Deadly blue-green algae have been spotted in some of Lake District's most famous attractions. The Environment Agency has reported that the algae, also known as cyanobacteria have infected the Derwentwater, Windermere, Ullswater, and Coniston Water lakes in Cumbria's popular national park.
Officials believe that the manifestation of the algae was caused by warm weather over the spring and summer seasons. Administrators are now worried that the cyanobacteria could be harmful to people and fatal for animals.
Health experts say it could cause vomiting, diarrhea, and painful skin rashes in people who come in contact with the algae. According to Steve Gaskell, the park management leader for the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA), if anyone has come in contact with contaminated water, to wash away in clean water and to seek medical help if symptoms appear.
He adds that they have requested lakeshore landowners to put up signs to warn people of the presence of harmful algae in the waters. The LDNPA also revealed there is the possibility of being affected by the blue-green algae just by looking at it, which is why it is advised that park visitors avoid doing so.
How Do Blue-Green Algae Affect Dogs?
Cyanobacteria are extremely toxic and are known to cause poisoning in dogs, cats, birds, fish, livestock, wildlife, and even humans.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, dogs can become poisoned when they drink from or even swim in contaminated water sources. When ingested, blue-green algae can cause severe liver or neurologic damage.
Some signs of blue-green algae toxicity include seizures, excessive drooling, diarrhea, panting, vomiting, and respiratory failure. In severe cases, it could ultimately cause death.
ASPCA says that when it comes to any pet toxin, prevention is the key. Do not allow your dogs to drink from stagnant ponds and other large bodies of water to be on the safe side.
Moreover, cyanobacteria could also stick to a pet's fur and be ingested then they clean themselves, which is why the ASPCA advises rinsing the pet thoroughly with fresh water after going for a dip in any large bodies of water.
Cyanobacteria Photosynthesis
Cyanobacteria are aquatic and photosynthetic. This means that they live in the water, and can produce their own food. They are relatives of the bacteria, and not eukaryotes, whose cells have a nucleus enclosed within a membrane. Moreover, it is only the chloroplast in eukaryotic algae to which the cyanobacteria are associated.
Because they are bacteria, they are quite tiny and usually unicellular. However, they often grow in colonies large enough to see. Additionally, they are one of the largest and most important groups of bacteria on earth that have been thriving for millions of years already.
Another significant contribution of the cyanobacteria is the origin of plants. The chloroplast with which plants make food for themselves is actually a cyanobacterium dwelling within the plant's cells.
Sometime in the late Proterozoic, cyanobacteria began to take up home within certain eukaryote cells, making food for the eukaryotic host in return for a place to stay. This event is known as endosymbiosis and is also the origin of the eukaryotic mitochondrion.
