Toxic algae blooms can be deadly, and they're becoming more common thanks to climate change. Here's how to protect yourself and your pets.
Toxic blooms in freshwater lakes and streams are usually caused by cyanobacteria, while blooms that occur in the ocean are typically the result of algae.A bloom occurs when algae or cyanobacteria suddenly grow to huge numbers. In 2011, for instance,
“In the ocean at least, there’s about 100 species that can produce known toxins, and there’s a lot of them in freshwater as well,” Anderson said.Not quite. Red tides are certainly an example of an algae bloom, but although the water may be red, the algae might not be producing toxins. Scientists have moved away from using the term “red tide” because it’s not quite descriptive enough.
“It would be people swimming in a lake and either swallowing water or breathing in aerosolized cells and toxin while they ride on a motorboat or Jet Ski,” he said. “A lot of these animals just go down to the shore and drink. They’re just used to doing that,” he said. “Sometimes some of these algae dry on the shore of the water and get kind of crispy or crunchy, and dogs will eat that. They tend to like the taste of it.”
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