Harmful Algal Blooms
Red Tides
What Types of Organisms are involved, & how?
There are many organisms affected by red tides. Both plants and animals are greatly affected by this algal bloom. Plants are affected by the buildup of algae blocking sunlight at the surface. this lack of sunlight causes plants to be less productive, creating less oxygen because they are not able to properly perform photosynthesis. this can throw off the whole ecosystem and the food web. This happens because the animals can not thrive in oxygen depleted waters.
What are economic impacts?
There are two main economic impacts, tourism, and fishing. Tourism can greatly deplete when there isn't fish in the water. Tourism like fishing charters will not be successful if they are docked by a dead zone. This can greatly affect the community's revenue. The other economic aspect is fishing. In coastal areas, many people rely on fishing to make a living. If eutrophication is killing life in the ocean, most simply put there are not fish to catch.this can affect many peoples lively hoods, seaafood distrinutors, fishing stores and fisherman are all in trouble when working in or around a body of water experiencing eutrophication.
what can be done to reduce, eliminate, or manage excess nutrients, and solve this issue
it is important to know that the main source of eutrophication (specifically red tides) is from agricultural runoff A way to combat this is to compost rather than using fertilizer. One can also ask the big corporations to reduce pollution out put, like smoke stacks and sewer run off