Algae Assault
By: Mary Ann Scorza
In Hernando County, Florida, there is a natural river called Weeki Wachee. It is within the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park. Throughout the years there has been an over production of of Iyngbya Algae within this river. Volunteers have been fighting this dark-green algae, which not only mars the springs natural beauty, it also covers foliage in the water, preventing the plants from getting light and ultimately killing them. This was a local article I recently read in the newspaper. I didn’t know much about algae except for seeing the cute little algae eater fish in fish tanks, and that it can be used for medicinal purposes if fermented similar to mold. Exploring the facts about algae exposes the harmful and helpful roles it plays in the environment.
Algae, is simple rootless plants that grow in sunlit waters in proportion to the amount of available nutrients. They can affect water quality adversely by lowering the dissolved oxygen in the water, that are food for fish and small aquatic animals. Algae has a vital role in the aquatic environments by providing food, shelter and energy for fish, zooplankton and other small organisms that make their home in freshwater lakes. When algae, is present in lakes it plays a critical role in the ability of an ecosystem and its inhabitants to absorb both nutrients and heavy metals in their environment. There are different types of algae, as with all natural plants. Blue-green algae, is the one associated with red tides and can be harmful to both humans and smaller aquatic animals which inhabit lakes, streams, and rivers. Excessive growth of these harmful algae creates an algae bloom that quickly causes the water to become cloudy and harmful.
Weeki Wachee River is one of the many cold water springs located in Florida. This river provides a recreational area for locals and tourists as well. Community involvement, non-profit organizations volunteer a couple of times a month, to take part in removing the algae called lyngbya. A few dozen volunteers embrace the 74 degree waters to peel the algae away from other plants, in order to keep the river clean, clear and healthy. The algae, is spread to other areas of the park to be used as fertilizer. The damage that algae can do is then used to benefit nature through a total different direction.
Algae, is used in other ways to help the environment as well. These plentiful organisms are currently being studied by scientists to assist with some complex problems like, trying to develop algae into a viable alternative to oil. Processed algae, is currently being used to create biodiesel fuel as an alternative to gasoline in cars. Since, algae grows much faster than traditional land-based crops, scientists are using it to bio crude, a renewable alternative to petroleum. Many companies are investing heavily in algae-based bio fuels. Researchers from the University of Virginia’s Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering have discovered there are significant environmental hurdles to overcome before fuel production can ramp up.
Using wastewater is a proposal as a solution to face some of these challenges. Algae, has a high lipid content and it remains to be an attractive source for energy. As an environmentally sustainable alternative to current algae production methods, researchers propose situating algae ponds behind wastewater treatment facilities to capture phosphorus and nitrogen-essential nutrients for growing algae that would otherwise need to be produced from petroleum. Preventing them from being discharged to local waterways, causing damage, and current technology to remove them is prohibitively expensive.
Algae, is definitely a diverse organism. Benefits and harmful in different ways, we can learn so much more about it and come to appreciate that algae is able to be controlled and used to create other beneficial products that help our environment.
