DoomsdaysCW<p>Algal Toxins and Wildlife Health</p><p>By National Wildlife Health Center September 30, 2019</p><p>"Harmful <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AlgalBlooms" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AlgalBlooms</span></a> (<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HABs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HABs</span></a>) have the potential to harm fish and wildlife, domestic animals, livestock, and humans through toxin production or ecological disturbances such as oxygen depletion and blockage of sunlight.</p><p>"To investigate the effects of algal toxins on wildlife, the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) has examined over 300 dead animals collected during freshwater and marine <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HAB" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>HAB</span></a> events since 2000. Varying levels of algal toxins were found in over 100 of these animals. In some cases, the history, clinical signs, and high toxin levels have allowed scientists to attribute mortality to algal toxicosis. Recent events have included Kittlitz’s <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/murrelets" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>murrelets</span></a> (Brachyramphus brevirostris) in Alaska that died after consuming sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) high in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/saxitoxin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>saxitoxin</span></a> (Shearn-Bochsler et al. 2014), <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GreenTreeFrogs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GreenTreeFrogs</span></a> (Hyla cinerea) in Texas with suspected <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/brevetoxicosis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>brevetoxicosis</span></a> in association with a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RedTide" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>RedTide</span></a> event (Buttke et al. 2018), and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/LittleBrownBats" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>LittleBrownBats</span></a> (Myotis lucifugus carissima) in Utah found dead during a HAB event at a reservoir commonly used for recreation and as a source of municipal <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DrinkingWater" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DrinkingWater</span></a> (Isidoro-Ayza et al. 2019). </p><p>"In other cases, algal toxins have been detected in wildlife, but their contribution to mortality remains unclear. Part of the reason these detections have been difficult to interpret is that the toxic dose of many algal toxins in wildlife species is unknown and the microscopic lesions (if any) particularly in birds, have not been well described. To better understand the effects of these toxins the NWHC is conducting laboratory exposure trials to determine the lethal dose of toxin in birds and to examine the repeated exposure of waterfowl to sub-lethal toxin ingestion. In addition to exposure trials, NWHC is undergoing a retrospective review of previous detections of algal toxin from NWHC’s case archives to examine demographic, spatiotemporal, and diagnostic features associated with wildlife exposure to algal toxins."</p><p><a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nwhc/science/algal-toxins-and-wildlife-health" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">usgs.gov/centers/nwhc/science/</span><span class="invisible">algal-toxins-and-wildlife-health</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AlgaeBlooms" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>AlgaeBlooms</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Cyanobacteria" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Cyanobacteria</span></a><br><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ToxicAlgae" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ToxicAlgae</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Wildlife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Wildlife</span></a></p>