The Tale of Eutrophication

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I am Nitrogen and I cause eutrophication! I come from run-off from agricultural land!

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I am Phosphorus and I also cause eutrophication. I come from homes and industries such as with phosphorus-based detergents.

Another major cause of eutrophication is human activities such as using agricultural fertilizers which turn into runoff, growing or farming fish and aquatic plants, and more!

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Pollutants enter bodies of water which leads to algal blooms. Sunlight is blocked which organisms and plants need to survive.

Decomposers begin to break down the algae which uses up oxygen in the water. With a limited amount of dissolved oxygen and sunlight, fish nor plants can breathe or make food.

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Organisms begin to die and whole populations can be wiped out. It can lead to dead zones.

Eutrophication can ultimately lead to hypoxic conditions where organisms are deprived of a needed amount of oxygen which is why they begin to die off. This is all due to decomposers taking away the oxygen in the water to get rid of the excessive amount of algae.

THE END