Hood Canal blooms occur in part because of warm weather and the slow turnover of water in the southern end of the canal, causing the build-up of nutrients from fertilizers and leaky septic systems. Organic matter, brought in by ocean water and certain trees, could additionally be contributing to the high nitrogen levels in the basin. Excess nutrients and organic matter causes a body of water to lose oxygen, through a process called eutrophication. In Hood Canal, eutrophication has led to unwanted algae blooms. Nitrogen combined with sunlight triggers algal growth. A lack of sufficient consumers has resulted in a mass overgrowth
Carnivorous plant more or less than this optimum will take up less carbon dioxide than an optimal plant, and hence growing less well. These plants will be at a selective disadvantage. At zero investment the growth is zero, because a non-carnivorous plant cannot survive in a habitat with absolutely no soil-borne nutrients. Such habitats do not exist, so for example, "Sphagnum" absorbs the tiny amounts of nitrates and phosphates in rain very efficiently and also forms symbioses with diazotrophic cyanobacteria. In a habitat with abundant soil nutrients but little light (as shown above), the gross photosynthesis curve will be lower and flatter,