“This world is a water world, a planet dominated by its covering mantle of ocean, in which the continents are but transient intrusions of land above the all-encircling sea.” - Rachel Carson, the Sea Around Us

Studies in Ocean and Human Health From Monsoons to Microbes: Understanding the Ocean’s Role in Human Health (National Academy of Sciences) Marine Ecosystems: Emerging Diseases as Indicators of Change - the Health, Ecological and Economic Dimensions (CHGE/Harvard)

Studies in Ocean and Human Health NSF/NIEHS University of Hawaii University of Miami University of Washington Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) NOAA The Hollings Laboratory (Charleston, South Carolina) NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center in (Seattle, Washington) NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

Healthy Oceans, Healthy Humans Exhibit Oceans Heal Oceans Nourish Solutions Oceans Protect

Oceans Heal Over 50% of the most prescribed medicine in U.S. is derived or patterned after compounds from nature Pacific Yew Tree - Taxol

Medicine from the Sea CompoundSourceDisease Area ZiconotideCone SnailChronic Pain AM336Cone SnailChronic Pain GTS21Nemertine WormAlzheimer’s/ Schizophrenia LAF389SpongeCancer BryostatinBryozoanCancer OAS1000Soft CoralWound Healing/ Inflammation DoalastinSea SlugCancer YondelisSea SquirtCancer IPL512602SpongeInflammation/ Asthma

Cone Snails 500 Species Reef dwellers

1000 times more potent than morphine No tolerance No addiction Specific

Reefs: Medicine Chest of the Sea

Global Distribution of Reefs

Coral Bleaching 26% of all corals are bleached 11% destroyed 60% at significant risk

Coral Disease Coral Plague Black-band disease Unknown

Oceans Nourish 16% of global animal protein Asia’s primary source of protein Omega-3s help protect against heart disease

US Consumption Estimates say per capita consumption of seafood will rise to 16 pounds (from 14.8 pounds in 2001) by 2020, up 4 billion pounds per year.

Seafood Industry 28 million Americans. MA alone: $200 million in 1998

Mercury emissions metric tons yearly

Geochemical Cycle of Mercury Adapted from US Dept. of Interior’s Report on Hg in the Florida Everglades Air Emissions are % of Water Burden!

Worldwide mercury emissions (Data from Pacyna)

Total annual deposition (UNEP, 2002)

Mercury effect as delay in development (months, age 7) for each doubling of exposure Motor (Finger tapping, PH) 0.9 Attention (CPT-reaction time) 1.3 Visuospatial (Bender errors) 0.6 Language (Boston Naming) 1.6 Verbal memory (CVLT short delay) 2.0

Prolonged III-V interval on brainstem auditory evoked potentials at recent exposure (hair-Hg) in 14-yr-old children Murata et al., Journal of Pediatrics, in press New WHO exposure limit U.S.EPA exposure limit FDA exposure limit

Recommended Fish Meals per Month Based on Methylmercury Fish Tissue Levels MeHg (mg/kg fish)Meals per Month (8 oz)

One serving per week is safe for an adult woman if below 0.5 ppm One serving per week is safe for a child if below 0.17 ppm

Overfishing Of the 157 stock groups in U.S. waters, 56 (36 %) are known to be over-exploited, while 70 (44 %) are fished at the maximum level.

Oceans Protect

Warming: Atmosphere and Oceans

Ocean Warming

Extreme Weather Droughts and Floods, in US and around the world, increasing (IPCC)

Solutions

Healthy Oceans, Healthy Humans IS A 700 SQUARE FOOT, WALK-THROUGH, TRAVELING EXHIBIT AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM Adaptable: the flexibility to accommodate a number of institutions Interactive: Engaging the user/inquiry-based Experiential: Evoking senses and achieving Narrative: Employing stories to educate For healthy humans, we need healthy marine ecosystems