How can Algal Blooms Effect the Ecosystem?
Contents Page Page 3
Introduction
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What is An Algal Bloom?
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Causes of Algal Blooms
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What are Harmful Algal Blooms
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What are Freshwater Algal Blooms?
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How do Harmful Algal Blooms Effect the Ecosystem?
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The “Red Tide”
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Causes of Harmful Algal Blooms
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Conclusion
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Glossary
Page 13
Sources
Introduction Have you ever wondered what is creating dead zones in rivers, killing an uncountable number of producers? It all starts when there is a rapid increase in the population of algae. If it’s your first time reading this article, you might not have any idea what I’m talking about. So read on and find out!
The worst algae bloom ever occurred at Lake Erie at October 2011
What is An Algal Bloom? If you want to know more about algae blooms, you’ve got to know what is an algae first. An algae is a large group of organisms made up of cells. An algal bloom is a rapid increase in the population of algae in a water system, and an increase in nutrients. The most common type of algal bloom is the cyanobacteria algae bloom. It is caused by blue-green algae. Algal blooms occur in water systems. The worst algae bloom ever was in Lake Erie which occurred in October 2011, which caused a great threat to sea creatures.
Phytoplankton swirling around the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea in 2005. It was a harmful algal bloom.
Causes of Algal Blooms Algal blooms can cause problems for ecosystems and human society. An algal bloom may occur in salt water. Algal blooms are often green, but they can also be other colors such as yellow-brown or red, depending on the species of algae. Algal blooms are a big problem to ecosystems because, like any sudden unnatural growth, it harms the other animals in that ecosystem, usually decreasing their numbers quickly. The top layers of algae are able to photosynthesize and continue living. Different colors of algal blooms are caused by different algae. Bright green blooms are caused by blue-green algae. In addition, algae can be blooming at different concentrations reaching millions of cells per milliliter, while others form blooms of tens of thousands of cells per liter.
A really common cause of algal blooms
What are Harmful Algal Blooms? Harmful algal blooms can sicken or kill humans and animals. They can also create dead zones in water. This has raised treatment costs for drinking water in the United States. It also damages industries that depend on clean water. Many organizations in over 50 countries are helping to stop harmful algal blooms from occurring. Even worse, some algae are able to produce toxins that can blind your eyes if you touch it. There are various types of shellfish poisonings made by those toxins and they harm the water habitat, especially fish. Instead, they not only affect water, but land too.There was an algae bloom off the southern coast of Devon and Cornwall in England, in 1999 that killed more than 5000 species of marine animals in the area. To tell the truth, most algal blooms are not poisonous, less than one percent of algal blooms create toxins.
Toxic algal blooms can stretch for thousands of kilometers and can sometimes be clearly seen from
What are Freshwater Algal Blooms? Freshwater algal blooms are the result of an excess growth of algae. Freshwater algae produce freshwater algal blooms. Freshwater algae, also called phytoplankton, vary in shape and color, and are found in a large range of habitats, such as ponds, lakes, reservoirs, and streams. Blooms generally occur where there are high levels of nutrients present, together with the occurrence of warm, sunny, calm conditions.
Algal blooms can present problems for ecosystems and human society.
How do Harmful Algal Blooms Effect Ecosystems? Harmful algal blooms affect ecosystems when the producers can’t reach the power of the sun, which is blocked by the algae bloom, therefore they die out out. After that, primary consumers, which depend on them, die out. The truth is that harmful algae are caused by sunlight sometimes. When the producers can’t reach the sunlight which gives them energy to survive, the surface fills with a green, blue, red or brownish scum or paint-like surface covering the water. This causes them to die because they can’t reach the power of the sun. Consequently, this results in the death of many primary consumers, if they don’t have anything to eat they will starve to death, unless they swim to another zone of the river that is not infected. This is the same as secondary and tertiary consumers. The area that is infected is called a dead zone. They are mainly caused by harmful algal blooms and devastate many ecosystems. This is the most common way algal blooms affect ecosystems.
The “Red Tide”
A “Red Tide”
Harmful algal blooms have been a major environmental issue in all 50 states of the United States of America. It has caused severe impacts on human and animal health, nontoxic bloom that hurt the environment and economies, but none are worse than the red tide. Red tide is a common algae bloom that is caused by a few species of dinoflagellates and the bloom takes on a red or brown color. Red tides might even have no color at all. There was a red tide off the coast of La Jolla San Diego, California. Red tides impact hugely on the United States, and cost at least $82 million each year. There is also a tiny “ambush predator” that has caused massive fish kills in the United States. The main reason it’s called red tide is because the bloom is most likely to be colorful.
Cause of Harmful Algal Blooms
It is unclear what causes harmful algal blooms, it appears that it is just natural. Furthermore, there are many different species of algae that can form harmful algal blooms. Recent research shows that there is more likely to be harmful algal blooms formed when the water is warm, slow-moving and rich in nutrients. Recent research also tells us that from 1985 to 2015 there has been global warming because of harmful algal blooms. Furthermore, there are many different species of algae that can form harmful blooms, each with different environmental requirements. The frequency of harmful algae blooms are due to how many nutrients humans consume, the more nutrients eaten the more harmful algae blooms are created. Lastly, another cause of harmful blooms are when more seawater reaches the coast.
Conclusion Currently,  National  Geographic  is  raising  loads  of  money  to  repair  oceans  that  were  infected  by  harmful  algal  blooms.  Harmful  algal  blooms  are  now  affecting  the  environment,  many  ecosystems,  and  our  society.  They  are  causing  damage  to  too  many  habitats,  animals,  and  human  society.  The  question  is  how  can  we  help? Â
Glossary Word:
algae
Meaning: a simple nonflowering plant of a large group that includes the seaweeds and many single-celled forms. Algae contain chlorophyll but lack true stems, roots, leaves, and vascular tissue.
An algal bloom is a rapid increase in the
algal bloom
population of algae in a water system, and an increase in nutrients.
environmental
infected
The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.
Affect (a person, organism, cell, etc.) with a diseasecausing organism.
Sources!!! • • •
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Algal_bloom https:/www.sciencedaily.com/ terms/algal_bloom.htm https://www.epa.gov/ nutrientpollution/harmfulalgal-blooms http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ hazards/hab/ http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ facts/why_habs.html http://www.seaweb.org resources/briefings/algae.php