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Drew Harvell
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Ocean Outbreak: Confronting the Rising Tide of Marine Disease Paperback – March 16, 2021

by Drew Harvell (Author)
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 39 ratings
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Winner of the Sustainability Science Award 2020, Ecological Society of America
Winner of the PROSE Award (Biological Sciences category) 2020, Association of American Publishers

There is a growing crisis in our oceans: mysterious outbreaks of infectious disease are on the rise. Marine epidemics can cause mass die-offs of wildlife from the bottom to the top of food chains, impacting the health of ocean ecosystems as well as lives on land. Portending global environmental disaster, ocean outbreaks are fueled by warming seas, sewage dumping, unregulated aquaculture, and drifting plastic.

Ocean Outbreak follows renowned scientist Drew Harvell and her colleagues into the field as they investigate how four iconic marine animals—corals, abalone, salmon, and starfish—have been devastated by disease. Based on over twenty years of research, this firsthand account of the sometimes gradual, sometimes exploding impact of disease on our ocean’s biodiversity ends with solutions and a call to action. Only through policy changes and the implementation of innovative solutions from nature can we reduce major outbreaks, save some ocean ecosystems, and protect our fragile environment.





 
Previous page
  1. Print length
    232 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    March 16, 2021
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.53 x 8.25 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0520382986
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0520382985
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Harvell gives readers an inside look at the diseases that are on the rise beneath the waves. . . . in a detailed, engaging narrative." ― Smithsonian

"Despite the daunting challenge that marine diseases present, Harvell's book manages to inspire both pragmatism and optimism, which likely stems from the immense number of people working alongside Harvell to better understand these issues." ― Forbes Online

"Coral bleaching has become something of an everyday apocalypse. Researched, documented and foretold, it is a biotic meltdown to which we have become all too accustomed. But the seas hold other more insidious disasters, as much our fault as the heating of the oceans. They tend, though, to be less covered by the media, which is why Ocean Outbreak is such an important book. . . .[Harvell] does a first-rate job of inspiring readers, and of providing the right kind of proselytising to turn marine epidemiology into a go-to career for a new and concerned generation." ― New Scientist

"Harvell vividly recounts her work at the front line, studying die-offs such as the past decade’s catastrophic starfish crash. . . . a succinct summation of two decades of research." ― Nature

"A sobering account of what is happening to our seas. . . .This book is a must-read for all who care about the future of our oceans." ― Times Higher Education

“The book is written in a way that science-interested members of the public, and policymakers, will find useful—but students and researchers in marine science, yearning to understand more about marine disease outbreaks, will gain just as much. Harvell beautifully articulates the urgent need for scientists and non-scientists alike to do more to understand and protect the ocean.” ― Oceanography

"Harvell skillfully navigates through various outbreaks, breaking down what’s happening as well as root causes. And she provides ample hope: oftentimes, by addressing human health issues, we can also help marine creatures." ― Cool Green Science/The Nature Conservancy

"This well-written narrative can benefit a wide range of audiences. It provides insights not only into marine diseases but also into the constraints and practices of scientists responding to environmental threats." ― CHOICE

"This book is written with the intent to encourage development of policies to prevent and limit the spread of future outbreaks by not only educating policymakers, but engaging a broader audience. Harvell makes a plea for action, citing the need for surveillance of farmed species like salmon, shrimp, oysters, and abalone, where disease outbreaks also pose threats for wild populations." ― Fisheries

"Harvell is a skilled science writer and covers the topics with sufficient depth to keep disease aficionados on their toes, marveling at the complexity of diseases in the ocean. . . .The narrative is beautifully written and designed to even be consumed by people who know nothing about infectious [marine] diseases or, worse yet, might fear words like “microbe” or “pathogen” the way a 6th grade math phobe would look at his/her first quadratic equation." ― SeaDoc Society Blog

"We’ve all heard the oceans are sick, but this book helps explain why through recent histories of four iconic marine animals” ― Society of Environmental Journalists Blog

"This personal account makes for a lively read, filled with both humorous and harrowing stories from field research. . . . well written and appropriate for a range of readers interested in how global change affects ocean ecosystems and the interconnectedness of ocean organisms." ― Quarterly Review of Biology

From the Inside Flap

&;Drew Harvell&;s life changed when she visited her Caribbean field site and discovered dead fan corals everywhere, killed by a new disease no one had ever seen. This inspired a dramatic career change, and Harvell committed to battling diseases in the ocean that kill corals, snails, and sea stars. Part memoir and part science exposé, Ocean Outbreak is a recipe for launching into the unknown, providing a road map showing how one person can marshal the world of science to win against a global peril.&;&;Steve Palumbi, author of The Evolution Explosion: How Humans Cause Rapid Evolutionary Change
 
