Woods Hole, MA, United States, (4)Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Center for Oceans and Human Health, Biology, Woods Hole, MA, United States, (5)University of Texas, Marine Science Institute, Port Aransas, TX, United States, (6)Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Dauphin Island, United States, (7)University of the Virgin Islands, Center for Marine and Environmental Studies, St. Thomas, United States
Abstract:
The Greater Caribbean Center for Ciguatera Research (GCCCR) is one of the centers funded by the joint NSF/NIEHS Centers for Oceans and Human Health program (COHH3). The primary purpose of the GCCCR is to examine how climate change may affect ciguatera fish poisoning in the Greater Caribbean Region. Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is the most common form of phycotoxin-borne seafood illness across the globe, affecting tens of thousands of people annually. CFP is caused by the consumption of seafood (primarily reef fish) contaminated with ciguatoxins. Gambiertoxins, precursors of ciguatoxins produced by the (sub)tropical benthic dinoflagellate genus Gambierdiscus, enter reef food webs when herbivores and detritivores consume Gambierdiscus directly or indirectly by grazing on macroalgae. These precursor molecules are transferred to higher trophic levels by bioaccumulation, bioconversion and biomagnification until they reach predatory finfish species that are targeted in many commercial and recreational fisheries. When people subsequently consume the contaminated fish, they are exposed to the toxins, thereby experiencing CFP. Historically, CFP outbreaks have been linked with warm water temperatures and coral reef impacts, both of which are expected to increase in the setting of climate change. Consequently, CFP is predicted to increase on geographic and temporal scales. The goals of this center are to: 1) examine the role climate change may play in the geographic and temporal expansion of CFP into more temperate latitudes; 2) obtain a better understanding of the toxic metabolites produced by certain Gambierdiscus strains, and the subsequent transfer and biotransformation of these compounds into coastal/reef food webs; 3) study the genotoxicity and impacts on cellular metabolism caused by these toxins upon exposure in order to 4) better protect and treat people from this malady in an era of climate change processes. This presentation provides a brief overview of the activities of the three Research Projects and Community Engagement Core addressing these goals.
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