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algal bloom
Sign in to saveAlso known as algal blooms, algae bloom, algae blooms
rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae
An algal bloom is a rapid buildup of algae in water, where the algae population suddenly grows very quickly. It matters because these blooms can harm water quality, deplete oxygen in the water, and sometimes produce toxins that affect fish, wildlife, and people who use the water.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
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Encyclopedic overview
A very large algae bloom in Lake Erie, North America, which can be seen from space An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in fresh water or marine water systems. It may be a benign or harmful algal bloom.
Algal bloom is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term algae encompasses many types of aquatic photosynthetic organisms, both macroscopic multicellular organisms like seaweed and microscopic unicellular organisms like cyanobacteria. Algal bloom commonly refers to the rapid growth of microscopic unicellular algae, not macroscopic algae. An example of a macroscopic algal bloom is a kelp forest.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “algal bloom” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.