A toxin produced by a type of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, has been devastating a colony of sea otters off the coast of California. In a paper published in the journal, PLoS ONE, by the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and the University of California (UC), Santa Cruz, researchers link the deaths of over 21 California sea otters to toxic chemicals from algae flowing into the ocean.

Blue-green algae itself can be detrimental to the natural ecosystem

because it can block light from reaching the depths of the water and starve the water of dissolved oxygen. Once the oxygen goes, no marine life can survive and you get "dead zones." Now, according to the researchers, one particular type of algae is also releasing a deadly toxin known as Microcystis.