The enrichment of a terrestrial or aquatic ECOSYSTEM by the addition of nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, that results in a superabundant growth of plants, ALGAE, or other primary producers. It can be a natural process or result from human activity such as agriculture runoff or sewage pollution. In aquatic ecosystems, an increase in the algae population is termed an algal bloom.

The collective name for the republics of ESTONIA; LATVIA; and LITHUANIA on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. (Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p111)

Adverse effect upon bodies of water (LAKES; RIVERS; seas; groundwater etc.) caused by CHEMICAL WATER POLLUTANTS.

Free-floating minute organisms that are photosynthetic. The term is non-taxonomic and refers to a lifestyle (energy utilization and motility), rather than a particular type of organism. Most, but not all, are unicellular algae. Important groups include DIATOMS; DINOFLAGELLATES; CYANOBACTERIA; CHLOROPHYTA; HAPTOPHYTA; CRYPTOMONADS; and silicoflagellates.

A system of artificial or natural drains, generally used for the disposal of liquid wastes.

Inland bodies of still or slowly moving FRESH WATER or salt water, larger than a pond, and supplied by RIVERS and streams.

Water containing no significant amounts of salts, such as water from RIVERS and LAKES.

Minute free-floating animal organisms which live in practically all natural waters.

A great expanse of continuous bodies of salt water which together cover more than 70 percent of the earth's surface. Seas may be partially or entirely enclosed by land, and are smaller than the five oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic).

A functional system which includes the organisms of a natural community together with their environment. (McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

A non-metal element that has the atomic symbol P, atomic number 15, and atomic weight 31. It is an essential element that takes part in a broad variety of biochemical reactions.

An algal bloom where the algae produce powerful toxins that can kill fish, birds, and mammals, and ultimately cause illness in humans. The harmful bloom can also cause oxygen depletion in the water due to the death and decomposition of non-toxic algae species.

Contamination of bodies of water (such as LAKES; RIVERS; SEAS; and GROUNDWATER.)

Activities performed by humans.

A rating of a body of water based on measurable physical, chemical, and biological characteristics.

An element with the atomic symbol N, atomic number 7, and atomic weight [14.00643; 14.00728]. Nitrogen exists as a diatomic gas and makes up about 78% of the earth's atmosphere by volume. It is a constituent of proteins and nucleic acids and found in all living cells.

Multicellular marine macroalgae including some members of red (RHODOPHYTA), green (CHLOROPHYTA), and brown (PHAEOPHYTA) algae. They are widely distributed in the ocean, occurring from the tide level to considerable depths, free-floating (planktonic) or anchored to the substratum (benthic). They lack a specialized vascular system but take up fluids, nutrients, and gases directly from the water. They contain CHLOROPHYLL and are photosynthetic, but some also contain other light-absorbing pigments. Many are of economic importance as FOOD, fertilizer, AGAR, potash, or source of IODINE.

Substances or mixtures that are added to the soil to supply nutrients or to make available nutrients already present in the soil, in order to increase plant growth and productivity.

Characteristic events occurring in the ATMOSPHERE during the interactions and transformation of various atmospheric components and conditions.

A plant family of the order Najadales, subclass ALISMATIDAE, class Liliopsida (monocotyledons). This is a group of perennial aquatic herbs with basal leaves.

Total mass of all the organisms of a given type and/or in a given area. (From Concise Dictionary of Biology, 1990) It includes the yield of vegetative mass produced from any given crop.

The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment.

The variety of all native living organisms and their various forms and interrelationships.

The flow of water in enviromental bodies of water such as rivers, oceans, water supplies, aquariums, etc. It includes currents, tides, and waves.

A mass of organic or inorganic solid fragmented material, or the solid fragment itself, that comes from the weathering of rock and is carried by, suspended in, or dropped by air, water, or ice. It refers also to a mass that is accumulated by any other natural agent and that forms in layers on the earth's surface, such as sand, gravel, silt, mud, fill, or loess. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed, p1689)

A family of gram-negative nitrifying bacteria, in the order Nitrosomonadales, class BETAPROTEOBACTERIA.

The external elements and conditions which surround, influence, and affect the life and development of an organism or population.

Chemical compounds which pollute the water of rivers, streams, lakes, the sea, reservoirs, or other bodies of water.

A class in the phylum CNIDARIA, comprised mostly of corals and anemones. All members occur only as polyps; the medusa stage is completely absent.

The salinated water of OCEANS AND SEAS that provides habitat for marine organisms.

Large natural streams of FRESH WATER formed by converging tributaries and which empty into a body of water (lake or ocean).

One of the three domains of life (the others being BACTERIA and ARCHAEA), also called Eukarya. These are organisms whose cells are enclosed in membranes and possess a nucleus. They comprise almost all multicellular and many unicellular organisms, and are traditionally divided into groups (sometimes called kingdoms) including ANIMALS; PLANTS; FUNGI; and various algae and other taxa that were previously part of the old kingdom Protista.

The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in water. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms.

The sequence of transfers of matter and energy from organism to organism in the form of FOOD. Food chains intertwine locally into a food web because most organisms consume more than one type of animal or plant. PLANTS, which convert SOLAR ENERGY to food by PHOTOSYNTHESIS, are the primary food source. In a predator chain, a plant-eating animal is eaten by a larger animal. In a parasite chain, a smaller organism consumes part of a larger host and may itself be parasitized by smaller organisms. In a saprophytic chain, microorganisms live on dead organic matter.

The science, art or practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock.

The protection, preservation, restoration, and rational use of all resources in the total environment.

The unconsolidated mineral or organic matter on the surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.

The pattern of any process, or the interrelationship of phenomena, which affects growth or change within a population.

Any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature, precipitation, or wind) lasting for an extended period (decades or longer). It may result from natural factors such as changes in the sun's intensity, natural processes within the climate system such as changes in ocean circulation, or human activities.

Number of individuals in a population relative to space.

Means or process of supplying water (as for a community) usually including reservoirs, tunnels, and pipelines and often the watershed from which the water is ultimately drawn. (Webster, 3d ed)

The branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and their ENVIRONMENT, especially as manifested by natural cycles and rhythms, community development and structure, interactions between different kinds of organisms, geographic distributions, and population alterations. (Webster's, 3d ed)

A clear, odorless, tasteless liquid that is essential for most animal and plant life and is an excellent solvent for many substances. The chemical formula is hydrogen oxide (H2O). (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of systems, processes, or phenomena. They include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.