OntheWilderSide

Toxic rust tide spreads across Peconic estuary. Associated with: climate change; high nitrogen levels; runoff.

(excerpt from)
Riverhead Local

Toxic rust tide spreads across entire Peconic estuary, could be lethal
to estuary’s fish, marine life
Riverhead Local /
by Katie Blasl/ Aug 23, 2016

A dangerous algal bloom has spread across the Peconic Bay and all of its waterways at densities that have not been seen since 2012, when a similar bloom triggered a large die-off of scallops.
Rust tide has spread from East Hampton to Riverhead waterways over the past week, posing a threat to marine life in the Peconic, according to the Gobler Laboratory at Stony Brook University.
Rust tide algae, known as Cochlodinium, is more toxic and more dangerous to marine life than the red tide algae that triggered the historic bunker fish and turtle kills last summer…

“When we have extended summer heat as we have seen this summer, a heavy rust tide often follows,” he said.
He [Christopher Gobler, director of the Gobler Laboratory] added that his lab has identified climate change as a major factor in the frequency of harmful algal blooms in local waterways…

High levels of nitrogen in local waterways is a “second, equally important driving factor,” Gobler says…

More at Riverhead Local: here.

Filed under: Ecology, Environment, News, Riverhead | Tagged: Algae, Algal bloom, Long Island environment, Riverhead environment, Riverhead water, Rust tide | Leave a Comment »