Oceans and Human Health: Risks and Remedies from the Seas

Oceans and Human Health highlights an unprecedented collaboration of environmental scientists, ecologists and physicians working together on this important new discipline, to the benefit of human health and ocean environmental integrity alike. Oceanography, toxicology, natural products chemistry, environmental microbiology, comparative animal physiology, epidemiology and public health are all long established areas of research in their own right and all contribute data and expertise to an integrated understanding of the ways in which ocean biology and chemistry affect human health for better or worse. This book introduces this topic to researchers and advanced students interested in this emerging field, enabling them to see how their research fits into the broader interactions between the aquatic environment and human health.

Color illustrations of aquatic life and oceanic phenomena such as hurricanes and algal bloomsNumerous case studiesSocio-economic and Ethical Analyses place the science in a broader contextStudy questions for each chapter to assist students and instructorsRisks and remedies sections to help define course modules for instruction

Globalization and global ocean change: an overview of influences on human health; Background oceanography; Managing public health risks: role of integrated ocean observing systems (IOOS); Climate and human health: physics, policy and possibilities; Hurricanes; Tsunamis; Oceans and human health: human dimensions; Background toxicology; Organic pollutants: presence and effects in humans and marine animals; Metals: ocean ecosystems and human health; The fate of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment; Exposure and effects of seafood-borne contaminants in maritime populations; Epidemiologic tools for investigating the effects of oceans on public health; Toxic diatoms; Toxic dinoflagellates; Ciguatera fish poisoning: a synopsis from ecology to toxicity; Cyanobacteria; Pfiesteria; Media coverage of environmental health issues: where morality, science, and the news reflect and depend on fundamental philosophical perspectives; Waterborne diseases and microbial quality monitoring for recreational water bodies using regulatory methods; Food-borne infectious diseases and monitoring of marine food resources; Emerging technologies for monitoring recreational waters for bacteria and viruses; Future of microbial ocean water quality monitoring; Anticancer drugs of marine origin; Discovering anti-infectives from the sea; Marine proteins; Novel pain therapies from marine toxins; Emerging marine biotechnologies – cloning of marine biosynthetic gene clusters; Aquatic animal models of human health; Aquatic animal neurophysiological models; Toadfish as biomedical models; Lower deuterostomes as models of the developmental process; The zebrafish, DANIO RERIO, as a model organism for biomedical research; Carcinogenesis models: focus on xiphophorus and rainbow trout; New approaches for cell and animal preservation: Lessons from aquatic organisms