A harmful algal bloom (HAB) is a biological process in which certain phytoplankton, cyanobacteria, or macroalgae proliferate rapidly and reach high biomass, producing adverse ecological or health effects via toxin production, hypoxia, or habitat alteration. HABs are driven by interactions among nutrient enrichment (especially nitrogen and phosphorus), light, temperature, hydrography, and species-specific physiology, often resulting in dominance of toxin-producing taxa such as some dinoflagellates, diatoms, or cyanobacteria. These blooms can disrupt food webs, cause mass mortalities of aquatic organisms, and generate bioaccumulated toxins that affect higher trophic levels, including humans, through consumption or exposure.
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 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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An alga that threatens freshwater ecosystems and is toxic to vertebrates has a sneaky way of ensuring its success: It suppresses the growth of algal competitors by releasing chemicals that deprive them of a vital vitamin.
Ecology
Jul 16, 2025
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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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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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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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Algae in the ocean can pose a significant risk to humans, marine life, and the seafood industry. Under favorable conditions for algae growth, certain algae species can multiply rapidly, a phenomenon known as algal blooms. ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 19, 2025
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South Australian beaches have been awash with foamy, discolored water and dead marine life for months. The problem hasn't gone away; it has spread.
Ecology
Jun 15, 2025
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Local beachgoers know to stay out of the water when the pea-green expanse of a harmful algal bloom settles into Maumee Bay.
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 12, 2025
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Excessive nutrients in wastewater can lead to detrimental discharges into natural water bodies, prompting harmful algal blooms with severe environmental and economic repercussions. To address this pressing issue, a team of ...
Bio & Medicine
Jun 11, 2025
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