In images reminiscent of the biblical plague of blood from the Exodus story, Florida's coasts experience a concerning natural phenomenon every year that turns the sea red: "red tide." Now, in a new study, researchers from the University of South Florida have identified for the first time nearly a dozen viruses connected to this mysterious phenomenon, according to a report in The Independent.

Finally, Karenia brevis has been identified as the cause of 'red tide' as researchers identified nearly a dozen viruses associated with red tides that are harmful and costly https://t.co/DTZoaASsS7 pic.twitter.com/TujfH9dW5R

— Samer سامر (@sam6) March 23, 2025

 The new research, published in the journal mSphere of the American Society for Microbiology, could help predict future "red tide" events and possibly even prevent some of their severe damages.

What is red tide – and why is it dangerous? Red tide is actually a massive bloom of Karenia brevis algae, a single-celled organism that produces neurotoxins. The algae bloom causes the death of fish, birds, and other marine creatures, and can cause respiratory problems in humans and even death.

The phenomenon is driven by environmental factors such as ocean currents, nutrients washed into the water, extreme weather events, and climate changes that lead to rising sea temperatures. The red tide occurs naturally in Florida almost every year, typically in late summer or early fall, and lasts between three and five months, according to data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Service (FWC), which partnered in the research.

An aggressive toxic algal bloom called 'red tide' is killing ocean life in Florida, where there's now a state of emergency pic.twitter.com/idSykdABhI

— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) August 18, 2018

The economic damages of the phenomenon are estimated in the millions of dollars, and it affects large areas. Just last month, a strip of red water in Florida stretched for more than 199 miles, from the Tampa Bay area to Key West. The phenomenon is not unique to Florida, and around the same period, Argentina's coasts also turned red.

With climate change and continued warming, the red tide phenomenon raises concern, as according to researchers, rising temperatures are one of the factors encouraging the phenomenon.

During "red tide" events, researchers collected samples of Karenia brevis blooms to analyze them in the laboratory. They used a method that determines the DNA composition of the sample to find the viruses. "We know that viruses play an important role in the dynamics of harmful algae blooms, but we didn't know which viruses might be associated with Karenia brevis blooms," said Jean Lim, the lead researcher of the study from the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida. "Now that we've identified several viruses in the red tide bloom, we can work to determine which viruses might affect these events."

According to Lim, "There may be a connection between the abundance of viruses and the dynamics of the bloom. For example, an increase in the number of viruses found in a sample might indicate that a red tide bloom is about to begin, or that it is about to end."

The new findings could improve monitoring and prediction efforts for the phenomenon. Since viruses target specific organisms, they may provide an environmentally friendly way to manage the blooms. "There may be specific viruses that might only infect Karenia brevis," Lim added. "If we can identify and isolate these viruses, they could be used as a biological control agent."

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Marine biologists at Israeli marine biology startup Yemoja have introduced a new environmentally friendly method of deriing a bioactive ingredient from red algae, a component widely used in the beauty industry for its anti-inflammatory and rejuvenating properties.

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The company has come up with a natural, chemical-free method to derive the ingredient, named EPS-Revive, which the cosmetics and beauty industry can use for its antioxidant, moisturizing, and anti-aging properties.

The demand for natural products increases each year, driving discovery and research of new natural compounds in the marine biosphere. In recent years, the sea environment has been increasingly recognized as a promising source of skin-health benefits due to its rich biological and chemical diversity.

"More and more companies are working to create an 'all-natural' brand by using plant-based or algae-based substances, with emphasis on 'green' processes and chemical-free end products," CEO of Yemoja Erez Ashkenazi said.

"We cultivate only natural wild-strain algae through an automated, fully controlled, and contaminant-free downstream process. We use no chemicals or solvents, and we do not exploit any natural resources from the environment," Ashkenazi added.

Having completed research regarding the product's safety for topical use, Yemoja is now expanding into nutraceuticals and even dermatology.

"We are exploring possibilities for integrating our aqueous solution into food supplements and branching out to the beauty-from-within sector. We also plan to investigate its possible capacity for alleviating medical dermal issues," Ashkenazi said.

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On Monday morning, Manor Guri of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority was patrolling the waters of the Rosh Hanikra Sea Reserve when he spotted two dolphins.

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"We were surprised at the sight of two dolphins during our marine patrol today. It made us very happy to encounter and follow animals in the Mediterranean Sea," Guri said.

Video: Manor Guri, Israel Nature and Parks Authority

The bottlenose dolphin is the most common marine mammal in Israel's coastal waters. The average size of a school or pod of these animals, which are classed as cetaceans, like whales and porpoises, numbers five members, usually nursing mothers and calves, or young dolphins of both sexes. Adult male dolphins tend to swim on their own or in pairs, and sometimes join pods on a temporary basis.

These dolphins live above the coastal shelf and sometimes venture into deep water. The total dolphin population off Israel's Mediterranean coast is estimated at 300-400.

The subspecies of dolphins that lives in the Mediterranean is considered an endangered one. The biggest risk to dolphins in this region is the danger of becoming trapped in fishing nets. Other dangers to the dolphin population include pollution, swallowing trash, and ecological damage to their food chain.

In 2017, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared Israel's Mediterranean coastal shelf an Important Marine Mammal Area after dolphins were sighted in the coastal waters over a period of years.

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Yet even with its entire eastern coast taken up with the Mediterranean Sea – and with an interest in water technology that borders almost on obsession – it has only been since about the turn of the millennium that Israeli research and development have substantively taken off in this area.

