Algal blooms are waging chemical warfare in our oceans
Microscopic algae in the ocean generate half the oxygen we breathe.
Ecology
Jul 29, 2025
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Page 7: Research news on algal blooms
Algal blooms are rapid, transient increases in algal biomass in aquatic ecosystems, typically driven by nutrient enrichment (especially bioavailable nitrogen and phosphorus), favorable light and temperature conditions, and water column stability. They often involve phytoplankton, including cyanobacteria, diatoms, and dinoflagellates, and can reach densities that markedly alter primary production, oxygen dynamics, and food-web structure. In research, algal blooms are studied as manifestations of eutrophication, with emphasis on nutrient loading thresholds, community succession, and biogeochemical feedbacks. Harmful algal blooms (HABs), a subset, are investigated for toxin production, bloom initiation and termination mechanisms, and impacts on ecosystem services and biogeochemical cycling.
New method detects toxic blue-green algae in lakes before blooms form
Researchers at the University of Birmingham have developed a powerful new method to detect harmful blue-green algae in freshwater lakes. Their method, which involves advanced mass spectrometry technology, can identify toxin-producing ...
Ecology
Jul 28, 2025
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Breakthrough could transform how California monitors toxic algal blooms
The San Luis Reservoir in Merced County—one of California's largest artificial lakes—not only irrigates Central Valley farmland and supplies drinking water across the Silicon Valley and the South Bay, but also draws swimmers, ...
Environment
Jul 27, 2025
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Researchers look to microbial interactions for early indicators of harmful algal blooms
Harmful algal blooms are not all the same. That's true even of the blooms within northwest Ohio, where researchers have long known that the strain of cyanobacteria that typically dominates blooms in the western basin of Lake ...
Ecology
Jul 24, 2025
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South Australia's algal bloom may shrink over winter—but this model suggests it will spread to new areas in summer
South Australia is desperate for help to tackle an unprecedented harmful algal bloom that has decimated marine life up and down the coast. While the extent of the damage is still unknown, my preliminary research suggests ...
Ecology
Jul 22, 2025
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Whale scat shows rising ocean temperatures are linked to more algal bloom toxins entering the food chain
Researchers have measured toxins in scat samples from 205 bowhead whales from the Beaufort Sea, collected over 19 years, and found that algal toxin concentrations changed with ocean temperatures, the amount of water that ...
Ecology
Jul 10, 2025
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It isn't all bloom and doom: Why algal blooms are becoming more prevalent
Have you ever happened across a body of water completely covered in a mysterious green slime?
Ecology
Jul 7, 2025
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Algae-based systems improve wastewater recycling for rural and regional communities
Rising rural populations, drought and climate change are making water scarcity a problem in country townships—with more efficient handling of sewage system wastewater part of the solution.
Earth Sciences
Jul 4, 2025
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Scientists predict Lake Erie's algae bloom will be smaller than last year
Water quality scientists predict the harmful algae bloom on western Lake Erie this year will be relatively mild and less severe than last year.
Environment
Jun 27, 2025
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Mild to moderate harmful algal bloom predicted for western Lake Erie
NOAA and its research partners are forecasting a mild to moderate harmful algal bloom (HAB) in western Lake Erie this summer. This year's bloom is expected to measure 3 on the HAB severity index, with a potential range of ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 26, 2025
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