Marine pollution is a primary cause of eutrophication of surface waters, in which excess nutrients, usually nitrates or phosphates, stimulate algae growth. Many potentially toxic chemicals adhere to tiny particles which are then taken up by plankton and benthic animals, most of which are either deposit feeders or filter feeders. In this way, the toxins are concentrated upward within ocean food chains. Many particles combine chemically in a manner highly depletive of oxygen, causing estuaries to become anoxic. When pesticides are incorporated into the marine ecosystem, they quickly become absorbed into marine food webs. Once in the food webs, these pesticides can
Culture of microalgae in hatcheries Culture of microalgae in hatcheries Microalgae or microscopic algae grow in either marine or freshwater systems. They are primary producers in the oceans that convert water and carbon dioxide to biomass and oxygen in the presence of sunlight. The oldest documented use of microalgae was 2000 years ago, when the Chinese used the cyanobacteria "Nostoc" as a food source during a famine. Another type of microalgae, the cyanobacteria "Arthrospira" (Spirulina), was a common food source among populations in Chad and Aztecs in Mexico as far back as the 16th century. Today cultured microalgae is used as direct feed for humans