#toxicalgae — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #toxicalgae, aggregated by home.social.
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#Phytoplankton found in #CascoBay can harm aquatic life
#MainePublic | By Molly Enking
Published September 9, 2026"The Maine Department of Marine Resources is monitoring an algal bloom in Casco Bay that it says can be toxic to aquatic life, but not humans.
"The phytoplankton can turn the water brown and give off an odor, which was detected in Portland Harbor on Sunday, according to a social media post by the city Harbormaster.
"The first known outbreak of the same bacteria in Casco Bay was in 2017, which led to die-offs of shellfish and lobster.
"It is not yet clear whether fisheries are at risk during this outbreak; the DMR says it will continue to test and monitor waters, from Portland Harbor to Harpswell."
https://www.mainepublic.org/climate/2026-09-09/phytoplakton-found-in-casco-bay-can-harm-aquatic-life
#Maine #MaineNews #CascoBay #ToxicAlgae #MarineLife #WaterIsLife #ClimateChange #ClimateDiaryMaine #MPBN #KareniaMikimotoi
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I had a bad feeling that this summer would be the last time I would have fried clams...
Dead clams, worms reported amid #CascoBay #AlgalBloom
Story by Griffin Stockford, 9/9/2026
"Dead and dying clams and worms, brown water, and a strong odor of decay have been reported along parts of the Harpswell coast as the Maine Department of Marine Resources monitors a widespread algal bloom in Casco Bay.
"Clam harvesters in #HarpswellME began reporting the unusual conditions, prompting the town's harbormaster to ask coastal residents and harvesters to document what they see and provide photographs, descriptions, and exact locations.
"The Maine Department of Marine Resources has also confirmed it is monitoring a bloom of the commonly occurring phytoplankton #KareniaMikimotoi.
"The bloom has been observed from Portland Harbor to Middle Bay, with additional reports from waters in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, according to DMR. Phytoplankton counts in Portland reached 2 million cells per liter, according to officials.
"DMR staff and members of the public have reported brown discoloration of the water and an accompanying odor.
"Early reports indicate clam deaths in Middle Bay and #MaquoitBay may be related to the bloom, according to DMR.
"The agency said Karenia mikimotoi is not a threat to human health, unlike some other harmful algal blooms that can produce toxins associated with shellfish poisoning. However, the phytoplankton can have harmful effects on marine organisms.
"The species can produce compounds that potentially affect fish and shellfish. #FishKills and other marine mortality events have been reported during blooms of Karenia mikimotoi in locations including #HongKong, #Australia, #Ireland, #Japan, #Korea and #Alaska."
Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/dead-clams-worms-reported-amid-casco-bay-algal-bloom/ar-AA2bSmQt#Maine #MaineNews #CascoBay #ToxicAlgae #MarineLife #WaterIsLife #ClimateChange #ClimateDiaryMaine
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@anne_twain FFS! Nuclear plant discharges of heated water can also increase #HABs! Very bad!
" 'It is possible that activities associated with the working [desalination] plant, such as brine discharge and entrainment in the intake structure, will change the ecology of the plankton in the region and may promote blooms of harmful/toxic algal species which have been identified as components of the plankton community off Port Stanvac. Further monitoring is required before the impact of the Adelaide desalination plant on the plankton community off Port Stanvac can be adequately assessed.' "
#DesalinizationPlants #HABs #AlgalBloom #KareniaMikimotoi #ToxicAlgae
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So, the waters off the Maine coast have been warming up (it was very warm when I last waded in the waters in May). Seems
Karenia mikimotoi has appeared here as well. I expect to see it return with warming waters... Also, this article claims it's less toxic that Red Tide (a cousin) -- but from what I just read in the ABC News article, I would disagree with that! @anne_twain @ToodenFrom WHOI:
"Karenia mikimotoi
- Globally distributed, can cause mass die-offs of shellfish, crustaceans, echinoderms and fish
- Karenia mikimotoi produces several toxic compounds, blooms can also lead to anoxic conditions
- First bloom in Maine occurred in 2017, with a second bloom in 2019
- Karenia mikimotoi is also found in Massachusetts waters"What is Karenia mikimotoi?
