eutrophication
nounEtymology From eutrophicate + -ion.
1
Biology, Natural sciences The process of becoming eutrophic; the ecosystem's response to the addition of artificial or natural nutrients, mainly phosphates, through detergents, fertilizers, or sewage, to an aquatic system.
- I already hinted at the problem of sea eutrophication (where excess nutrients cause algae to flourish) due to the phosphates that used to be added to washing powder, and, surely, it is not pleasant for plants to find underfoot (or, better, "underroot") those surfactants we use daily at home (please, never pour your dishwater on the roots of a magnificent camellia, even if it is blooming in the garden of a next-door neighbor you cannot stand).2011, Roberto Piazza, Soft Matter: The stuff that dreams are made of, page 130:
- Amphisteginids and peneroplids were among the few taxa found in the bay environments, probably due to their preferences for phytal substrates and tolerance to moderate levels of eutrophication.2015 December 29, “Spatial Patterns in the Distribution, Diversity and Abundance of Benthic Foraminifera around Moorea (Society Archipelago, French Polynesia)”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:
- Derived terms
- hypereutrophication
- Related terms
- eutrophicate