&;A marine medical whodunit, where the patients include sea stars facing odds worse than humans did during the Black Death. It is also a tale of hope, thanks to the dedication of a small band of scientists, including the author, who work tirelessly to understand and reduce the threats that disease poses to ocean life.&;&;&;Nancy Knowlton, author of Citizens of the Sea
 
&;As a marine ecologist specializing in disease, Drew Harvell worries most about the threat posed by microbes, because in oceans beset by so many stresses, disease-causing microbes can gain the upper hand and bring about rapid, wide-scale ecological change. Ocean Outbreak brilliantly lays out the risk of disease and smart plans for improving ocean health.&;&;&;Ted Danson actor, activist, and founding board member of Oceana
 
&;From salmon to sea stars, abalone to corals, marine disease pioneer Drew Harvell eloquently captures today&;s threats to the ocean&;and their solutions.&;&;&;Jane Lubchenco, Professor, Oregon State University; former Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; inaugural U.S. Science Envoy for the Ocean
 
&;With riveting storytelling and a chilling sense of urgency, Drew Harvell astutely analyzes the catastrophic outbreaks decimating four kinds of iconic sea creatures with consequences that affect everyone, everywhere. Knowing is the key to caring, and Ocean Outbreak has what it takes to upend complacency and inspire actions to heal the harm humans have imposed on the sea&;while there is still time.&;&;&;Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence and founder of Mission Blue

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press; First Edition (March 16, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 232 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0520382986
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520382985
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.53 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 39 ratings

About the author

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Drew Harvell

Drew Harvell

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Drew Harvell is Professor of Marine Ecology at Cornell University and Curator of the Blaschka Marine Invertebrate Collection. Her research on the sustainability of marine ecosystems has taken her from the reefs of Mexico, Indonesia, and Hawaii to the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest. She is a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America and the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future. Her writing appears in The New York Times, The Hill and as co-editor of The Ecology and Evolution of Inducible Defenses and in over 170 academic articles in journals such as Science, Nature, and Ecology.

She won the National Outdoor Book Award, top Science-Art book from The Smithsonian, and a Rachel Carson Environmental Book Honorable Mention for A Sea of Glass. She won The Prose Award and the 2020 Sustainability Science Award for Ocean Outbreak and is the 2019 Conservation Researcher from The Seattle Aquarium. Visit her author website at http://drewharvell.com/ and the Fragile Legacy Blaschka Website at http://fragilelegacy.info. Photo by David O Brown.

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
39 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

A. J. Sutter
5.0 out of 5 stars More readable, and more urgent, than typical popular-science books by researchers
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is a book that made me feel sad for dying mollusks, starfish and corals. Not just an intellectual understanding that their loss is bad for humans or the planet, but actually compassion for the suffering of individual creatures. That's how good the author (DH) is at communicating her passion for the subject.

Most of the book is about the sleuthing that went into discovering the origins of infectious diseases causing mass die-offs of corals, abalones, salmon, and starfish. DH embeds the science in a narrative of scientific expeditions, dives, island dysentery and scientific camaraderie that is relatable and good-humored. Unlike many first-person scientific books by investigators, there aren't any "Double Helix"-style intrigues, competitions or gossip here: just niceness and a real concern for the animals. There aren't any footnotes or citations to slow down the story DH tells, but there's an extensive list of scientific references at the end of the book, organized by chapter.

Although the book was written before COVID, the experience of the pandemic will probably shape the reader's experience. On the one hand, the story of unseen microbes wreaking death upon marine life all over the globe has a certain familiar feel. Global warming is making many animals such as corals and shellfish more vulnerable to illness and attendant death. Much of the undersea life we know and depend on may change if those species vanish: the message of this book isn't optimistic. On the other hand, given the dire infectious disease challenges facing human beings, it's hard to expect a broad section of the public to show much concern for the illnesses of cold-blooded sea creatures, many of them without brains. I'd be surprised if DH and her colleagues ever get the research funding they deserve, despite the importance of their studies for understanding the future of the ocean in the next couple of decades. Like most people (and, I expect, DH herself) I too love humans more than mollusks and their invertebrate ilk -- but even from a human-centered perspective it would be shortsighted to ignore the warnings in this book.

