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What is an Algal Bloom? Algal blooms are a rapid spread or build up of algae in freshwater. Although algae is needed to produce oxygen and maintain a healthy food chain, large amounts of algae can damage the ecosystem. Harmful algal blooms (HAB) look like foam or scum floating on top of the water. The main types of HABs are cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates, and diatoms. They create a change of color in water from their photosynthetic pigment. Cyanobacteria algal blooms are bluish-green color, and it covers the surface of the water blocking sunlight from reaching living organisms. Dinoflagellates and diatoms can cause red tides. Diatom algal blooms can be particularly dangerous because it contains a neurotoxin: domoic acid. These types of harmful blooms can kill marine life and make water sources unsafe to drink. Causes: Excess nutrients in freshwater can cause algal blooms to occur. Phosphate and fixed nitrogen are the primary nutrients that are linked to the cause of algal blooms. Phosphates and fixed nitrogen can be found in common household cleaning products and fertilizers. Runoff causes fertilizers to enter watersheds and changes in the water’s concentration, and this causes an overgrowth of algae and other aquatic plants. Algae growth increases because of the extra nutrients in the water, but it dies quickly and absorbs high amounts of the oxygen in of the water. Microbes help dead algae decompose and also diminish large amounts of oxygen in the process. Consequences: The lack of oxygen in the water can cause marine plants and animals to die. Over time, when oxygen is not present in water source, it will create a dead zone. A dead zone is a water source that no longer can support marine life. Harmful algal blooms are not just harmful to marine life. Any living mammal that is exposed to toxins produced by algal blooms, it may result in death or serious illnesses. Large amounts of dead fish that have been exposed to HABs can be deadly to the animals that feed off of them. Birds and other animals can become poisoned after eating dead fish that have been exposed to HABs.

Possible solutions: A traditional method for destroying HABs is algaecides, but this method will not be an effective for large bodies of water. A large amount of algaecide would be needed to prevent HABs in large bodies of water, which would poison marine life. Some scientists believe that investing in devices that will monitor toxicant levels in the water and predict future algal blooms. However, there is limited funding available to invest in this idea. Preventing chemical runoff from fertilizers and other products containing fixed nitrates and phosphorus is another way to prevent algae blooms. Changing farming methods may help prevent excess runoff from entering water sources. Using drip irrigation may help prevent excess runoff because it irrigates plant roots through tubes, which prevents excess fertilizer from spreading. Making cleaning products that do not contain phosphate may also help prevent HABs.

References Harmful algal bloom. (2018, April 12). Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algal_bloom</

Algal bloom. (2018). Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algal_bloom

Harmful algal bloom (HAB)-associated illness. (2017, November 17). Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov