Latest news with #toxicAlgae
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘You can see clumps': Watch out for new toxic algae, deadly for dogs, in Columbia River
PORTLAND, Ore. () — Public health officials are warning the public about a new type of toxic algae in the Columbia River that can be deadly to animals. This new algae has so far been found along the moving body of water that is the Columbia River, considered an unusual setting compared to where other algae are commonly found. Students stage walkout after cut to theater program Officials said after eating this new form of toxic algae. That's why public health officials say to be extra cautious as the weather gets warmer. Dr. Alan Melnick with Clark County Public Health is warning dog owners to be on the lookout for this new form of toxic algae. 'We became aware of this new algae, these benthic mats, basically last fall when we had a dog death after being exposed to these benthic algae mats,' Melnick said. Melnick said another dog also died after consuming this algae last year. 'They're found in moving bodies of water,' Melnick said. 'And they don't have the same appearance, they're actually below the surface. The water will look really clear but underneath there are these mats of algae.' The mats are usually slimy, smelly and can range in color. Valurie Kashchenko didn't even bring her pup fishing with her today. 'I don't feel comfortable bringing my dog to any body of water right now,' she said. 'I mean, you can see clumps of it coming up on the shore. And even the places I go to fish, my line gets tangled up in it, there's just so much of it, there's just so much of it, I'm scared if my dog goes out there and ingests it, something bad is going to happen.' 'Plan ahead' for OR 217 SB lane closures this weekend Kashchenko and public health officials have the same advice for people and their pets hitting the Columbia this summer. 'Just be very cautious, if you see any warning signs just watch them very carefully, and it's always okay to just be extra cautious,' Kashchenko said. Public health officials also said people could have a reaction to the algae — they get a tingly, burning sensation. Clark County public health officials said to keep an eye on younger children getting in the water as well. And if a child is suspected of being in contact with the algae, they should see a doctor. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
SBS Australia
24-05-2025
- Science
- SBS Australia
'Never had a situation like this': Why Australia is unprepared for this deadly ocean threat
Across South Australia's coast, toxic algae have been destroying marine life. Source: Getty, SBS, Supplied Edithburgh Jetty on South Australia's Yorke Peninsula is usually a hot spot for divers. Known for its azure blue waters and vibrant micro-ecosystem, dive enthusiasts come from all over the world to marvel at its marine wonders: leafy sea dragons, pyjama squid, rodless angler fish and vivid corals and sponges that cover the jetty's pylons. But since mid-March, life under the jetty has been decimated by a deadly algae bloom , now spanning four-and-a-half thousand square kilometres of South Australia's gulf and coastal waters. Cinematographer Paul Macdonald has been studying life under the jetty for more than 20 years and says the damage is staggering. "It's been part of my life for so long, and now, to see this devastation, it's just heartbreaking," he says. "Words cannot describe how sad it is." Macdonald also runs a local dive school at the jetty with his wife, Elizabeth Solich. Their monitoring in recent years led to the Edithburgh rodless angler fish being confirmed as a new species in 2021 and given the Indigenous name Narungga Frogfish. "I'd seen it breed three times. It was always in the one spot, and the coral it was living in was the size of a football," Macdonald says. To realise it was gone was a really sad moment. The harmful algae bloom (HAB) was initially identified as karenia mikimotoi, a phytoplankton that produces a reactive oxygen species that damages gills — preventing marine creatures from breathing. It also causes respiratory and flu-like symptoms in humans. Another strain of karenia that produces small amounts of neurotoxin (brevetoxin) has also been identified in the bloom. What's perhaps most alarming is that little can be done to prevent HABs from occurring, but the effects can be mitigated with close monitoring. Most of what is known about the impact of the bloom on marine species has come from data collected by citizen scientists like Macdonald and Solich. Karenia mikimotoi was first identified after surfers reported a mysterious foam at Waitpinga Beach on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula in March. Since then, more than 1,400 citizen reports and photos of dead or sick marine life have exposed the consequences of the HAB. A shared database published on the website shows that more than 200 different species of marine life have been killed. OzFish, one of the non-government organisations leading the project, identified more than 100 species of fish and sharks alone. "This includes rarely encountered deepwater sharks and iconic leafy sea dragons, and popular recreational fishing species like flathead, squid, and blue swimmer crabs, and rock lobsters," says OzFish's South Australian project manager Brad Martin. There have been calls for increased monitoring and testing during HABs and questions raised over Australia's preparedness for future events. Faith Coleman, an estuarine ecologist, who has spent hours volunteering to educate the local community about the bloom, suggests the lack of data is "a wasted opportunity". Coleman runs an environmental consultancy agency with her mother, scientist Peri Coleman, and says the main response to the bloom has come from citizen action. The Colemans have been undertaking plankton counts under a light microscope from samples collected by the citizen scientists. "That's really the only data we have in the public sphere," Coleman says. So that means there is very limited stuff we can do, to work out how to stop it in the future. She says regular monitoring of swimming beaches and samples taken at sea and at depth are needed to study the bloom. In the US, federal legislation governs the research and monitoring of HABs. Director of the Southern California Conservation Observing System, Clarissa Anderson, says this has led to "state-of-the-art monitoring systems" in areas with a history of HABs. "We've been lucky to have a big academic and now government investment monitoring program that goes back to the early 2000s," she says. "So we do have some pretty long-term records with which to put any one of these individual events into context." In Australia, the only labs testing for HABs at the species level are those paid for by the aquaculture industry. Marine biologist Shauna Murray — who identified the first sample of karenia mikimotoi at Sydney's University of Technology — says there are only a handful of experts equipped to do this work in Australia. "I think largely there hasn't been that many samples collected, and that's largely because we don't have the infrastructure for it," Murray says. "We've never had a situation like this in the past where we've had to collect a lot of samples rapidly from a harmful algal bloom that's not just affecting the aquaculture industry, but is affecting the wider population." What's causing harmful algae blooms? There are hundreds of phytoplankton species that are not toxic and regularly bloom in South Australia, due to an upwelling of nutrient-rich water from the depths. "All the way from Ningaloo [Reef, off Western Australia] to New Zealand, we have this long string of blooms that often occur every year, and it's why the southern right whales come to feed, and it's why they have their children here, [because] there is this food source," Coleman says. South Australia is also in the midst of one of the most severe and long-lasting marine heatwaves on record; the state's environmental protection authority says it has created conditions that have allowed karenia mikimotoi to bloom. In other parts of the world karenia mikimotoi blooms at cooler temperatures. But, according to Coleman, the destruction of oyster reefs, seagrasses and other life on the floor of the Spencer and St. Vincent gulfs either side of the Yorke Peninsula has contributed to the imbalance. "The hope is that if we can restore the benthic life [deep-sea dwelling marine life] in the gulfs," she says. "We will have more fish, we'll have more life; we'll also have water that is clearer and cooler — and it will reduce our vulnerability." SBS News contacted the South Australian government for comment but did not receive a response. Share this with family and friends
Free Malaysia Today
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Free Malaysia Today
Toxic algae killing marine life off Australian coast
Karenia mikimotoi damages the gills of fish and prevents them from breathing. (OzFish/AFP pic) SYDNEY : A vast bloom of toxic algae is killing more than 200 species of marine life off the southern coast of Australia, scientists and conservation groups say. The algae – Karenia mikimotoi – appeared in waters around South Australia state in March, causing mass deaths in species including sharks, rays, crabs and octopuses. 'There are carcasses littering beaches,' said Brad Martin, a manager of the non-profit fish conservation group Ozfish. 'It is common for our volunteers to say: 'We walked for 1km along the beach and saw 100 dead rays and other marine life',' he told AFP. Beaches on wildlife-rich tourist draws such as Kangaroo Island, Yorke Peninsula and Fleurieu Peninsula have been affected. The bloom stretches across 4,400sq km, Martin said – an area larger than Japan or Germany. Karenia mikimotoi has been detected around the world since the 1930s, including off Japan, Norway, the US and China where it has disrupted local tourism and fishery industries, causing millions of dollars' worth of damage. But Martin said South Australia had not previously experienced a toxic algae bloom of this scale or duration. The South Australian government said the event is thought to have been driven by a marine heatwave, as well as relatively calm marine conditions. Marine biologist Shauna Murray, who identified the algae species for the authorities, said it damages the gills of fish and prevents them from breathing. 'It is not pleasant,' said Murray, from the University of Technology Sydney. 'It will probably take some time for the ecosystem to recuperate.' While conditions usually ease towards the end of April, there had been no relief yet, South Australian environment minister Susan Close said this month. 'We need a big change in weather to break this thing up – there is nothing we can do to precipitate this,' she told national broadcaster ABC. In the meantime, South Australian authorities have urged beachgoers to avoid swimming in water that is discoloured or foamy, warning that it can irritate the skin and affect breathing. Climate change has led to an increase in the frequency and duration of marine heatwaves across Australia, which significantly affects marine ecosystems.
E&E News
16-05-2025
- Science
- E&E News
NOAA staff cuts could threaten monitoring of Great Lakes toxic algae
Deep staff reductions and potential funding cuts to NOAA's primary science center on the Great Lakes could increase the risk of human exposure to toxic algae, a perennial threat in the world's largest freshwater ecosystem, officials say. Since February, NOAA has lost 16 staffers at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Those employees — who were either fired probationary workers or longtime staffers who took retirement — included key members of a team responsible for collecting, analyzing and communicating risks from 'harmful algal blooms,' or HABs. That's more than a third of the 48-employee lab best known by its acronym, GLERL. Advertisement 'This is a critical time,' said Gregory Dick, director of the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, or CIGLR, a formal partnership between NOAA and 15 academic institutions and private-sector partners that is housed within GLERL. 'I would definitely say our HABs monitoring program is very much in jeopardy for this summer.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
15-05-2025
- Climate
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Toxic Algae Killing Marine Life Off Australian Coast
A vast bloom of toxic algae is killing more than 200 species of marine life off the southern coast of Australia, scientists and conservation groups say. The algae -- Karenia mikimotoi -- appeared in waters around South Australia state in March, causing mass deaths in species including sharks, rays, crabs and octopuses. "There are carcasses littering beaches," said Brad Martin, a manager of the non-profit fish conservation group Ozfish. "It is common for our volunteers to say: 'We walked for one kilometer along the beach and saw 100 dead rays and other marine life'," he told AFP. Beaches on wildlife-rich tourist draws such as Kangaroo Island, Yorke Peninsula and Fleurieu Peninsula have been affected. The bloom stretches across 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles), Martin said -- an area larger than Japan or Germany. Karenia mikimotoi has been detected around the world since the 1930s, including off Japan, Norway, the United States and China where it has disrupted local tourism and fishery industries, causing millions of dollars worth of damage. But Martin said South Australia had not previously experienced a toxic algae bloom of this scale or duration. The South Australian government said the event is thought to have been driven by a marine heatwave, as well as relatively calm marine conditions. Marine biologist Shauna Murray, who identified the algae species for the authorities, said it damages the gills of fish and prevents them from breathing. "It is not pleasant," said Murray, from the University of Technology Sydney. "It will probably take some time for the ecosystem to recuperate." While conditions usually ease towards the end of April, there had been no relief yet, South Australian Environment Minister Susan Close said this month. "We need a big change in weather to break this thing up -- there is nothing we can do to precipitate this," she told national broadcaster ABC. In the meantime, South Australian authorities have urged beachgoers to avoid swimming in water that is discolored or foamy, warning that it can irritate the skin and affect breathing. Climate change has led to an increase in the frequency and duration of marine heatwaves across Australia, which significantly affects marine ecosystems.
