Article
posted 8th April 2024
Reveal
In 1675 in the city of Delft, Dutch ingenuity along with Venetian artisanship, turned the biological world on its head. More precisely, it turned it inward. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek - who by trade was a draper - was an autodidactic man of science whose own curiosity eventually saw him hailed as the 'Father of Microbiology'. By constructing a simple microscope built around the finest dewdrops of Venetian glass*, Leeuwenhoek described a hitherto unseen world in a droplet of storm water sampled from his drain. Those 'animalcules' he described were the first observed unicellular organisms, and in doing so, he established microbiology as a bona fide branch of the sciences, paved the way for the germ theory of disease, and effectively instituted cell biology as the fundamental means to understand complex organisms as a whole (1).
The observations of Leeuwenhoek and his contemporaries revolutionised our view of the natural world. Until the late 1600s, complex animals like ourselves were viewed as possessing dominion over lesser forms. Nothing could be further form the truth. The microscopic unicellular world as first revealed by a self-taught Dutch microscopist, is currently estimated as numbering one trillion (yes that's right) species as members (2). If we compare that to the number of multicellular organisms - numbered in the mere millions (3)- any thoughts of animals' supposed predominance quickly begins to fade. Truth is, those simple unicellular organisms first seen in Dutch rainwater have been around for billions of years, and have shaped the entire ecosystem we call the planet Earth.
Indeed, Cyanobacteria - or so-called blue-green algae, of primary interest in this article - are a member of this vast unicellular family. They are described as the first organisms to have produced oxygen, and belong to the most diverse branch of life to have ever evolved on Earth (4). In effect, these photosynthetic bacteria (and they are bacteria, not algae - the only thing they share in common with algae is their ability to photo-synthesize) essentially terra-formed our planet, thus allowing for complex multi-cellular life to evolve.
Over unfathomably long periods of time, these simple organisms collectively produced huge amounts of oxygen, which was then released into the atmosphere of early Earth. This 'greening' of our planet by such microscopic organisms allowed for more complex, energy-reliant animals (like ourselves) to eventually evolve and thrive on land. And while it seems like they did us a favour, our anthropomorphic inclinations should be put paid to when we realise they care not a jot about us.
Toxicity
Blue-green algae or Cyanobacteria transformed the biology and chemistry of an entire planet, and are the ostensible architects of the Earth's atmosphere. They're the oldest known fossils, constitute many ancient oil deposits, and played a contributory role in the evolution of plants (5). In a nod to a dystopian far-future, they have also emerged as potential green energy and food candidates, with cyanobacterial biomass being cited as a potential source of nutrition, fuel and fertilisers (6).
One of the reasons for such interest in these organisms as a new agricultural model, is that they require only 'residual nutrients'. Considering Lough Neagh is currently awash with them, the blue-green algal bloom we saw from space last summer, was sadly all too predictable.
In addition to their ubiquity and foundational position within food-webs and ecologies, cyanobacteria are also responsible for producing a range of toxins (cyanotaoxins) harmful to both mammalian livers and brains (see article on this website 'Lough Neagh'). And while the problems associated with 'anthropogenic eutrophication' are well known and documented the world over, it's still chilling to read such blooms have caused deaths in China and Brazil by virtue of drinking water becoming contaminated (7).
Cyanotoxins, in terms of how they act on land mammals, fall into three particular classes: hepatotoxins, neurotoxins and dermatotoxins (8). So exposure to Cyanotoxins can result in a number of unpleasant symptoms, some of which have been reported by those working on the lough (again see article 'Lough Neagh'). While the potential deleterious effects of Cyanotoxins on humans in drinking water derived from Lough Neagh is essentially negated by modern treatment methods**, the effects Cyanotoxins might be having at source are only recently coming to light.
Testing
As of now, we can definitively state that Cyanotoxins are present in Lough Neagh and are turning up in fish. Sam McBride, writing in the Belfast Telegraph, has reported the presence of toxins produced by Cyanobacteria in fish, after a testing regimen was put in place by the Food Standards Agency (9). My reading of this is that testing took place on fish caught in winter, when the algal bloom would have somewhat receded. Apparently the fish caught in the lough are safe to eat if handled correctly, but they're not the only organisms that might be affected.
