MSI Public Lecture Series

Dr. Tracy A. Villarreal

Thursday, March 9th, 2006 at 7:00 PM
The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Visitor Center Auditorium

"Itching Lips and Tingling Fingertips: Ciguatera Along the Texas Coast"

Ciguatera is the leading form of seafood poisoning in the world and, at a cost estimated at more than $20 million annually, it accounts for nearly all medical expenses in the U.S. that are related to harmful algae.  The disease results from toxins produced by a bottom-living microscopic organism known as Gambierdiscus toxicus.  Its toxins are bio-magnified up the food web, much like mercury or DDT, so that by the time it reaches predatory fishes the toxin levels are high enough to cause human health problems.
 
Symptoms of ciguatera poisoning are both gastrointestinal and neurological, but the most characteristic symptoms are temperature reversals, itching, tingling, and weakness.  On a regional scale, outbreaks of ciguatera are loosely related to seawater temperature, but specifics for individual locations are not well understood.  Studies in Texas coastal waters indicate a small level of toxicity in barracuda.  It is not clear whether the toxin in Texas barracudas comes from local sources, such as Gambierdiscus toxicus growing on oil platforms, or whether the toxin is being imported to the area in migrating fishes.
 
Dr. Villareal is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute where he studies Phytoplankton Ecology.  Some of his research includes harmful algal blooms, ciguatera, growth physiology of diatoms and brown tides.  To learn more about Dr. Villareal’s research go to: 

http://www.utmsi.utexas.edu/staff/villareal.htm