Algae Blooms The water beneath this surface bloom looks clear. The situation is not toxic until the bacteria particles clump together.
PERIL POND
in the
Avoid the dangers of harmful algae blooms
by Jim Kennedy, National Pond Service
D
o you know what you're looking at? This is not green algae or duckweed — it’s a bloom forming cyanobacteria, or sometimes called a harmful algae bloom. Pond contractors working in aquatic environments should be aware of the dangers associated with cyanobacteria for their own health and for their customers’ safety.
What Are Cyanobacteria? Cyanobacteria are group of photosynthetic bacteria found worldwide that can grow quickly when warm water combines with sunlight and nutrients like phosphorous and nitrogen. Cyanobacteria are naturally occurring organisms that have the ability to make their own food using organic compounds and sunlight. This form of bacte-
July/August 2022
ria has been on Earth since before the dinosaurs existed. Whether you are working on a neglected garden pond or a larger pond, you could become exposed to a potential cyanotoxin. Some of the more common cyanotoxins are Dolichospermum, Oscillatoria, Microcystis and Chrysosporum, which produce cyanotoxins like anatoxin, cylindrospermopsin and microcystin. If you become exposed to some of these bacteria, you may experience strong headaches, vomiting and nausea, diarrhea, slurred speech and — hopefully not, but possibly — respiratory paralysis. During September 2020, a suspected cyanobacteria bloom in Botswana was responsible for the death of 330 elephants that had consumed water from an infected pond. Our company was working during this time for a client in central New York State who had the same cyanotoxin in their pond that was responsible for killing the elephants.
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