Arya News - That fertilizer soaking into your lawn after a storm has to go somewhere, and where it ends up could be poisoning the lakes you swim in every summer. Toxic algal blooms are spreading faster than most ...
The post Your Yard’s Runoff Could Be Feeding a Toxic Lake Bloom appeared first on A-Z Animals .
It’s summer, and gardens aren’t the only things that are growing. Toxic algal blooms, caused by cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), also love July’s hot weather. These are considered Harmful Algal Blooms , or HABs. When environmental conditions are right, they can wreak havoc on local lakes and ponds.
Cyanobacteria blooms drastically alter the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems . They also harm local wildlife and pose a threat to humans, something many realize far too late into their swimming trips.
All of these toxins are produced by blue-green algae, which form a thick, neon bluish-green layer on the surface of a lake or pond. When this happens, the algae steal oxygen from the surrounding water. Cyanobacteria use photosynthesis to grow, absorbing carbon dioxide and sunlight to spread. As this happens, the water’s oxygen levels decrease, suffocating aquatic life that depend on it.
Even inhaling blue-green algae can have devastating consequences.
©Aleksandrkozak/Shutterstock.com
As this happens, aquatic plant life living beneath the toxic blooms begins to die out. This cycle is difficult to stop once it starts because dead plants release nitrogen as a byproduct, which then feeds the cyanobacteria and encourages further growth. As a result, the bloom poses a threat to unsuspecting wildlife and humans.
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