It's a pity that most or all reviews on this page to date seem to come from reviewers with some connection to the author. The book is clearly written, very absorbing, and very informative, and absolutely can stand on its own two (or five, or whatever) feet independently of friends-and-family promotion tactics. I teach a college course about biodiversity for business and economics students, and I'll definitely be recommending this book to the class. If you're interested in biodiversity, climate change or pandemics, or just want to read a popular science book about life on earth, this would be a great choice.
3 people found this helpful
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Francis Malinosky-Rummell
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading to save our oceans
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2021
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This book was very readable and full of interesting scientific references regarding ocean born diseases. It is devastating to read about the demise of Star fish in our own backyard. Fortunately the author offers suggestions and hope for the future, if we are willing to follow it.
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Michael Harvell
5.0 out of 5 stars An important contribution to understanding the jeopardy that we are putting our oceans in.
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2019
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This is a very readable account of four disease outbreaks in the ocean waters. The author’s personal engagement plays a continuing role that makes the book much more enjoyable than it might otherwise have been. For readers like me, who are not scientists, the introduction to the disease detection and analysis gave it almost a whodunnit quality. This book will be an important contribution to the understanding of the jeopardy in which we are putting our oceans and their inhabitants.
One person found this helpful
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B Ray
5.0 out of 5 stars Drew Harvell is Relevant and Inspiring!
Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2019
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A very readable account of the perils in our oceans. Drew Harvell, a Professor of Marine Ecology at Cornell University, is inspiring. The book is factual, often with a bit of humor, but not gloom and doom. There is much that an everyday person can do, however we cannot stand by and do nothing!
One person found this helpful
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Sharon Gerdes
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read on an important subject.
Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2021
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A lot of people say that the earth can withstand lots of climate change. What they don't understand is that just a few degrees of warming can be devastating to species like coral and starfish. This is a bit technical, but also very interesting. Reading it made me want to do more to protect all the creatures in the ocean.
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Brandy
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Book
Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2019
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I thought I knew a lot about the ocean and marine disease - but I was wrong. This is an awesome, must read text for everyone who loves and is connected to the ocean.
One person found this helpful
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Ellen G Miles
5.0 out of 5 stars A COMPELLING NARRATIVE BY A MARINE ECOLOGIST
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2019
In Ocean Outbreak; Confronting the Rising Tide of Marine Disease, Dr. Drew Harvell, a marine ecologist specializing in the study of coral, starfish and other ocean invertebrates, details the incidents of marine disease that she has encountered and studied during her career. She carefully describes her personal experiences that led to this research: dives to analyze sea fan coral disease in the Bahamas in 1996, salmon fishing near Friday Harbor and observations of the salmon infection that was first identified in Norway in 1984, and on-land measurements of ochre starfish melting from wasting disease on the west coast of the United States in 2013-14. She conducts these projects with an international network that includes biologists, lab technicians, college and graduate students, in Indonesia, the Caribbean and the west coast of the US, and at Cornell University, where she is on the faculty. The teams worked to identify the causes of the diseases, discovering pathogens that thrive in the warming waters of our oceans. They also identified the human contributions, including a warming ocean, the methods of sewage disposal, and, to coral especially, the impact of plastic litter. While Dr. Harvell continually cites the scientific literature that she and others have contributed to, her book will be particularly valuable to the general reader. Her pleasing narrative style includes vivid descriptions of coral and starfish that make the reader gasp with the wonder that Dr. Harvell feels as she carries out her research on causes of the diseases. Notable lessons for the reader are examples of the cooperation needed when testing a hypothesis of disease affecting the starfish by studying the large sunflower star; the length of time these studies occupy, including the ten-year study of sea fan coral; and international studies such as that sponsored by the World Bank after the 1997-98 El Nino warming event and resulting coral bleaching. She is relieved to let the reader know that the abalone and sea fan coral have developed resistance to some diseases. But she ends with this observation: “If enough people know what’s at stake, if they can imagine what we might lose, they will act. It’s my hope that increasing awareness of the ocean’s vulnerability and our dependence on it will force a major shift in how we treat this great expanse of our planet.”
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Top reviews from other countries

Mark Proctor
5.0 out of 5 stars 8 000 000 000 of us have to pay the ocean more respect
Reviewed in Canada on November 14, 2022
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This book is a very personal account of a scientist doing fundamental research in our Pacific waters.

The starfish die off on the West coast of North America was one of the largest species die-offs in recent eras.

As a scuba diver (for 51 years) I have always appreciated the 97 varieties of starfish in my local waters. Most are now gone.

The author applies recent DNA analysis techniques to track the causal agents.

Frankly, the low-key presentation and discussion raises a deep concern in me.

No hyperbole. Just the grim reality ... presented with a glimmer of hope.
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Dr R D Turner
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting book for anyone interested in marine biology and the future of the oceans
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 25, 2019
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Not too academic - clear descriptions of numerous problems facing marine life, ending on a positive note as to how they can be tackled. Fully referenced for those who want more detailed information.
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Scott
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in Canada on March 30, 2022
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Delivered quickly and in perfect condition. Thanks!
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