https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-01/tas-red-algae-bloom-bioluminescent/104772636

Note #Lutruwita is the #firstnations name of #Tasmania in the #PalawaKani language, which derived from the #BrunyIsland language.

#environment #algaeblooms #bioluminescent

Why on earth you'd choose to do this in the #sfbay is beyond me. You're picking one of the least friendly #regulatory environments for anything affecting the #environment, layering on a pretty sensitive ecosystem at its baseline along with tons of runoff from NorCal agriculture, making it particularly susceptible to effects like #AlgaeBlooms. YC didn't think this one all the way through.

https://www.wired.com/story/networkocean-datacenter-san-francisco-bay-environment/

Half of all #eelgrass in #CascoBay has died within last four years, experts say

Eelgrass, according to Friends of Casco Bay, is home to juvenile lobster and fish. Without eelgrass, much of Maine's seafood economy loses its base, they said.

By Jack Molmud
March 29, 2023

SOUTH PORTLAND, #Maine — According to a report from Friends of Casco Bay, 54 percent of all eelgrass meadows in Casco Bay have died off since 2018.

"This comes as the 2022 to 2023 winter saw water temps reach four degrees above average.

"'My first response was it's heartbreaking,' Will Everitt, the executive director of Friends of Casco Bay said. 'My second response was now is the time we have to do more than ever to protect the bay.'

"Everitt said eelgrass is dying due to a combination of consequences from the warm water.

"Warm water attracts more invasive #GreenCrabs, which cut the eelgrass and eat softshell crabs, he said. This disturbs the naturally-occurring species, he said.

"'When we have a really cold winter it can kill back the green crabs,' Everitt said.

"He added a warm winter won't kill as many green crabs, allowing them to reproduce and spawn more green crabs for summer and fall.

"'The loss of this is tragic and could have a huge impact on our coastal waters,' Everitt said.

"Everitt added the #WarmingOceans in Maine also result in more frequent #AlgaeBlooms, which prevent the eelgrass from accessing proper sunlight to grow.

"Fewer eelgrass meadows mean fewer lobsters in inshore waters, he added.

"'A number of critters in the bay depend on this... the warming waters are going to do a number on this if it continues,' Everitt said.

"If the situation continues to worsen, Everitt suggested experts would recommend planting eelgrass from more southern states so that subspecies can handle the warmer temperatures Maine is set to experience."

https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/tech/science/environment/half-of-all-eelgrass-in-casco-bay-has-died-in-the-last-four-years-experts-say-environment-climate-maine-science/97-addbbefc-8513-4860-9289-52e4250299fc

#FriendsOfCascoBay #SaltMarshes #SaveTheWetlands #EelGrass #SaveTheWetlands
#SaveTheMarshes #ProtectNature #NewEngland #GulfOfMaine

Are drying #rivers a warning of #Europe's tomorrow?

by Paul Hokenos
13 September 2022

"Across southern #Romania, much of which relies on the #Danube for fresh #DrinkingWater, hundreds of villages are rationing water supplies and curtailing the irrigation of #farmland that Europe relies upon for #corn, #grain, #sunflowers, and #vegetables. The cruise ships that normally ferry tourists along the iconic waterway are docked. In the first six months of 2022, Romania's #hydropower utility #Hidroelectrica generated a third less electricity than it normally does. And Romanian #wheat farmers say that drought has cost them a fifth of their harvest. Romania is one of Europe's largest wheat producers, and all the more important for the international market in light of Russia's blockage of much of Ukraine's wheat exports.

"'At towns up and down the Danube, #drought and #ClimateChange take on an existential meaning,' explains Nick Thorpe, author of The Danube: A Journey Upriver from the #BlackSea to the #BlackForest. 'In contrast to city dwellers, they're having this disaster unfold before their eyes.'"

[...]

"Scientists say that the economic cost of the rivers' decimation is only part of the problem. The less water in the water system as a whole, explains Gabriel Singer, an ecologist at University of Innsbruck, Austria, the less dilution for #salts and the slower a river flows. This leads to higher #saline content and #HigherWaterTemperatures, which can be lethal for many species of #Riverine life, such as Danube #salmon, b#arbel, and European #grayling, among many others.

"Higher temperatures also feed #AlgaeBlooms, Singer explains, which can be #toxic for river systems. This is what has happened in several German rivers, including the Moselle and Neckar, as well as perhaps the Oder River, where in mid-August more than 100 metric tons (220,000lbs) of dead fish – among them #perch, #catfish, #pike, and #asp – washed up on its shores within a week. (Experts are currently investigating the cause of the die-off.)"

Read more:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220912-are-drying-rivers-a-warning-of-europes-tomorrow

#WaterIsLife #Europe #DanubeRiver #Extinction #ClimateCrisis #ClimateCatastrophe #HungerGames

Algal Toxins and Wildlife Health

By National Wildlife Health Center September 30, 2019

"Harmful #AlgalBlooms (#HABs) have the potential to harm fish and wildlife, domestic animals, livestock, and humans through toxin production or ecological disturbances such as oxygen depletion and blockage of sunlight.

