Brian LaPointe, Ph.D.

Research Professor at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Florida Atlantic University

  • Boca Raton FL

Brian Lapointe’s research interests include algal physiology and biochemistry, marine bioinvasions and marine conservation.

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1 min

North Atlantic Sargassum Bloom Hits Record Levels – and Florida is Feeling the Surge, One Expert Says

Dr. Brian LaPointe, Research Professor at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, is one of the nation’s most recognized experts on marine ecosystems. His work spans algal physiology, biochemistry, biodiversity, and coastal conservation — with more than a decade of dedicated research focused on the rise and impact of sargassum blooms across the Atlantic. LaPointe confirmed that sargassum levels in the North Atlantic have hit a new biomass record — and much of it is now washing ashore across South Florida’s coastlines. The scale of this bloom, he says, could have lasting consequences for marine ecosystems, tourism, and public health. LaPointe recently spoke to CNN about why this record bloom is raising alarm bells: “Sargassum goes from being a very beneficial resource of the North Atlantic to becoming what we refer to as… a harmful algal bloom when it comes ashore in excessive biomass.” Ammonia is another problem emitted by the decaying seaweed, LaPointe noted. The chemical compound “strips the oxygen out of the waters along our coastal ecosystems like mangroves, coral reefs, seagrass beds,” he said. The scale of the bloom is staggering. According to University of South Florida estimates cited by LaPointe, over 31 million tons of sargassum have been detected this year — a 40% increase over the previous record. Dr. Brian LaPointe is available to speak with the media on this topic. For interviews, click below to view his full profile and click the connect button.

Brian LaPointe, Ph.D.

2 min

What's That Smell? Something is Rotten and Florida Atlantic's Seaweed Expert has the Answers

It’s back…and bigger than before. This summer, Floridians can expect a record amount of it! Sargassum, it smells like rotting eggs and a 'mega bloom' of the algae is expected to wash up on beaches soon. Sargassum is essentially a brown seaweed and also a type of algae. When out at sea, it's an essential item that helps feed fish, turtles, crabs and an array of ocean life.  But once it hits land, it begins to rot and can be at the very least annoying and even potentially dangerous to humans by emitting harmful gases. The topic is getting a lot of media coverage with reporters connecting with experts like Florida Atlantic's Brian LaPointe to get the answers and explanations they need. The Atlantic Ocean has a toxic seaweed problem. Floating in brown islands of algae, this year’s sargassum bloom has already broken its own size record by millions of tons — and the growing season isn’t done yet. Now stretching across some 5,500 miles of ocean, the annual bloom is more than just an eyesore: Sargassum hurts ecosystems and economies wherever its overgrown arms reach. And they are spreading into Florida’s waterways, coating marinas and beaches in the Miami area. “Sargassum goes from being a very beneficial resource of the North Atlantic to becoming what we refer to as … a harmful algal bloom, when it comes ashore in excessive biomass,” said Brian LaPointe, a research professor at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. For more than a decade, Atlantic coastal communities have been inundated by more and more sargassum. Images of white sand beaches stretching into azure waters have been altered by the toxic and putrid invasion. In the water, it’s home to larvae and other organisms that can irritate the skin of any passing swimmers. As it rots on shore, it emits harmful gases— an infamous stench. It’s a blight on beaches that repels tourists during the high-travel season, ultimately hurting towns that rely on tourism to fuel their economy. Rising ocean temperatures due to human-caused climate change have spurred this sargassum surplus, supercharging the seaweed. In April, the University of South Florida estimated this year’s bloom is already at 31 million tons — “40% more” than the previous record from June 2022, according to LaPointe. May 15 CNN Looking to know more? We can help. Brian LaPointe is available to speak with media about seaweed, sargassum and what beachgoers can expect this summer in Florida. Simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.

Brian LaPointe, Ph.D.

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Biography

Brian Lapointe’s research interests include algal physiology and biochemistry, seagrass and coral reef ecology, eutrophication, marine bioinvasions and marine conservation.

