THE RED TIDE — SMITH 377 



future time the plague of dead fish would return and with it a public 

 clamor for a solution. 



These expectations were partly realized in 1952 when a fresh but 

 minor outbreak occurred. About the middle of September 1953 

 further red tide was reported and this continued at intervals through- 

 out the winter and in the spring and summer of 1954. The new 

 alarms brought special funds to aid research at Miami and increased 

 federal activity. The State of Florida made a wise move by setting 

 up a Red-Tide Committee in order to coordinate research activities. 

 This might also serve to keep legislature advised of the need for 

 continuing research between red-tide years. 



RED TIDE IN TEST TUBES 



Materials are needed for the growth of "Jim Brevis" and the sus- 

 picion that the brackish bay waters contained some essential part of 

 these materials received new attention as the result of work carried 

 out by the Haskins Laboratory in New York. For the first time the 

 red-tide type of organism was kept alive in the laboratory in a pure 

 culture, uncontaminated by bacteria or other organisms. The Fish 

 and Wildlife Service followed this up and is now seeking more de- 

 tailed information about the food requirements and behavior of "Jim 

 Brevis" in the laboratory. 



Part of this is being done at Galveston, Tex., part in Florida in a 

 laboratory in Naples where a converted cabin cruiser is stationed. 

 Many of the questions of the likes and dislikes of "Jim Brevis" may 

 thus be answered by the Service, which now has a team of 20 people 

 engaged in the investigation. Not only is "Jim Brevis" being kept 

 alive for studies of his daily needs, but experiments are being con- 

 ducted to determine the best way of killing him. 



PREDICTIONS AND PATTERNS 



As the Fish and Wildlife Service attacks one side of the problem, a 

 four-man team from Miami advanced from another direction. In 

 order to kill "Jim Brevis" and to prevent the red tide spreading, even 

 if a suitable poison were available, it would still be necessary to know 

 in advance when and where an outbreak was likely to take place and 

 how it was likely to spread. 



Red tide first appears as a patch of discolored water, with dead 

 and dying fishes, particularly along its edge. Within a few days the 

 enormous concentration of microscopic dinoflagellates brings about 

 their own death by overcrowding, the red color vanishes, and after the 

 dead fish have been drifted ashore, all the typical signs begin to 

 disappear. Several days or even weeks later, however, a similar out- 

 break may take place at another part of the coast. In a typical red- 



