Zebra & Quagga Mussels Fueling Rampant Great Lakes Algae Growth - W. Bonus Botulism!

[hatrack]

EMPIRE -- Ron Long recently visited one of his favorite beaches at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, only to find it marred by dark green algae that clouded the water and piled up on the sand. "This is the worst I’ve ever seen this beach -- and I’ve been coming here for 50 years. It’s really sad," said Long, a Milford resident who was visiting the popular Esch Road beach near Empire.

Foreign mussels that hitchhiked to the Great Lakes in the ballast water tanks of international freighters have turned Sleeping Bear Dunes -- "The Most Beautiful Place in America," according to "Good Morning America" -- into a poster child for one of the most vexing environmental problems facing the Great Lakes.

Zebra and quagga mussels native to Europe’s Caspian Sea are transforming Great Lakes ecosystems and fueling rampant algae growth in all of the lakes except Lake Superior, which doesn’t have enough calcium to support shell formation. The mussels have increased water clarity in the lakes, which allows sunlight to penetrate deeper and support more algae growth.

Decaying cladophora algae that washes up on beaches is more than an eyesore: It harbors bacteria that can pose health threats to humans, fish and wildlife, according to scientific studies. Cladophora has been linked to Type E botulism outbreaks that have killed more than 70,000 Great Lakes water birds over the past decade.

EDIT

http://www.mlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/08/zebra_mussels_are_transforming.html

[postulater]

1. On the positive side

the algae makes great compost.

[NickB79]

3. Will composting kill botulism spores?

Those things are damn hardy; I'd be worried about putting compost derived from these algal mats in my garden.

[pscot]

2. Good thing we don't have to drink the water.

[Denninmi]

4. Unfortunately, you're right.

Oakland Co. Michigan here. 5 million people in the Detroit Metro DO drink the water.

[pscot]

5. Chicagoans too