• Question: why is there algae in water?

    Asked by to Hattie, Ben on 16 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Ben Butler

      Ben Butler answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      Algae are great, and they are EVERYWHERE. In ponds, lakes, rivers and of course the ocean. Algae are basically microscopic plants made up of only 1 cell, so they’re far too small to see without a microscope.

      Algae live in the water because they feed on nutrients, which normal plants would get from the soil. What makes algae especially important is that they produce 70% of the earth’s oxygen, which we all need to survive!

      Sometimes algae can be a bad thing though… If there are too many nutrients in the water, then they can grow in such huge numbers that they end up polluting the water and killing loads of wildlife. This is called eutrophication (a big word that will impress your science teacher).

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