Garret Hargan has reported that concerns were raised by a Lough Neagh working group regarding the accumulation of blue-green biotoxins in crabs and lobsters at the North coast (10). So it seems that the problems created at source in Lough Neagh, are possibly affecting water systems downstream of it. Indeed, a report published by the Department of Agricultural Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in November 2023, revealed the analysis of water samples taken from Lough Neagh and downstream sites along the River Bann, to contain both high levels of Cyanobacteria and the toxins they produce (11).
In the report, the authors state that 'In 2023, the first blue-green algal bloom impacting waters in Northern Ireland occurred. This was unprecedented and required a new operational protocol to be developed at haste'. Consequently, only cyanobacterial cell counts could be performed in NI by the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI). As for the levels of cyanotoxins these cells might produce, I've been informed by a QUB academic that those tests are currently being carried out by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) in Weymouth. As such, Garret Hargan's article reports that DAERA 'has spent £13,000 on laboratory analysis', but that 'does not include courier costs, staff time or other resources.'
Findings
Logistics aside, what do the results actually tell us? The cell counts performed by the AFBI were performed in line with guidelines stipulated by the Scottish Government and the World Health Organisation (WHO). In particular, the guideline values of 20,000 cyanobacterial cells/ml are being used as a cut-off. Exceeding this value deems water unsafe for recreation, as is the case at Reas Wood (12).
Now the particular species of Cyanobacteria that have been detected are the Microcystis and Anabaena species, with much greater numbers of the former. Microcystis species produce microcystins, which fall into the bracket of the aforementioned hepatotoxins. As the name suggests, they can cause liver damage, but are also described in the literature as possible carcinogens (7).
As well as very high levels of Microcystis, very high levels of microcystins have been found at a number of sites at Lough Neagh. In addition, water samples from two sites downstream of the lough - Seaton's Marina in Coleraine and Portrush Harbour - have also displayed levels of toxin far in excess of WHO guidelines. Given the findings, it's pretty obvious we need a robust and reliable domestic solution to monitoring cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in our lough, rivers and coastal systems downstream of it.
I must concede that given the acute onset of the problem last year, I think DAERA have done a pretty good job here. They've been open and honest with their findings and have provided what I think is a useful blue-print for future testing and monitoring of our native waters. What's of further interest is whether the blue-green algae found in Coleraine and Portrush are a consequence of outflow from the lough, or whether sewage dumps further North (13) are the main culprit. Certainly, further clarity would be needed here.
History
That a rare confluence of events created the algal bloom last summer - warmer temperatures, heavy rainfall, agricultural run-off - we could forgiven for thinking that this is unprecedented. It's not. Lough Neagh suffered a similar environmental crisis nearly 60 years ago. A number of articles published by the Mid-Ulster Mail (thank you Belfast Central Library and staff), reported similar issues over the span of a decade.
In 1967, the then Ministry of Development was 'aware of the possibilities of an increase in the growth of Algae on Lough Neagh' under certain weather conditions, with the MUM reporting 'that a full-scale biological investigation of the lough will be instituted' (14). The following year, the pollution in Lough Neagh was a major topic at a symposium organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development in Upsala, Sweden (15), with the New University of Ulster (NUU), establishing a FreshWater Biology Field Station at the lough not long after (16).
In 1971 as warnings of water rationing made the news, over 100 people gathered at the Greenmount Agricultural College to discuss NUU's findings. Along with the Minister of Development, they discussed and examined the most prudent means of reducing phosphate input from major sewage works (17). In 1973, £40,000 was then invested in a new pilot drainage scheme. The head of the NUU investigation team stated that 'phoshorous compounds' were 'the most important of the nutrients entering Lough Neagh', with most of the phosphorous coming from urban and industrial effluent (18).
By 1978, after further discussions with the agricultural community (19), funding was increased to £500,000 by the Department of the Environment, again with the aim of reducing phosphorous levels (20). So we've been here before and it took a protracted effort by agriculturalists, academics and politicians, along with a huge injection of cash to remedy the problem. Of course, our present-day problems are slightly different, and when I reached out to DAERA about this issue, this is what I got back:
'Thanks for your interest in Lough Neagh. With the increased coverage recently there has been mention of the significant blooms in the lough back in the 1970s. The lough ecosystem has changed considerably since then, with the introduction of the invasive Zebra Mussel greatly increasing water clarity allowing light to penetrate deeper into the lough. The average temperature of the lough is now higher. The primary issue in the lough in the 1970s was excessive nutrients leading to algal blooms.
