Algal Blooms - when plants turn nasty!

Come and find out how simple plants such as algae can kill. This display tells you about what causes an algal bloom and how we can help prevent them.

This is when algae or bacteria living in the sea or freshwater occur in vast numbers. Algal blooms can be so vast that some can be seen from space.

Algal booms occur when conditions are just right for growth, usually when nutrient levels are high, the temperature is warm and water currents are slow.

Pollution from our homes, our sewage plants, and fertilisers and manure from farms, can result in high nutrient levels in lakes and the sea.

If the global climate warms up, then so will water temperatures.

This means algal blooms are likely to occur more frequently. Algal blooms have become more common around the UK in the last 30 years.

Photo:

Seaweed from an algal bloom on a beach in Brittany, northern France in summer 2009 © Thesupermat