Science Friday Kids' Connection^tm -- in association with Kidsnet
Tell Me Where It Hurts -- Ocean Diseases (January 22, 1999, One)

Program Summary | Guests | Related Links and Resources | For Discussion | Activities | Hear the program | About Kids Connection | SFKC Home

Program Summary

Have you ever gone to the beach for a holiday only to discover it’s closed due to contamination? Has the scarcity of oysters prevented you from indulging your gourmet taste buds? The ocean is sick; what’s the remedy?

We once thought the ocean could absorb any shock without consequence: Garbage, chemicals, and human waste would simply slide into the water and somehow be rendered harmless by the ocean’s magical ability to renew itself. Well, there’s no magic, and there are major consequences. Marine life and their habitats are being ravaged by disease, some of which we have never seen before. Fungus eats up coral reefs, parasites blight oysters, bacteria kill fish, all of which lead to devastation of marine populations and destruction of fishing and shellfish industries. What’s more, some of the diseases are just as dangerous to humans who enter contaminated water or consume affected food.

Scientists believe that many of the organisms causing the outbreaks are normally found in the ocean, but that factors such as rising water temperatures and our use of the ocean as a garbage bin have knocked the balance of nature out of whack. The hosts (coral, fish, and crustaceans) have been weakened, allowing the pathogens to flourish and overwhelm them. Other diseases, such as cholera, are introduced into the seas through untreated sewage. It was once thought that the frigid temperatures of the deep ocean would kill off any microbes; now scientists are finding that the cold water acts like a big refrigerator where bugs can cool their heels until a current carries them into warmer areas.

It’ll take more than two aspirin and Mom’s chicken soup to cure what ails the ocean.

It will take the efforts not just of marine biologists, but virologists, climatologists, zoologists, and more to restore our vital resource to health.

Guests

Rita Colwell, former director of the National Science Foundation and past president of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute in Arlington, Virginia

Drew Harvell, professor of ecology and systematics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York

James Porter, professor of ecology and marine science at the University of Georgia in Athens

Eileen Hofman, professor of oceanography at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia

Related Links and Resources

Cholera Info from the FDA's Bad Bug Book
International Coral Reef Initiative
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Ocean Service
NOAA’s Coral Health and Monitoring Program
Science Friday Kids Connection, June 6, 2003: Hour Two: Health of the Oceans

For Discussion:

• What are some of the diseases affecting the oceans? Which ones can be dangerous to humans?
• What factors have led to the increase in marine ailments?
• What happens when coral reefs die?
• How could dumping human waste in the deep ocean cause outbreaks in other parts of the world?
• What happened to the oyster industry in the Chesapeake Bay?

Activities

An ocean of woe. Oceans in Peril, part of the Smithsonian’s 1995 Ocean Planet traveling exhibition, provides a quick and thorough overview of the many problems our oceans are experiencing, from pollution to habitat destruction to overfishing. The Educational Materials lists teacher materials and fact sheets. KIDSNET’s SeaWeb site has background information and activities covering the importance of oceans to life on Earth, amazing ocean creatures, and problems threatening the seas and how to help.

Troubled waters. Ocean Blues (Whyfiles) takes a detailed look at the diseases affecting the marine and human worlds. Learn how cholera can spread, how toxic algae kill fish and sicken humans, and how strange diseases are decimating coral reefs.

NOAA’s ark. At the NOAA Education site, you’ll find resources for teachers and students and “cool sites for everyone.” Oceans and Coasts lists lesson plans and other ocean-related teaching resources. Explore NOAA’s Ocean Theme Page to see what other research and services NOAA is involved in.

See it and believe it. Ocean Wonderland 3D is an IMAX format film of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a spectacular coral reef that is a diver’s paradise. As of this date, it is showing in IMAX theaters around the world; a teacher’s guide is available in PDF.

A trashy topic. Pollution Solutions (Discovery School) examines how ocean dumping sickens the seas. One activity has students estimate how much trash is generated in the United States in one year. They can view clips from the accompanying video Finite Oceans. A Sea-nic Perspective, a lesson plan from the New York Times Learning Network, uses Has the Sea Given Up Its Bounty? as a platform for studying the declining health of the oceans. Students create a classroom exhibit based on their research and invite other classes to view it.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

Hear the Program

Listen to this program in RealAudio!

RealAudio archive courtesy of NPR Online. If nothing happens when you click the link, you may need to download a free player.