"To investigate the effects of algal toxins on wildlife, the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) has examined over 300 dead animals collected during freshwater and marine #HAB events since 2000. Varying levels of algal toxins were found in over 100 of these animals. In some cases, the history, clinical signs, and high toxin levels have allowed scientists to attribute mortality to algal toxicosis. Recent events have included Kittlitz’s #murrelets (Brachyramphus brevirostris) in Alaska that died after consuming sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) high in #saxitoxin (Shearn-Bochsler et al. 2014), #GreenTreeFrogs (Hyla cinerea) in Texas with suspected #brevetoxicosis in association with a #RedTide event (Buttke et al. 2018), and #LittleBrownBats (Myotis lucifugus carissima) in Utah found dead during a HAB event at a reservoir commonly used for recreation and as a source of municipal #DrinkingWater (Isidoro-Ayza et al. 2019).

"In other cases, algal toxins have been detected in wildlife, but their contribution to mortality remains unclear. Part of the reason these detections have been difficult to interpret is that the toxic dose of many algal toxins in wildlife species is unknown and the microscopic lesions (if any) particularly in birds, have not been well described. To better understand the effects of these toxins the NWHC is conducting laboratory exposure trials to determine the lethal dose of toxin in birds and to examine the repeated exposure of waterfowl to sub-lethal toxin ingestion. In addition to exposure trials, NWHC is undergoing a retrospective review of previous detections of algal toxin from NWHC’s case archives to examine demographic, spatiotemporal, and diagnostic features associated with wildlife exposure to algal toxins."

https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nwhc/science/algal-toxins-and-wildlife-health

#AlgaeBlooms #WaterIsLife
#Cyanobacteria
#ToxicAlgae #Wildlife

Our local town pond is closed because of #HarmfulAlgae blooms.

Algal Blooms in Maine Lakes

"Most freshwater Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are caused by a type of bacteria called cyanobacteria. Under certain conditions, the cyanobacteria can quickly multiply and many species of the bacteria can produce toxins that can cause rashes, nausea, diarrhea, and in severe cases death."

https://www.maine.gov/dep/water/lakes/algalbloom.html

#AlgaeBlooms #Maine #HABs #MaineLakes #WaterIsLife #Cyanobacteria #Toxic #Fishing #Swimming #Pets #Wildlife

#Flowers grown floating on polluted waterways can help clean up nutrient runoff

Cut-flower farms could be a sustainable option for mitigating water pollution.

by Jazmin Locke-Rodriguez and Krishnaswamy Jayachandran, The Conversation

2/17/2024, 7:08 AM

"Flowers grown on inexpensive floating platforms can help clean polluted waterways, over 12 weeks extracting 52 percent more #phosphorus and 36 percent more #nitrogen than the natural nitrogen cycle removes from untreated water, according to our new research. In addition to filtering water, the cut flowers can generate income via the multibillion-dollar floral market.

"In our trials of various flowers, giant #marigolds stood out as the most successful, producing long, marketable stems and large blooms. Their yield matched typical flower farm production.

Why it matters

"Water pollution is caused in large part by runoff from #farms, urban #lawns, and even #septic tanks. When it rains, excess phosphorus, nitrogen, and other chemicals wash into #lakes and #rivers.

"These nutrients feed #algae, leading to widespread and harmful #AlgaeBlooms, which can severely lower oxygen in water, creating 'dead zones' where aquatic life cannot survive. Nutrient runoff is a critical issue as urban areas expand, affecting the health of water #ecosystems.

"Water pollution is an escalating crisis in our area of Miami-Dade and Broward counties in #Florida. The 2020 #BiscayneBay fish kill, the largest mass death of aquatic life on record for the region, serves as a stark reminder of this growing environmental issue.

How we do our work

"We study sustainable agriculture and water pollution in South Florida.

"Inspired by traditional floating farm practices, including the #Aztecs’ #chinampas in Mexico and the #Miccosukees’ tree island settlements in Florida, we tested the idea of growing cut flowers on floating rafts as a way to remove excess nutrients from waterways. Our hope was not only that the flowers would pay for themselves, but that they could provide jobs here in Miami, the center of the US cut-flower trade.

"We floated 4-by-6-foot (1.2-by-1.8-meter) mats of inexpensive polyethylene foam called Beemats in 620-gallon (2,300-liter) outdoor test tanks that mirrored water conditions of nearby polluted waterways. Into the mats, we transplanted flower seedlings, including #zinnias, #sunflowers, and giant marigolds. The polluted tank water was rich in nutrients, eliminating the need for any fertilizer. As the seedlings matured into plants over 12 weeks, we tracked the tanks’ improving water quality.

"Encouraged by the success of the marigolds in our tanks, we moved our trials to the nearby canals of Coral Gables and Little River. We anchored the floating platforms with 50-pound (22.7-kilogram) weights and also tied them to shore for extra stability. No alterations to the landscape were needed, making the process simple and doable.

What still isn’t known

"The success of the giant marigolds might be linked to the extra roots that grow from their stems known as adventitious roots. These roots likely help keep the plants stable on the floating platforms. Identifying additional plants with roots like these could help broaden plant choices.

"Future raft designs may also need modifications to ensure better stability and growth for other cut-flower and crop species.

What’s next

"Our promising findings show floating cut-flower farms could be a sustainable option for mitigating water pollution.

"One of us (Locke-Rodriguez) is expanding this research and working to scale up floating farms in South Florida as a demonstration of what could take place in the many locations facing similar issues worldwide.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/flowers-grown-floating-on-polluted-waterways-can-help-clean-up-nutrient-runoff/