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So why now?

With 70% of the Earth's surface covered by oceans and seas, there is more to learn about those bodies of water than is humanly possible. Indeed, there is tremendous untapped potential in these uncharted waters and infinite discoveries to be made, whether in the field of health and food or a greater understanding of delicate submarine ecosystems.

Recent estimates suggest that the world's population will exceed 8 billion people by 2024, accompanied by a fear that land-based resources will come under huge strain on dry land and others in the waters. Marine biologists and researchers from the University of Haifa's Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences have been turning their attention to understanding more about this hidden world.

"Marine sciences are gaining more and more exposure, especially compared to the time when I started studying," said Oded Ezra, who earned an MSc from the Department of Marine Geosciences at the University of Haifa.

"The field [of gas seeps and carbonate rocks in the deep sea] is really growing. Numerous scientific and technologically oriented departments have opened at universities and new companies have been formed around the industry. Of course, there is still a lot of room for further development."

It's not only the "what," but also the "how" that these technologies and new approaches can be put to work. While carrying out submarine hydrographic and geophysical surveys, Ezra understood the range of employment opportunities in the field.

"These projects include, among other things, deep-sea floor mappings or mapping around maritime ports," he said. "There are also surveys conducted for the gas industry that include environmental monitoring, such as water and soil samples."

Whether it was synchronous or fortunate, the emergence of this research occurred around the same time that Israel discovered a large natural gas deposit off its coast approximately a decade ago. The discovery was not just an economic and political boon; it also led to new questions about what the seafloor in those areas looked like, as well as what kind of underwater life existed in these regions.

This is one of the overarching points about the seas; there are myriad utilities and applications for water, wave energy or the variations of marine life. For instance, despite the growth of civil aviation, almost all of Israel's imported and exported goods are delivered and transported by sea.

"Essentially everything goes by sea … without the sea, Israel would have no access to the world," said Professor Zvi Ben-Avraham, Israel Prize recipient and the founder and director of the Mediterranean Sea Research Center of Israel.

In addition to the transportation of goods, the sea provides Israel with the plurality of its drinking water – within the next few years, 75% of that drinking water.

"Global temperatures are rising and more areas are in danger of desertification. As a result, saltwater desalination is the only way many countries can produce reserves of drinking water, and we are seeing exactly how that is happening in Israel," explained Professor Ilana Bergman-Frank, a biological oceanographer and the director of University of Haifa's Charney School.

This also has its challenges, as desalinated water does not possess the same combination of nutrients as untreated, natural water.

At the Charney School, Ben-Avraham's idea of placing everything connected with marine studies under one roof helped create a multidisciplinary unit where related humanities could meet relevant natural and social sciences. In effect, it was an academic startup.

This was strengthened by the presence of individuals such as Tamar Lotan, head of the Department of Marine Biology at the University, who blended her extensive academic career with the creation of two successful biotech startups.

Another aspect of marine technology that is gathering pace and popularity in Israel is the use of autonomous robots. One specific application of the robots is the attempt to create clearer underwater pictures, altering a milky, mysterious blur to a much sharper image at depth. The Israeli company SEAERRA Vision, for example, has been working to develop algorithms for vision systems for scuba divers, robots and underwater vehicles for a variety of business and private sector uses. In many cases, the use of robots is crucial to enable mapping of the sea.

What does all of this mean, and what does the future have in store?

Nearly 60 years ago, US President John F. Kennedy challenged NASA scientists to explore the possibility of landing on the moon. By the end of that decade (although he would not get to see it), the task had been accomplished.

Today, more people have walked on the moon than have walked on the deepest trench of the ocean floor. Instead of looking up to the heavens as the final frontier, scientists and researchers should be looking beneath the surface of the sea, while acknowledging that understanding more about what goes on underwater will greatly benefit humanity for generations to come.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Students will study at the University of Haifa's Marine Sciences school and the Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat.

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The graduate student program was initiated in order to forge a connection between the next generation of oceanography professionals through international collaboration. Students are collaborating with 25 labs from six host institutions in Israel, Canada, Australia, and Sweden.

Elena Forchielli, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in molecular cellular biology and biochemistry at Boston University, is one participant who will conduct research this fall at the University of Haifa's Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences. She has previously visited Haifa for collaborative research with the Charney School's Daniel Sher; they will join forces again as part of her LOREX experience from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31.

"I'm excited to perform experiments at the University of Haifa that my lab doesn't have the capacity to carry out in Boston," Forchielli said. "The Eastern Mediterranean setting enables us to collect valuable samples in the sea, and then to replicate our experiments in an environment which closely resembles the conditions of the real ocean. I'm looking forward to obtaining powerful data from this process."

Given its home along Israel's coastline, the Charney School is strategically positioned to study the Mediterranean Sea in an interdisciplinary manner. The school has four complementary divisions: Department of Maritime Civilizations; Dr. Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences; Department of Marine Biology; and Hatter Department of Marine Technologies. It also offers an MBA program in shipping and ports management.

Through this exchange, the research collaboration "promises to deliver not only significant findings for the marine biology community but also the latest fruitful partnership between American and Israeli academic institutions," said Karen L. Berman, CEO of the American Society of the University of Haifa. "Situated at the doorstep of the Mediterranean Sea, the school finds itself at a cradle of maritime civilizations throughout history. There is simply no substitute for a real-world laboratory of that magnitude."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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