In the seventies the mitigations where focused on point source discharges, in particular the better treatment of effluent at wastewater treatment works. Research would tell us that wastewater is still an issue, however diffuse pressures (as opposed to point source) from agriculture are contributing more nutrients that are fuelling the blooms. The nutrients coupled with the increased clarity and temps bring about the perfect conditions for Blue / green blooms.'
It's certainly an honest and accurate account given what the MUM articles describe, but with their admission that 'diffuse pressures... from agriculture are contributing more nutrients', we find ourselves in a pretty tricky spot.
Scale
At a recent public event hosted by the NI Science Festival at the Seamus Heaney Welcome Centre in Belaghy (21), the gathered panel of experts from a range of disciplines, provided us some background as to the extent of the problem the lough currently faces. We were told that the catchment area for Lough Neagh is currently host to approximately 15,000 farms, and that recent estimates regarding population size for that area puts it at about 600,000. The catchment area for Lough Neagh also takes into account counties south of the border (22), and panel members explained that there's a vast hydroponic network of water tables and aquifers that ultimately feed into the lough. With such an abundance of farms, there's an abundance of run-off, and those 'diffuse pressures' as alluded to by DAERA take on a new light.
To put this in some perspective, we were told by members of the panel that we are currently producing an amount of animal protein in that catchment area that would feed it's population ten times over. It's an extraordinary state of affairs given the size of NI's population, but agriculture is NI's biggest business (23) and of late, there's been a huge expansion in industrial farming (24). Moreover, those agricultural interests were expressly defended in the 80 page command paper that was authored by the DUP, and essentially ratified by our Secretary of State (25). It was this document and it's contents that effectively got our politicians back to work in Stormont.
For those of you who've read it, you'll know that our agri-economic sector and it's interests were front and centre. Of real interest to me was, while 'others' were mentioned throughout in terms of consultation, the only third party of note from NI who were explicitly mentioned, were the Ulster Farmers Union. But we can't have it both ways. You can't defend a sector - however profitable - without at least taking into account what the downstream effects of that might be. With regard to Lough Neagh and it's surrounding ecosystems, it's means we're effectively killing them off.
Ecology
Considering the scale of the problem it's no wonder that some have called for a single government body to protect it (26,27), as it's not just the interests of humans living and working near Lough Neagh that's of concern. Whole ecosystems are at threat of collapse, in particular due to the demise of a particular species of insect associated with them.
The 'Lough Neagh black fly' isn't actually unique to the place. They're a non-biting midge or lake fly and are described as 'arguably the most critical part of lake ecology' (28). They constitute a critical aspect of diet for fish, eels and rare duck species at Lough Neagh, but with the collapse of the Lough Neagh black fly population - seemingly overnight (29) - we have lost an invaluable living component of an ecosystem for which there's seemingly no back-up.
Dr. Simon Doherty of the Institute of Global Food Security at Queens University Belfast, recently guested on an Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio show, and revealed there have been seasonal variations in the emergence of black fly this last year or so (30). The lack of oversight due to our collapsed executive was also mentioned, but in particular, Simon cites nitrate and phosphate run-off from fertilisers and slurry being contributory factors to the bloom.
From what I can tell, no causative link between cyantoxins and the amelioration of such species at Lough Neagh has been specifically mentioned online. Indeed, Dr. Adam Mellor of AFBI informed the BBC that ecological changes of late cannot be directly attributed to last years bloom (31), and is quoted as saying that, 'There could be other unknown factors that we're not aware of'. That said, research has shown that microcystin toxins like those found in Lough Neagh, can have lethal effects on aquatic species.
A study that's cited on the US Environmental Protection Agency website, reports that microcystin toxins can kill Daphnia galeata within two days of exposure (32). In addition, chronic exposure of Daphnia magna to microcystin toxins, also proved fatal (33). Daphnia species are water fleas, and while they're not an ideal candidate of comparison, what this this research illustrates is that microcystins can indeed have a lethal effect on small aquatic species. Obviously more research would be needed to establish microcystins produced by cyanobacteria as the culprit in the Lough Neagh black fly die-off, but such findings as these are at least suggestive.
