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When we hear about harmful algal bloom (HAB) outbreaks, like those recently spotted in New Jersey, the first thoughts that come to mind usually involve discolored waters, environmental disruption, closed beaches, and potential human health hazards. Yet, a crucial aspect that often escapes the spotlight is the impact of these blooms on animals, including pets, wildlife, and livestock.
As HABs proliferate due to factors like excess nutrients and warming waters, the impacts ripple across a wide spectrum of living things, encompassing everything from aquatic species to humans to our animal companions, working animals, and livestock. Animals are most at risk because they may bathe/swim in affected water, drink contaminated water, or ingest it when cleaning algae from fur/hair coat, and the symptoms of HABs toxicity can go unnoticed for a period of time.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) released a new factsheet that specifically provides an array of information and techniques to safeguard livestock from the dangers of HABs.
In this blog, we provide links to the USDA NRCS’s newly released informational resources, shed light on the often-unseen consequences of HABs, and outline steps to protect the four-legged members of our agricultural communities.
HABs are rapid, large overgrowths of cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, aren’t actually algae, they are prokaryotes, single-celled aquatic organisms that are closely related to bacteria and can photosynthesize like algae. These microorganisms are a natural part of aquatic ecosystems, but, under the right conditions (e.g., heavy rains followed by hot, sunny days), these organisms can rapidly increase to form HABs. Climate change is leading to more frequent, more intense rainstorms that drive run-off pollutants into waterways, coupled with more hot days that increase the water temperature, creating the ideal environment for HABs to proliforate. In recent years, HABs have begun to appear in more places, earlier in the summer.
HABs can cause significant water quality issues in lakes and ponds, often forming a visible and sometimes odorous scum on the surface of the water. They can produce toxins that are incredibly harmful (even deadly) to humans, aquatic organisms, and animals, including livestock.
The health impacts and symptoms can vary depending on the size and type of animal, how an animal is exposed to the cyanotoxin, how long they were exposed, which type of toxin was present, and how much toxin was present.
Symptoms of cyanotoxin exposure in animals includes: vomiting, profuse salivation, fatigue, unsteady gait, labored breathing, convulsions, and liver malfunction. When animals bathe or swim in waters with even low concentrations of cyanotoxins, it may cause skin rashes, ear/throat infections, and gastrointestinal distress. In severe cases, especially when contaminated water is ingested, HAB poisoning can prove fatal.
When HABs are present in a waterbody that is accessible to and utilized by livestock, it’s important to immediately restrict access to the contaminated water. If a potential exposure to cyanotoxins has occurred, NRCS recommends:
In its newly released fact sheet, NRCS also provides a number of ideas for segregating livestock from tainted waters, reducing the risk of livestock exposure to HABs, and providing alternate water sources, including:
To download the USDA NRCS fact sheet, click below:
To minimize the risk of future HABs, it’s important to stay informed, routinely monitor waterbodies, take actions to reduce harmful effects, and adopt conservation practices that prevent nutrient loading to waterbodies.
Princeton Hydro is regionally recognized for its HABs expertise, having provided management recommendations and services for 100+ lakes and ponds in the Northeast, including Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey’s largest lake. To learn more about our lake management and HABs prevention services, click here. For additional HABs resources from the USDA NRCS, click here.
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