New research shows the red tide bloom in Southwest Florida this year did more than just kill hundreds of manatees. The toxic algae bloom also left some of the manatees that survived with weakened immune systems.
A significant number of weakened manatees were sent to Lowery Park in Tampa for rehabilitation last winter. The overwhelming majority were treated for exposure to Red Tide, a toxic algal bloom that killed 276 of the marine mammals.
Cathy Walsh with Mote Marine Laboratory studied manatees that were exposed to—but survived—Red Tide.
“So their immune system is suppressed and they will be less likely or have more trouble fighting off another other type stressor like an infection or something else,” Walsh said.
Her study found exposure to red tide made a certain type of immune cell in manatees less likely to multiply and it increased the number of molecules related to stress in their blood stream.
“You can be exposed to the toxin and still have it affect the animal without killing them,” Walsh said. “So, my study focused on what some of those sub-lethal effects are.”
To date, a record 770 manatees have died in Florida this year.