Ethics
So who actually speaks for Lough Neagh? Who honestly represents it's best interests? For while our primary focus is to ensure that those living and working near the lough are protected, when we're truly cognisant of the effects our modern activities have on nature, we're duty bound to apply that focus elsewhere, are we not?
To provide us some informed colour here, there's a wonderful book by Peter Godfrey-Smith, 'Metazoa', that describes the emergence of more complex life-forms and their body plans some 500-600 million years ago during the so-called 'Cambrian explosion'. In the book, Godfrey-Smith draws attention to the work of Prof. Robert Elwood of QUB, whose work on Crustaceans has revealed them to have the wherewithal for perceiving pain, and then acting with avoidant capacities that people had previously not suspected.
As Smith points out, Crustaceans are in the same large group of arthropods as insects, with insects comprising an 'evolutionary offshoot'. The upshot of Prof. Elwood's work as described by Smith, is that we have to ask the question, 'Do insects experience their lives also?' (34). Describing his own moment of realisation when standing on the seashore as being a 'bit of a jolt', that Godfrey-Smith asks us to take insects seriously as candidates for subjective experience, shouldn't be treated as mere fancy or academic trivia. This stuff actually matters, and informs our deeper understanding of intelligent life, how it came to be, and where we fit in that bigger picture.
Of course, contemplating the secret life of insects (if they truly have one), won't bring us any closer to finding solutions in lessening the problems we face with Lough Neagh and Northern Ireland's waterways. But it should at least get us thinking that we can't keep treating nature as somehow beholden to us.
In 'The Nutmeg's Curse', Amitav Ghosh describes the emergence of enlightened European ideology during the Indian spice wars, as an intellectual schema whereby Nature was viewed as inert and simply fit for the taking (35). We've have been ploughing that furrow for some time now. But ecosystems are delicately balanced webs of biological, biochemical and geochemical matrices that have evolved over millions, if not billions of years. We can't spin our way out of that, and sometimes our actions are such that Nature - in her own way - bites back. We truly have our work cut out.
*We have much to thank Venetian glass for. Galileo constructed his telescopes using Venetian glass, and the first quality spectacles hail from the drowning city. The folkloric charm of it has influenced even Bond villains. Hugo Drax of Moonraker fame needed a lot of glass to drop a payload of toxin from orbit. In his happily unsuccessful bid to commit global genocide from the happy confines of his personal space station, he'd had engineered job lots of poison derived from a rare black orchid. The receptacles to hold his cosmic bane were held in Venetian glass.
More recently, in a small country town 20 miles outside of Venice, a large team of employees worked round the clock in a factory in Piombino Dese, producing millions of glass vials to house and transport the Covid vaccine. So fictional despot or real world benefactor, if you're looking glass, get on your gondola.
** On the 22nd February 2024, as part of the NI Science Festival, a panel of experts convened at the Seamus Heaney Homeplace in Belaghy. NI Water was represented very capably by Dymphna Gallagher, who assured the audience that Cyanotoxins were of no risk to the public with regard to drinking water.
References
1) Siddhartha Mukherjee, 'The Song of the Cell' Penguin Random House 2022 (p26-29)
2) Chelsea Harvey, 'Earth may be home to a staggering one trillion species' Washington Post,
May 3rd 2016
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/05/03/earth-may-be-home-to-a-trillion-species-scientists-say/
3) Mora, C. et al 'How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean?', PLOS Biology,
August 23rd 2011
https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001127
4) Sanchez-Baracaldo, P. et al 'Cyanobacteria and biogeochemical cycles through Earth History' Trends in Microbiology Jul 4th 2021
https://www.cell.com/trends/microbiology/fulltext/S0966-842X(21)00131-1?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0966842X21001311%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
5) https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/bacteria/cyanointro.html
6) Pathak, J. et al 'Cyanobacterial Farming for Environment Friendly Sustainable Agriculture Practices: Innovations and Perspectives', Frontiers in Environmental Science 28th February,
2018
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2018.00007/full#:~:text=Cyanobacterial%20farming%20can%20help%20in,feeds%20for%20aquaculture%20and%20poultry.
