What is Cyanobacteria?
Cyanobacteria, or “Blue-Green Algae”, is not really an algae at all. Rather, it is a photosynthetic bacterium that is more common to see later in the summer, when temperatures increase.
Cyanobacteria is a common biomarker for eutrophication in a waterbody and gets worse as the lake or pond’s water quality degrades.
There are a variety of neurotoxins that can be produced by cyanobacteria, and they vary in severity.
The least severe is Dermatotoxins, which will cause skin irritation or rashes within hours of contact.
A moderate severity toxin created by cyanobacteria is Hepatotoxins, which can over the course of days and weeks can cause protein denaturation, which impacts liver health.
Possibly the most severe would be Neurotoxins, which can cause respiratory and skeletal muscle paralysis within minutes.
How Do We Best Manage Cyanobacteria?
The best method to reduce chances of seeing Cyanobacteria in your waterbody is regular maintenance and management of your pond or lake, to slow eutrophication. This practice coupled with nutrient mitigation to remove sources of food for these bacterium’s and prevent it before a bloom happens.
Once a bloom has already happened, the best method to get rid of the bacteria is with an oxidizer. This will reintroduce oxygen to the anoxic conditions and create oxidation stress which will cause cell lysis. Effectively, burning the cyanobacteria cells from the inside out.
What to do if you Notice a Cyanobacterial Bloom on your Waterbody
If you see a bloom has occurred on your lake or pond, it is important to prevent other people or pets from using the water to drink or swim. If your waterbody is managed by LakePro, let us know so we can fix this for you!
LakePro Inc. is experienced in both lake and pond management to prevent and also address cyanobacteria blooms. Please contact us to find a solution for you!
