Thousands of red abalone washed up on the Sonoma coast after a phytoplankton bloom turned the waters red—and toxic. Photo: loarie.

About a month ago, thousands of abalone and other invertebrates washed up along the Sonoma coast, killed by what people thought was probably a red tide, a.k.a. a harmful algal bloom. Phytoplankton—photosynthetic organisms like algae and bacteria—can multiply in number, turning the water red with their bright-colored cells and wreaking havoc on marine organisms. An interdisciplinary team of researchers banded together to find out what was going on along the Sonoma coast. Within a few weeks, they’d figured it out: sure enough, it was a red tide.

This was the first time a red tide had widespread impact on wildlife along the coast of California. From Bodega Bay to Salt Point, 50 miles north, invertebrates like abalone, urchins, and gumboot chitons were affected by the red tide. I talked with Laura Rogers-Bennett, Senior Biologist Specialist with the California Department of Fish and Game and the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center, who did surveys to quantify the extent of the damage. She and her colleagues surveyed several sites and found a lot of dead abalone. At Fort Ross, 30% of the abalone had died. At Salt Point, abalone mortality was 12%, and at Timber Cove, mortality was 25%. They took tissue samples from abalone and other invertebrates, and they conducted underwater surveys to look at the geographic distribution of affected organisms.

Red tides can kill marine life in two ways. The first way is by depleting the oxygen in the water, during the algal bloom and during the subsequent die-off and decomposition of the phytoplankton. With low levels of oxygen in the water, marine life suffocates. Red tide events that kill through oxygen depletion have particular characteristics. They are usually small and localized—the size of a large living room, says Rogers-Bennett. They often occur in areas with very little water movement, like the back of coves, and they affect all the organisms in the area, including the fish, which either die or swim away. Recent underwater surveys indicated that this red tide was not killing via oxygen depletion. For one, the area affected was far larger than a living room. And the red tide affected organisms in multiple patches, some of which were in very exposed areas, not just the still backwaters of coves. Plus, the fish did not seem to be affected. Because of this evidence, scientists suspected the phytoplankton bloom was releasing a biotoxin.

To identify the biotoxin, the researchers sent water and tissue samples to Rita Horner at the University of Washington and David Crane at Fish and Game’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response. They determined that the most abundant phytoplankton species was a dinoflagellate called Gonyaulax spinifera, which releases a toxin called a Yessotoxin. However, the dinoflagellate and the toxin are poorly understood, says Rogers-Bennett. Yessotoxin was present in very low amounts—about one part per billion—and we don’t know how much toxin must be present for an organism to suffer ill effects. So we don’t know for sure whether Gonyaulax spinifera and its Yessotoxin are responsible for the death of the invertebrates, or whether the true guilty party is some other, unidentified toxin. Rogers-Bennett and her colleagues are seeking funding to do additional tests of the Yessotoxin, its toxicity, and its effects on the invertebrates.

Studying this red tide is a team effort, involving researchers from UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, Sonoma State, the California Department of Public Health, and NOAA. Researchers have done bird surveys, which indicate that the toxin is not moving throughout the food web. And they’ve tested for toxins that affect humans, but thankfully none present. Next, researchers plan to look at archived satellite images of the red tide to see how it moved throughout the area, and they want to do more extensive subtidal surveys, to learn more about the geographic pattern of its effects.

Because of the recent mass mortality of abalone, the Fish and Game closed the Sonoma abalone fishery in September. Normally, recreational abalone collectors can take abalone from the coast through November, but because the population took a big hit, it needs some time to recover. Rogers-Bennett hopes that the fishery and its managers will keep this in mind as the next abalone season approaches in April. The abalone fishery is not a commercial fishery; it is illegal to buy and sell abalone.

There is now a new red tide off the Sonoma coast. This one, called Ceratium, is not toxic, but it is lending the water a brownish red hue. Recent conditions have been perfect for a red tide: calm water and abundant sunshine, thanks to fog-free days. The conditions preceding last month’s deadly red tide were similar. Globally, red tides are on the rise, because of warmer sea surface temperatures and an increase nutrient in coastal waters because of human activity. However, neither of these red tides is tied to warm surface waters or higher-than-usual nutrient input. The causes of these recent red tides remain a mystery.

Climate change could dramatically affect the microclimates that have made California wine country so successful.

You've probably heard of the wines that made Napa and Sonoma famous, like Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay. But what about Negroamaro or Nero d'Avola?

They're wine grapes that are well-adapted to hotter climates – the kind of conditions that California may be facing as the climate continues to warm. But for wineries that have staked their reputations on certain wines, adapting to climate change could be a tough sell.

Talk to any wine lover in California and they'll tell you how lucky they are to live in such rich wine-producing region. Take the recent meeting of the San Francisco Wine Lovers Group at Toast wine bar in Oakland, where the favorites are California Pinot Noir, Russian River Zinfandel, and Napa Cabernet.

In fact, the type of grape – or varietal – is how most of us think about wine.

"That's the big problem," says Andy Walker, a grape breeder in Viticulture and Enology at the University of California-Davis. "We've spent the last 100 years emphasizing varieties and we've really marketed those names very effectively."

Walker is strolling through UC Davis's test vineyard, where hundreds of different wine grapes from around the world are grown. The vast majority are unknown to consumers, because most wineries focus on only a handful of grapes. "Chardonnay, cabernet, merlot, pinot noir – those would make up probably a large percentage," he says.

