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water bloom
(redirected from Algal bloom)

   Also found in: Medical, Wikipedia 0.03 sec.

water bloom

Dense aquatic accumulation of microscopic organisms produced by an abundance of nutrients in surface water coupled with adequate sunlight for photosynthesis. The microorganisms or the toxic substances they release may discolour the water, exhaust its oxygen content, poison aquatic animals and waterfowl, and irritate the skin and respiratory tract of humans. Single species of algae, diatoms, or dinoflagellates, reproducing every few hours, may dominate a bloom's population; the number of individuals per quart (litre) of water, normally about 1,000, can increase to 60 million. Blooms of the dinoflagellate genus Gymnodinium cause red tides. The Red Sea is named for the occasional blooms of the alga Trichodesmium erythraeum. See also water pollution.



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However, Hu calculated, those sources probably provided only one-fifth the amount of nitrogen that was needed to sustain the algal bloom.
Florida Bay has seen algal blooms before, but this recent one is much larger than has been seen in many years, according to Larry Brand, Professor of Marine Biology and Fisheries at the University of Miami.
Harmful algal blooms that produce domoic acid are increasing, possibly due to warming ocean waters and human impacts such as farm and sewage runoff.
 
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