What is eutrophication?

Eutrophication refers to the process where water bodies, such as lakes and rivers, become overly enriched with nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen. This nutrient enrichment leads to increased algal growth, or algal blooms, in the water. The correct choice highlights that eutrophication is a result of enhanced availability of growth factors, such as nutrients that support algal proliferation.

This process can have significant environmental impacts, including the depletion of dissolved oxygen as algal blooms die and decompose, potentially leading to dead zones where aquatic life cannot survive. Understanding eutrophication is crucial in management efforts for water quality, as controlling nutrient input can mitigate its effects.

Choices indicating decreased algal abundance, or increased algal abundance due to reduced nutrients, or the absence of growth factors do not accurately describe the process of eutrophication, which inherently involves nutrient enrichment leading to an increase in algal populations.