Great Lakes shorelines are becoming clogged by algae blooms fed by agricultural run-off, while invasive mussels decimate the food chain in deeper waters, an environmental group said on Tuesday. The five lakes, which contain one-fifth of the world’s fresh water and supply tens of millions of people, may be “veering close to ecosystem collapse,” the report by the National Wildlife Federation said. “Too much food is causing massive algal blooms in Lake Erie and other coastal systems, while too little food is making fish starve in Lake Huron’s offshore waters,” said the group’s Great Lakes director, Andy Buchsbaum. There are many problems afflicting the Great Lakes, which in other ways have grown healthier after years of pollution. This past summer, Lake Erie was choked by toxic algae blooms up to 2 feet thick and 10 miles wide, and algae coated some Lake Michigan coastlines. Water treatment removes the toxin, at a cost, but often creates an unpleasant odor, one of the report’s authors, Julie Mida Hinderer, said in an interview.

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Great Lakes face stresses from run-off, invaders

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