"In recent years, the genus Karenia has made the news in the United States as a result of the massive #RedTides caused by #KareniaBrevis [That's the one I know about]. These blooms have caused widespread fish and wildlife mortalities and impacted public health in Florida leading to significantly disrupted tourism and fisheries industries which have cost local economies millions of dollars in damages on an almost annual basis.
"Compared to this notorious HAB species, its sister species, Karenia mikimotoi, is less toxic [!!! Ummmm....] but more globally widespread with blooms reported in Ireland, Norway, India, Japan, Korea Australia, South Africa, Alaska, Texas, and the east coast of the U.S. The blooms of this species can stretch many kilometers, persist for multiple months, and reach concentrations of several million algal cells per liter.
"There have not been confirmed reports of direct impacts to human health by #KareniaMikimotoi, but blooms of this species can cause large-scale mortality events of marine fauna such as shellfish, echinoderms, crustaceans, and fish. Karenia mikimotoi has been shown to produce several toxic compounds as well as reactive oxygen species, but toxicity is highly variable by strain and the factors contributing to mortality events are still not entirely understood. Although overall concentrations of toxins in K. mikimotoi appear to be relatively low, there is evidence that their effect may be enhanced when the cells come into direct contact with fish gills. Anoxic conditions can also occur when K. mikimotoi cells die in large numbers and subsequent breakdown by bacteria deplete oxygen in the surrounding waters. These anoxic events have also contributed to die-offs."
What is the history of Karenia in the Northeast?
"Karenia mikimotoi was first isolated from a coastal lagoon near Woods Hole, MA in 1957 and classified at that time as Gyrodinium aureolum. Since this time, large scale blooms of K. mikimotoi appear to be an emerging problem in New England, with the first occurrence in Maine reported in August, 2017. This bloom was concentrated in the Fore River, Portland Harbor, and parts of the Harpswell coastal waters, and coincided with a die-off of softshell clams in Brunswick, ME. This mortality event cost fishermen $250,000, but a direct causal link between the bloom and shellfish mortality was not established. In August 2019 another bloom occurred in Casco Bay, with no mortalities recorded. Karenia mikimotoi is periodically found in Massachusetts waters, usually in the summer and early fall."
https://northeasthab.whoi.edu/habs/karenia-mikimotoi/
#AlgalBloom #HABs #ToxicAlgae
#Climate #OceanTemperature
#Extinction #ClimateCatastrophe
#ELE #ExtinctionLevelEvent -
"Many people living in or near impacted areas told the ABC they felt they had been left in the dark by authorities.
"While state government bodies including SA Health, the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, South Australia (PIRSA) and the EPA have issued information on their websites and through the media, a lack of information in the days and weeks after the bloom prompted a movement of citizen scientists to collect their own samples and share their findings online."
#Australia #algalBloom #ToxicAlgae #OceansAreLife
#Climate #OceanTemperature
#Extinction #ClimateCatastrophe
#ELE #ExtinctionLevelEvent #KareniaMikimotoi -
HOLY CRAP! This is very bad. I've never heard of #KareniaMikimotoi, but I'm going to look into it. This is something out of a dystopian nightmare! @anne_twain @Tooden
#Australia #algalBloom #ToxicAlgae #Climate #OceanTemperature #Extinction #ClimateCatastrophe #ELE #ExtinctionLevelEvent
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I heard about this on NPR today... It sounds promising, but we're going to need them everywhere (just like the scrubbers in The Peripheral), and they need to be affordable!
#Nanobubbles help this lakeside cope with #ToxicAlgae — and the changing climate
by Caleigh Wells
Jun 5, 2024"#ClimateChange is wreaking havoc on some freshwater lakes. They’re getting warmer, and that is spawning lots of toxic algae. When the algae runs rampant like it did 15 years ago, it can kill every other living thing in the lake. Sometimes the city of #LakeElsinore, situated halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, has to close the lake to prevent people from getting sick."
[...]
"Fresh water bodies across the globe are falling victim to [the toxic algae] problem as the climate crisis makes water warmer. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 40,000 bodies of water are 'impaired' just in the United States.
"Lake Elsinore is the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California. Now the city on its shores is spending $2 million to try out a new technology to fix it."
