Whats so interesting about algae?
Most algae are harmless and even important to the health of the ecosystem. But when algae grow rapidly enough to form blooms that float on the water or wash ashore, they can be a nuisance. The blooms may, for example, lead to smelly, foul-tasting drinking water and unpleasant swimming conditions. What’s worse, some algal blooms produce toxins that can make humans and other animals sick. Algal blooms vexed swimmers and skiers in the Great Lakes throughout the 1960s, until the federal government limited the use of phosphorus in detergents and fertilizers. Over the past decade, however, Microcystis, a type of blue-green algae known to produce the toxin microcystin, has returned to the Great Lakes. No single cause has been pinpointed, but runoff from cities, fertilizers, septic tank overflow, zebra mussels, and livestock near water supplies are likely culprits. This concerns government and business leaders because the Great Lakes provide drinking water to 40 million people and have more th
