What effects do blue-green bacterial blooms have on animals and fish?
Mammals and birds can get sick and die from drinking water with a blue-green bacterial bloom. Decaying bacterial blooms will deplete the dissolved oxygen in the water and fish may die as a result. Dense bacterial blooms floating on the surface will also block out sunlight that is needed for other organisms to survive. Some bacterial bloom toxins are directly harmful to fish and can cause fish kills. What causes blue-green bacterial blooms? High quantities of nutrients in the water often lead to the formation of bacterial blooms. Nutrients may concentrate in natural bodies of water due to: • Inadequate water flow or exchange of water when tides change. • Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers used on farms and in urban and suburban yards, sewage, industrial waste, etc. being washed into waterways • Changes in rivers and their surroundings due to land clearing, farming practices, construction and housing. Is it safe to eat seafood from waters with blue-green bacterial
