Toxic algae bloom reported in Eastham

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"Town officials are warning swimmers and pet owners to avoid Molls Pond off Alston Avenue because of the growth of blue-green algae." The problem was noticed when a dog became sick, after drinking from the pond.

"Possible health effects range from rashes, hives or skin blisters to runny eyes and nose, sore throat, diarrhea and vomiting.  In rare cases, exposure can lead to neurological symptoms, including drooling, weakness, staggering, convulsions, and death in dogs.  Humans may experience dizziness, numb lips or tingling fingers. Source

The Future--Cleaning up the Cape's algae problem

"Everything about the Cape functions around its ability to have clean beaches, abundant shellfishing,

and all the tourism spinoffs.

Our product, you can say, is clean water.’’*

CLF Cleaning up the Cape’s Algae Problem

Nov 30, 2011 by Ben Carmichael  Source

"Rotten eggs and black mayonnaise – sights and smells that, to the dread of many, are becoming increasingly common across Cape Cod. Over the 30 years, increased development and insufficient wastewater treatment systems have degraded the quality of Cape Cod’s waters. CLF, in association with Buzzards Bay Coalition, are working to clean up the Cape – work that was recently covered by David Abel in The Boston Globe.

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Take the skull challenge...

Can you name the wetland animal that matches each skull?

The relative sizes are shown.  The largest is 7 3/4" long, and the smallest is 2 3/8" long.

A. hint:  omnivore (eats a wide variety of animals and plants).  Not aquatic, but often feeds along the shores of ponds and streams.

B. hint: herbivore (eats plants); round tail.  Very aquatic.

C. hint: mostly a carnivore (eats animals).  Not aquatic, but travels along shorelines.

D. hint: omnivore (eats a variety of animals and plants).  This animal is not a wetland species, but might be found along the shore at times.

E. hint: carnivore (eats animals).  Very aquatic.

F. hint: herbivore (eats plants), flat tail.  Very aquatic.  This is the only one of the six skulls which does not occur in Cape Cod and SE Massachusetts--but it is common elsewhere.  Bonus points if you can come up with a good answer for why it's not found in Cape Cod!

Answers to the Skull Challenge (click on the letter to see the animal)
A
B
C
D
E
F

Snapping turtles at Hawksnest

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Since my childhood in the 1950s, I've seen snapping turtles at Hawksnest, usually close to Black Pond.  Years might go between sightings, but they were definitely there, and some were BIG.

Common snapping turtle crossing a road.

Carnivorous plants--Bladderwort in Black Pond

by Rex Merrill

You don't know what lurks below the surface unless you look.

One of the joys of living near a pond is being able to get out on the water for a paddle on a sunny summer day. I often make a quick circuit in a canoe or kayak just inside the zone of submerged aquatic vegetation.

Bladderwort is found in shallow water along the shore of Black Pond, near the isthmus.

Ponds on Cape Cod with toxic algae, 2009-2011

Blue-green algae creates "toxic algae blooms." They have been known to kill dogs and people. While only a few people have been sickened by algae blooms in the US, about 50 people were killed in Brazil from drinking water tainted with algae.

In 1998, four dogs were poisoned--two of them died--from drinking water at Cliff Pond in Nickerson State Park.  One of the dogs that died belonged to Jeff Hook--and he thinks the four dogs are just the tip of the iceberg.  A few years later, he had a second dog die at Cliff Pond.

Protecting fragile vegetation at Hawksnest

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The soil's surface... is the living skin of the earth.

When vegetation is destroyed, erosion creates a wound--as dangerous to the ecosystem as a festering sore.  In the resulting scars, invasive plants and animals can become established.

Healthy soil stores nutrients for plants--but with erosion, phosphorus escapes, creating imbalances in waterways downstream.

If erosion is allowed to continue unchecked, the resulting gullies will be very expensive to repair.  At Walden Pond State Reservation near Boston, erosion that went unchecked for decades cost over a million dollars to repair.