Read more: https://www.marketplace.org/2024/06/05/nanobubbles-moleaer-lake-elsinore-climate-change-algae/
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I heard about this on NPR today... It sounds promising, but we're going to need them everywhere (just like the scrubbers in The Peripheral), and they need to be affordable!
#Nanobubbles help this lakeside cope with #ToxicAlgae — and the changing climate
by Caleigh Wells
Jun 5, 2024"#ClimateChange is wreaking havoc on some freshwater lakes. They’re getting warmer, and that is spawning lots of toxic algae. When the algae runs rampant like it did 15 years ago, it can kill every other living thing in the lake. Sometimes the city of #LakeElsinore, situated halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, has to close the lake to prevent people from getting sick."
[...]
"Fresh water bodies across the globe are falling victim to [the toxic algae] problem as the climate crisis makes water warmer. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 40,000 bodies of water are 'impaired' just in the United States.
"Lake Elsinore is the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California. Now the city on its shores is spending $2 million to try out a new technology to fix it."
Read more: https://www.marketplace.org/2024/06/05/nanobubbles-moleaer-lake-elsinore-climate-change-algae/
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I heard about this on NPR today... It sounds promising, but we're going to need them everywhere (just like the scrubbers in The Peripheral), and they need to be affordable!
#Nanobubbles help this lakeside cope with #ToxicAlgae — and the changing climate
by Caleigh Wells
Jun 5, 2024"#ClimateChange is wreaking havoc on some freshwater lakes. They’re getting warmer, and that is spawning lots of toxic algae. When the algae runs rampant like it did 15 years ago, it can kill every other living thing in the lake. Sometimes the city of #LakeElsinore, situated halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, has to close the lake to prevent people from getting sick."
[...]
"Fresh water bodies across the globe are falling victim to [the toxic algae] problem as the climate crisis makes water warmer. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 40,000 bodies of water are 'impaired' just in the United States.
"Lake Elsinore is the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California. Now the city on its shores is spending $2 million to try out a new technology to fix it."
Read more: https://www.marketplace.org/2024/06/05/nanobubbles-moleaer-lake-elsinore-climate-change-algae/
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I heard about this on NPR today... It sounds promising, but we're going to need them everywhere (just like the scrubbers in The Peripheral), and they need to be affordable!
#Nanobubbles help this lakeside cope with #ToxicAlgae — and the changing climate
by Caleigh Wells
Jun 5, 2024"#ClimateChange is wreaking havoc on some freshwater lakes. They’re getting warmer, and that is spawning lots of toxic algae. When the algae runs rampant like it did 15 years ago, it can kill every other living thing in the lake. Sometimes the city of #LakeElsinore, situated halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, has to close the lake to prevent people from getting sick."
[...]
"Fresh water bodies across the globe are falling victim to [the toxic algae] problem as the climate crisis makes water warmer. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 40,000 bodies of water are 'impaired' just in the United States.
"Lake Elsinore is the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California. Now the city on its shores is spending $2 million to try out a new technology to fix it."
Read more: https://www.marketplace.org/2024/06/05/nanobubbles-moleaer-lake-elsinore-climate-change-algae/
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I heard about this on NPR today... It sounds promising, but we're going to need them everywhere (just like the scrubbers in The Peripheral), and they need to be affordable!
#Nanobubbles help this lakeside cope with #ToxicAlgae — and the changing climate
by Caleigh Wells
Jun 5, 2024"#ClimateChange is wreaking havoc on some freshwater lakes. They’re getting warmer, and that is spawning lots of toxic algae. When the algae runs rampant like it did 15 years ago, it can kill every other living thing in the lake. Sometimes the city of #LakeElsinore, situated halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, has to close the lake to prevent people from getting sick."
[...]
"Fresh water bodies across the globe are falling victim to [the toxic algae] problem as the climate crisis makes water warmer. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 40,000 bodies of water are 'impaired' just in the United States.
"Lake Elsinore is the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California. Now the city on its shores is spending $2 million to try out a new technology to fix it."
Read more: https://www.marketplace.org/2024/06/05/nanobubbles-moleaer-lake-elsinore-climate-change-algae/