An Israeli Ph.D student’s case study on a kind of deadly algae, may just help to make drinking water safer for people and animals alike.

It almost sounds like a zany plot from a cartoon from a super villain: A beautiful, yet very deadly, kind of blue-green algae, forces other microorganisms found in fresh water to do its bidding, which enables them to over run the water, and threaten the health of people and animals all over the world.

These devious cyanobacteria algae – known as the thorns in the sides of the freshwater populaces – are not cartoon characters however. A paper recently published on August the 12th in the journal Current Biology, a scientist over at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem explains to us how they take over their competition and are very prolific, raising concern around the world due to the detrimental impact they could pose on the quality of water.

By enlightening us on how the algae function, Yehonatan Bar-Yosef’s case study can help other experts find out how to deal with this threat and ensure that drinking water is safe for humans and animals all over the world.

Back in 1994, a huge bloom of this toxic algae was discovered in Lake Kinneret, which is also known as the Sea of Galilee. A lot of the potable water for Israel is taken from the Kinneret, so this discovery really raised red flags.

Luckily for us Bar-Yosef is delving into the matter, and could conceivably come up with an enzyme to help battle this dastardly algae.

Good luck Bar-Yosef, we are all rooting for you. Hopefully he will crack the code, and help everyone in the world.

Healthy reef

Blooms of toxic algae could possibly wipe out coral reefs.

Researchers who have been studying the coral reefs in the Gulf of Oman have sounded the alarm after a big algae bloom laid waste to an entire coral reef in just three short weeks.

Some ninety-five percent of the hard coral directal under the algae died off, and seventy percent fewer fish were found in the vicinity.

The algae grows rapidly and hog all the sunlight and oxygen which the coral need to survive.

Add in climate change, development along the coasts, overfishing and pollution and you have a rather bleak outlook for the coral reefs of the world.

The biggest threat facing the coral reefs is climate change, which has caused many coral bleaching events around the globe.

However, this latest discovery, which was published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin postulates that algal blooms are just as much a threat to the coral reefs.

Scientists from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health had taken it upon themselves to study the environment of two different coral reefs in the Gulf of Oman.

After they finished up their first study, an algae bloom which measured over 500 square kilometers happened in the area.

After the scientists made a return visit some three weeks after the fact, they discovered that the coral under the bloom had been almost completely destroyed.

So, it appears that the coral is facing yet another threat, algae. Scientists are now working on a way to help the reefs, but since this is a new phenomena it might take some time.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have developed an aquatic robot capable of collecting algal cells from the ocean and extracting the genetic information needed to identify them. The robot, which can accurately be described as a seafaring mobile analytical laboratory, can also extract toxins from the algae samples, thereby allowing scientists to assess the risk to humans and wildlife.

The MBARI-designed robot, formally known as the Environmental Sample Processor, or ‘ESP,’ for short, has now been successfully used by scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science to conduct the first remote detection of an algal species and its toxin below the ocean’s surface.

The global distribution, frequency, duration and severity of harmful algal blooms are believed to be on the increase and the new robot will make it much easier for scientists to assess the situation and relay accurate information to coastal managers and public health officials.

“Our public health monitoring program is one of the many groups that can benefit directly from the ESP technology and ability to provide an early warning of impending bloom activity and toxicity,” said Gregg Langlois, director of the state of California’s Marine Biotoxin Monitoring Program. “This is critical information for coastal managers and public health officials in mitigating impacts on the coastal ecosystem, since the toxicity of these algae can vary widely from little or no toxicity to highly toxic.”

The information obtained by ESP is transmitted to the laboratory via radio signals.

More details about the project can be found in the June issue of the journal Oceanography.

Pictures by mbari