Periphyton on shallow, sun
exposed waterfall (Amity Cr.)
Nutrients & Eutrophication
What's the problem ?
Excess nutrients, mainly the same phosphorus and nitrogen that you use to fertilize house and garden plants, and sometimes unnecessarily your lawn, cause enormous problems in water bodies. The most visual evidence is usually seen as over-abundant growths of algae on stream rocks and submerged branches and along the shoreline. In lakes, you'll see it along the lakeshore on rocks, dock pilings, and by pool-table green lakes and noxious scums of algae. Even the most pristine of streams and lakes can have some visible growth of filamentous algae and there is usually a slippery film on shoreline and submerged rocks that you can scrape off with your fingernails.
Find out more about Eutrophication in —
Lakes
- WaterontheWeb Lake Ecology Primer
- WaterontheWeb Lake Ecology Slide Module 2/3 Lecture 6
- Minnesota Lake Protection Guide
- Wisconsin – Phosphorus & Eutrophication [2 MB pdf file]
Streams
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