7) Blaha, L. et al 'Toxins produced in cyanobacterial water blooms - toxicity and risks', Interdisciplinary Toxicology 15th May 2009
https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/v10102-009-0006-2
8) Zanchett, G. et al 'Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxins: From Impacts on Aquatic Ecosystems and Human Health to Anticarcinogenic Effects', Toxins 23rd October 2013
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/5/10/1896
9) Sam McBride 'Lough Neagh's fish contain toxins but are safe to eat if handled properly, tests show', Belfast Telegraph 7th March 2024
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/environment/lough-neaghs-fish-contain-toxins-but-are-safe-to-eat-if-handled-properly-tests-show/a697747582.html
10) Garrett Hargan 'Over £10,000 spent sending toxic algae samples to England as NI has no testing facility', Belfast Telegraph 23rd December 2023
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/environment/over-10000-spent-sending-toxic-algae-samples-to-england-as-ni-has-no-testing-facility/a688398655.html
11) Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, 'Summary of Blue-Green Algae monitoring in bathing waters and nearby sites' November 2023
https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/daera/Summary%20of%20blue-green%20algae%20monitoring%20in%20bathing%20waters%202023%20-%20v141223.pdf
12) Shauna Corr, 'Lough Neagh blue-green algae is back' Belfast Live 21st February 2024
https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/lough-neagh-blue-green-algae-28666399#:~:text=The%20toxic%20blue%2Dgreen%20algae,and%20Reas%20Wood%20in%20Antrim.
13) Surfers Against Sewage, Water Quality Report 2023
https://waterquality.sas.org.uk/northern-ireland/
14) Mid Ulster Mail 2nd September 1967
15) Mid Ulster Mail 3rd February 1968
16) Mid Ulster Mail 15th June 1968
17) Mid Ulster Mail 25th September 1971
18) Mid Ulster Mail 30th July 1973
19) Mid Ulster Mail 24th August 1978
20) Mid Ulster Mail 26th October 1978
21) https://nisciencefestival.com/events/whats-the-blooming-problem-with-lough-neagh
22) https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/articles/lough-neagh-levels
23) https://www.investni.com/international-business/our-sectors/agri-tech#:~:text=Farming%20is%20the%20biggest%20industry,academic%20research%20in%20the%20field.
24) Shauna Corr 'Two Northern Ireland counties have almost 30 million chickens, cows and pigs "hidden from view" in factory farms', Belfast Live 14th February 2024
https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/two-northern-ireland-counties-almost-28626265
25) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65ba3b7bee7d490013984a59/Command_Paper_1.pdf
26) Bernadette Alan, 'Lough Neagh: Toome protest hears call for single environment body', BBC News NI 26th November 2023
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-67538417
27) Stephanie Bell, 'Action group wants new single government body to protect Lough Neagh from algae poisoning' Sunday Life Sunday 17th September 2023
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/news/action-group-wants-new-single-government-body-to-protect-lough-neagh-from-algae-poisoning/a1844613824.html
28) Ella McSweeney, 'Flies converge over Lough Neagh to find a mate within a week before they die' Irish Times Saturday 14th October 2023
https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/2023/10/14/flies-converge-over-lough-neagh-to-find-a-mate-within-a-week-before-they-die/
29) Tommy Greene, 'Like the flip of a switch, it's gone': has the ecosystem of the UK's largest lake collapsed?' The Guardian Monday 19th February 2023
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/19/like-the-flip-of-a-switch-its-gone-has-the-ecosystem-of-the-uk-largest-lake-collapsed-aoe
30) ABC Listen, 'How missing flies signaled ecological distress of UK's biggest lake'
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/saturdayextra/lough-neagh/103504424
31) Louise Cullen, 'How do you solve the Lough Neagh blue-green algae problem?' BBC News NI 4th October 2023
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-67000265
32) Rohrlack, T. et al 'Ingestion of microcystins by Daphnia: Intestinal uptake and toxic effects' Limnology and Oceanography' 17th March 2005
https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.4319/lo.2005.50.2.0440
33) Chen, W. et al 'Chronic toxicity and responses of several important enzymes in Daphnia magna on exposure to sublethal microcystin-LR' Environmental Toxicology 12th May 2005
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tox.20108
34) Peter Godfrey-Smith 'Metazoa - Animal minds and the birth of Consciousness' William Collins 2020 (p89-94)
35) Amitav Ghosh 'The Nutmeg's Curse - Parables for a Planet in Crisis' John Murray 2022 (p37-39)