He has extensive experience in water quality research in South Florida and the Caribbean region. As chief scientist on numerous Caribbean and western North Atlantic Ocean research expeditions, he has amassed valuable field experience in assessing relations between water quality and the health of tropical seagrasses and coral reefs. Lapointe’s long-term water quality monitoring at Looe Key reef in the Florida Keys represents the longest low-level nutrient record for a coral reef anywhere in the world. His work in the Keys led to a strong phosphate ban and new state regulations for Monroe County requiring greater nutrient removal from sewage effluents.

Lapointe’s work in Florida Bay and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the 1990s, which utilized stable nitrogen isotopes to “fingerprint” nitrogen sources, was the first to demonstrate the importance of agricultural nitrogen from mainland sources to development of algal blooms in the Keys. He developed the first “ridge-to-reef” water quality monitoring program for the European Union in Negril, Jamaica, a model that has been adopted by Marine Protected Areas around the Caribbean region. Lapointe has advised the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, State of Florida and the governments of Monroe County (Florida Keys), Palm Beach County, Lee County, Bahamas, Tobago, Turks & Caicos, Jamaica, Bonaire, Curacao, Martinique and St. Lucia on development of water quality monitoring programs for assessing the impacts of land-based pollution.

Lapointe’s Sargassum research has yielded novel insights into the ecology of this macroalgae, the Sargasso Sea and associated communities, including symbiosis with juvenile fish marked by exchange of habitat and nutrients.

Areas of Expertise

Marine Bioinvasions
Coral Reef Ecology
Algal Physiology
Biochemistry
Seagrass Ecology
Eutrophication
Marine Conservation

Accomplishments

Environmental Science Award

Conservation Alliance of St. Lucie County, 2000

Red Wright Fellowship

Bermuda Biological Station for Research, Inc., 1986, 1990

Outstanding Research Award

Sigma Xi

Education

University of South Florida

Ph.D.

Biology

1982

University of Florida

M.S.

Environmental Sciences

1979

Boston University

B.A.

Biology

1973

Affiliations

  • American Water Resource Association
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • American Society of Limnology and Oceanography
  • Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean
  • Oceanography Society
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Selected Media Appearances

'Will they make it?': Florida researchers discuss how coral reefs are dealing with the heat

ABC25 WPBF  online

2023-08-02

"In the past, those warm temps typically occur in late to mid-August, and so when bleaching happened back then, those corals only had to survive a month or maybe six weeks until the water temp cooled down," Brian LaPointe, PH.D., senior author and a research professor at FAU's Harbor Branch said. "And they regained their symbiotic algae and bean to function normally again."

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FAU Harbor Branch Study Underscores the Need to End Septic Tank Use and Convert to Sewer Systems

WQCS 88.9 FM  online

2023-07-24

“We had 20 sites spanning that 156-mile length of the Lagoon where we looked at the composition of the water," said Dr. LaPointe. One of the principal goals of the study was to determine the effectiveness of fertilizer bans.

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The Atlantic Ocean is heavy on the sargassum

CNN  tv

2023-03-17

CNN’s Rosemary Church interviews a leading scientist about a massive seaweed blob twice the size of the US that’s headed for the Gulf of Mexico.

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Selected Articles

Remote Sensing of Sargassum Biomass, Nutrients, and Pigments

Geophysical Research Letters

Mengqiu Wang, Chuanmin Hu, Jennifer Cannizzaro, David English, Xingxing Han, David Naar, Brian Lapointe, Rachel Brewton, Frank Hernandez

2018

Field and laboratory experiments are designed to measure Sargassum biomass per area (density), surface reflectance, nutrient contents, and pigment concentrations. An alternative floating algae index‐biomass density model is established to link the spectral reflectance to Sargassum biomass density, with a relative uncertainty of ~12%. Monthly mean integrated Sargassum biomass in the Caribbean Sea and central West Atlantic reached at least 4.4 million tons in July 2015. The average %C, %N, and %P per dry weight are 27.16, 1.06, and 0.10, respectively. The mean chlorophyll‐a (Chl‐a) concentration is ~0.05% of the dry weight. With these parameters, the amounts of nutrients and pigments can be estimated directly from remotely sensed Sargassum biomass. During bloom seasons, Sargassum carbon can account for ~18% of the total particulate organic carbon in the upper water column. This study provides the first quantitative assessment of the overall Sargassum biomass, nutrients, and pigment abundance from remote sensing observations, thus helping to quantify their ecological roles and facilitate management decisions.