Those are all French varieties, mostly suited for cool climates. California is warm by comparison and thanks to climate change, it's expected to get a lot warmer. Extreme heat can be the enemy of good wine. "It destroys acidity primarily and it changes color and aromatics," says Walker.

According to a recent study from Stanford University, about two degrees of warming could reduce California's premium wine-growing land by 30 to 50 percent. That could happen as soon as 2040. Water supply is also expected to be an issue.

"I think the interesting thing for me as a breeder is to take advantage of this and say, OK, here's a chance now to change thought and let's actually readapt varieties to California," he says.

Andy Walker walks through UC Davis's test vineyard.

But in many circles, grape breeding is a dirty term, according to Walker.

"Viticulture is the most backward form of horticulture that exists. We use these varieties that haven't been changed for decades, for millennia in some cases. And it really doesn't make any sense."

The problem starts in today's vineyards. If you look at rows of Pinot Noir vines, you aren't just looking at the original varietal. You're looking at clones. That's because vines are grown from a branch that's taken off an existing plant.

"Pinot noir is being propagated year after year after year. This essentially means that grapes have not been having sex very much," says Sean Myles , a geneticist at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College.

He says breeding is key for other crops, since farmers need seeds to plant every year. Wine grapes miss this opportunity to develop adaptability and disease resistance, since vines don't grow from seeds

"That means that we're not allowing the genetic material to be shuffled anymore. That genetic material is now standing still in time. And while the pathogens are evolving, the pinot noir is not," says Myles.

Andy Walker says there's plenty of genetic diversity out there for breeding, if you wanted to make today's varieties more heat tolerant or drought resistant. But there's a very big problem. Once your breed your pinot noir with something else, you can't call it pinot noir anymore.

"The last decision that hardest. Can we market this variety? We know it produces exceptional wine. We know the quality is better. But the next step is can we actually market it," says Walker.

That's a deal breaker for many vineyards, who think consumers won't buy varieties they don't recognize. Walker says looking ahead to climate change, there are already varieties out there today from Italy and Spain that would do well in a warmer California. "We could produce Barbera instead, or Negroamaro or Nero d'Avola from southern Italy and we'd be far better ahead."

These lush reds are popular in Italy but not so well known to Californians. Walker says it'll come down to marketing. "I don't think it's the consumer that's gonna make the shift. They have to be directed."

"I think it's really a pull from consumers," says Nick Dokoozlian, a Vice President at E & J Gallo Winery, the largest family-owned winery in the US. "In most cases, we're responding to consumer demand for a cultivar."

Dokoozlian says Gallo has been testing new wine varieties throughout its vineyards and has found some promising grapes. "The problem is we can't necessarily sell those varieties. Consumers aren't aware of them. The marketing aspect of climate change and the adaptation to climate change, really, the hurdles on the marketing side are much, much more significant."

Since vineyards can last up to 30 years, he says switching varieties is a major financial gamble. "The wine business is an extremely capital intensive business. The financial risk of planting the wrong variety in the wrong place is pretty significant."

Still, given the temperature and water supply changes projected for California, Dokoozlian sees the market shifting eventually. "I'm looking forward to having world-class California Nero d'Avola soon."

California Coho Salmon are listed as federally protected,
and are critically endangered. Image: Richard James

As we would with any loved one, we care about its health and well being. Over the years we have witnessed wanton pollution from purposeful and "accidental" sewage spills, there has been gravel mining, seemingly unchecked agri-business dumping pesticides and sucking wells dry, and more than anything, precious water has been continuously pumped out and diverted to quench the thirst of the ever-growing populations of Sonoma and Marin Counties. Each one of these factors has taken some of the life and wildness out of the Russian River. And there comes a point when the natural world and The River does not have anything left to give.

Still there is the hope that nature is resilient. One of the best indicators of environmental health on the Russian River would be the return of the native salmon. While producing our story on these magnificent fish we had the privilege to witness the incredibly dedicated conservation fishery biologists at the Don Clausen Fish Hatchery at Lake Sonoma. Seeing them work gave me a lot of hope. These men and women literally hold the future of the coho salmon in their hands. Each egg is tenderly cared for– each little growing fish is carefully identified, numbered and individually tagged before being gently released into the wild. It is an enormous, time-consuming and laborious task. But without them, the critically endangered coho salmon have little or no realistic chance of returning to the Russian River.

Sadly, it seems that much of their work may have gone for naught. In early April 2009, for just one night's frost protection, the wineries of the Russian River valley went against a request by the National Marine Fisheries Service and turned open their taps, taking so much water out of the Russian River watershed that the water-table dramatically dropped resulting in a massive coho salmon die-off. It's another heartbreaking blow to an already perilous situation. The wineries were told specifically about the consequences of their actions last year at a special meeting held by the State Water Resources Control Board. Yet to protect a small percentage of an already glutted crop, the wineries knowingly risked dooming an entire species to extinction.

For more information see:

Quick drop in water level kills coho | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA
04/04/09
Frost protection measures to save crops stranded fish in Russian River tributary

Coho killed after water diverted to protect crops | SF Chronicle
04/04/09
Endangered coho salmon killed after a sudden drop in the water level…

I have always advocated for The Russian River and its small communities and businesses. I recommend it as the perfect getaway for friends looking for a weekend exploration. Hiking, canoeing, wine-tasting or exploring–The River is the place. In turn I have also regularly recommended and sought out Russian River wines. But I doubt I'll be recommending anything from this year's vintage. I have a feeling the 2009 Russian River wines are going to leave a very bitter taste.

Watch the California's Lost Salmon television story online.

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