Algae can produce some of the most harmful natural toxins known to science
In August 1961, a bizarre scene unfolded in the skies above the coastal town of Capitola, Calif., on the northern end of Monterey Bay.
Residents watched in terror as seabirds dive-bombed into the ground at kamikaze speed and violently vomited fish. The carcasses of hundreds of birds were strewn in the streets.
The strange incident partly inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s 1963 horror flick The Birds, but exactly what happened remained a mystery for five decades.
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In 2011, a research group revealed that the birds were victims of poisoning by domoic acid, a potent toxin produced by algae that targets the nervous system, inducing severe seizures and killing wildlife.
A bloom thought to be the largest ever observed on the West Coast of North America is currently menacing Monterey Bay with unprecedented levels of domoic acid. Wild and farmed shellfish operations from California to B.C. have been forced to stop harvesting until the bloom clears.
While toxic algae are common in waters across the planet, there is mounting evidence that the frequency and severity of these events are on the rise and that global climate change may exacerbate the problem.
Here’s some important background on toxic algal blooms and how they could affect you.
What are toxic algal blooms?
The massive growth of algae on the West Coast falls under a category of natural phenomena that scientists call harmful algal blooms, or HABs. They are often called red tides because they sometimes render the water a rusty-crimson colour. This is a misnomer, however, as algal blooms can be many colours and aren’t necessarily connected to tides.
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