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Characterizing a Sea Turtle Developmental Habitat Using Landsat Observations of Surface-Pelagic Drift Communities in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico

IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing

Robert F Hardy, Chuanmin Hu, Blair Witherington, Brian Lapointe, Anne Meylan, Ernst Peebles, Leo Meirose, Shigetomo Hirama

2018

Compared with our understanding of most aspects of sea turtle biology, knowledge of the surface-pelagic juvenile life stages remains limited. Young North Atlantic cheloniids (hard-shelled sea turtles) are closely associated with surface-pelagic drift communities (SPDCs), which are dominated by macroalgae of the genus Sargassum. We quantified SPDCs in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, a region that hosts four species of cheloniids during their surface-pelagic juvenile stage. Landsat satellite imagery was used to identify and measure the areal coverage of SPDCs in the eastern Gulf during 2003-2011 (1323 images). Although the SPDC coverage varied annually, seasonally, and spatially, SPDCs were present year-round, with an estimated mean area of SPDC in each Landsat image of 4.9 km 2 (SD = 10.1). The area of SPDCs observed was inversely proportional to sea-surface wind velocity (Spearman's r = -0.33, p

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Septic systems contribute to nutrient pollution and harmful algal blooms in the St. Lucie Estuary, Southeast Florida, USA

Harmful Algae

Brian E Lapointe, Laura W Herren, Armelle L Paule

2017

Nutrient enrichment is a significant global-scale driver of change in coastal waters, contributing to an array of problems in coastal ecosystems. The St. Lucie Estuary (SLE) in southeast Florida has received national attention as a result of its poor water quality (elevated nutrient concentrations and fecal bacteria counts), recurring toxic Microcystis aeruginosa blooms, and its proximity to the northern boundary of tropical coral species in the United States. The SLE has an artificially large watershed comprised of a network of drainage canals, one of which (C-44) is used to lower the water level in Lake Okeechobee. Public attention has primarily been directed at nutrient inputs originating from the lake, but recent concern over the importance of local watershed impacts prompted a one-year watershed study designed to investigate the interactions between on-site sewage treatment and disposal systems (OSTDS or septic systems), groundwaters, and surface waters in the SLE and nearshore reefs. Results provided multiple lines of evidence of OSTDS contamination of the SLE and its watershed: 1) dissolved nutrients in groundwaters and surface waters were most concentrated adjacent to two older (pre-1978) residential communities and the primary canals, and 2) sucralose was present in groundwater at residential sites (up to 32.0 μg/L) and adjacent surface waters (up to 5.5 μg/L), and 3) δ15N values in surface water (+7.5 o/oo), macroalgae (+4.4 o/oo) and phytoplankton (+5.0 o/oo) were within the published range (>+3 o/oo) for sewage N and similar to values in OSTDS-contaminated groundwaters. Measured δ15N values in M. aeruginosa became increasingly enriched during transport from the C-44 canal (∼5.8 o/oo) into the mid-estuary (∼8.0 o/oo), indicating uptake and growth on sewage N sources within the urbanized estuary. Consequently, there is a need to reduce N and P loading, as well as fecal loading, from the SLE watershed via septic-to-sewer conversion projects and to minimize the frequency and intensity of the releases from Lake Okeechobee to the SLE via additional water storage north of the lake. These enhancements would improve water quality in both the SLE and Lake Okeechobee, reduce the occurrence of toxic harmful algal blooms in the linked systems, and improve overall ecosystem health in the SLE and downstream reefs.

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