Issue no. 173 - Eutrophication, Cyanobacteria, and Cyanotoxins Newsletter

Lyngbya wollei

From the Mainstream Media / Dans les médias grand public

New York, USA: County cases may be link to ALS, algal blooms

“Across northern New England, researchers have identified ALS hot spots–a large cluster in Vermont near Lake Champlain and a smattering of clusters among coastal communities in New Hampshire and Maine.”

The Netherlands: Nitrogen deposition in vulnerable nature conservation areas is decreasing, but the legal standard cannot be met by 2035

“Although the reduction target has resulted in a steep decline in nitrogen deposition in vulnerable nature conservation areas, it is expected that only 40 per cent of nature reserves will be below the critical deposition value by 2035.”

NOAA forecasts above-average summer 'dead zone' in Gulf of Mexico

“It occurs every summer and is primarily a result of excess nutrient pollution from human activities in cities and farm areas throughout the Mississippi-Atchafalaya watershed.”

Sweden: Key measures for the Baltic Sea

“The fight against eutrophication in the Baltic Sea is both a failure and a success. Cyanobacteria blooms and oxygen deficiency are more widespread than ever, but without the effective cooperation of the coastal countries to reduce nutrient inputs, the situation in the sea would have been even worse.”

Denmark: Underwater gardeners plant eelgrass to save 'dead' Danish fjord

“Like other coastal areas in Denmark, the Vejle Fjord is suffering from eutrophication.”

Michigan, USA: Take a lake-by-lake look at Great Lakes stewardship

“In Michigan’s Great Lakes Coordination Program, four lake coordinators lead state agency efforts and collaborations to protect and restore the four Great Lakes that border Michigan, plus Lake St. Clair and the Detroit, St. Clair, and St. Marys rivers.”

Lake Erie, Ohio, USA: Animal Feeding Operations Need Regulation to Halt Algae Blooms

“An agreement to reduce dissolved reactive phosphorous loading in Western Lake Erie by 40% by next year likely won’t be met. “Regulatory action is overdue.””

Florida, USA: EPA is asked to set blue-green algae toxin standards for Florida

“States are not required to adopt the EPA recommendations, but they are supposed to explain their reasoning for not adopting them, and the Center for Biological Diversity said the state has not done that.”

Finland: Blue-green algae poses deadly threat to pets

“If a pet drinks water contaminated with blue-green algae, immediate veterinary attention is crucial.”

Ireland: EPA: ‘No signs yet’ of an improvement in water quality

The report showed that water quality generally in Ireland is not improving and while “some improvements are being made, these are being offset by declines elsewhere”.

Manure digesters may worsen pollution in large farms

“The increase in herd sizes, driven by the incentive to produce more biogas, undermines the methane reduction benefits of digesters while digester byproducts threaten water quality.”

Finland: Syke: Finland's sea areas at 'significant risk' for toxic blue-green algae blooms

"The risk for extensive toxic blue-green algae blooms in many sea areas around Finland is again high this summer, according to the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke)."

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From the Scientific Media / Des médias scientifiques :

Impact of groundwater nitrogen legacy on water quality

“Excessive N leaching and accumulation in groundwater has created a substantial N reservoir as groundwater travel times are orders-of-magnitude slower than those of surface waters.”

Harmful blooms across a longitudinal gradient in central Europe during heatwave: Cyanobacteria biomass, cyanotoxins, and nutrients

“The cyanobacteria species that dominate in blooms might be recognized as ecological indicators of eutrophication, but also of climate change.”

Nitrification in the water column of Lake Erie: Seasonal patterns, community dynamics, and competition with cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms

“…these results help explain how non-nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms persist, despite low bioavailable nitrogen concentrations during these blooms, and support management efforts to reduce external nitrogen loading to eutrophic systems.”

Upstream water management and its role in estuary health, evaluation of freshwater management and subtropical estuary function

“Water management rules combined with restoration infrastructure allow for better water management for ecosystem health and flood protection.”

Wildfire smoke impacts lake ecosystems

“Herein we review the mechanisms through which smoke and ash can affect lakes by altering the amount and spectral composition of incoming solar radiation and depositing carbon, nutrients, or toxic compounds that could alter chemical conditions and impact biota.”

Bottom sediments as an indicator of the restoration potential of lakes—a case study of a small, shallow lake under significant tourism pressure

“Based on the above results, a restoration method involving the removal of bottom sediments from the bottom zone was proposed, supported, of course, by protective measures in the catchment (maintaining a buffer zone around the lake and limiting the inflow of pollutants with tributary waters).”

Burden of recreational water illness due to exposure to cyanobacteria and their toxins in freshwater beaches in Canada: protocol of a prospective cohort study

“This study will investigate the incidence of recreational water illness due to exposure to cyanobacterial blooms and their toxins in four targeted and popular freshwater beaches in Ontario, Manitoba and Nova Scotia, Canada.”

Impacts of hydrologic management on the eutrophication of shallow lakes in an intensive agricultural landscape (Saskatchewan, Canada)

“Basin comparison shows that while hydrologic management can moderate water quality degradation due to lake-level change, it does not prevent eutrophication when nutrient influx remains high.”