Saturday, February 18, 2012: 3:00 PM-4:30 PM
Room 110 (VCC West Building)
Pollutagens (pathogens, biotoxins, chemicals, and nutrients) are increasingly flowing from the land into the oceans, posing a significant threat to marine ecosystems, indigenous marine wildlife, and human health. This land-sea transfer is occurring worldwide and is directly causing increasing numbers of strandings and deaths of marine mammals. The rising levels of pollutagens are coming from urban, agricultural, and other sources and are in part responsible for altering the ecology and diversity of the marine biota. This session examines the direct and potentially synergistic impacts these pollutagens are having on marine microbial communities and wildlife health. It will demonstrate the importance of microbial diversity and the value of marine mammals as highly sensitive indicators of coastal marine pollution and overall ecosystem health. The panel's findings have significant implications for human health and science policy because humans consume the same marine foods and live and recreate in the same near-shore areas as many of these susceptible marine organisms.
Organizer:
Andrew Trites, University of British Columbia
Co-organizers:
Mike E. Grigg, National Institutes of Health
and Stephen A. Raverty, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
and Stephen A. Raverty, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
Discussants:
Martin Haulena, Vancouver Aquarium
and Teri Rowles, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
and Teri Rowles, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
Speakers: