Eutrophication die, the bacterial degradation of their biomass consumes the oxygen in the water, thereby creating the state of hypoxia. According to Ullmann's Encyclopedia, "the primary limiting factor for eutrophication is phosphate." The availability of phosphorus generally promotes excessive plant growth and decay, favouring simple algae and plankton over other more complicated plants, and causes a severe reduction in water quality. Phosphorus is a necessary nutrient for plants to live, and is the limiting factor for plant growth in many freshwater ecosystems. Phosphate adheres tightly to soil, so it is mainly transported by erosion. Once translocated to lakes, the extraction of
Eutrophication especially immobile bottom dwellers die off. In extreme cases, anaerobic conditions ensue, promoting growth of bacteria such as "Clostridium botulinum" that produces toxins deadly to birds and mammals. Zones where this occurs are known as dead zones. Eutrophication may cause competitive release by making abundant a normally limiting nutrient. This process causes shifts in the species composition of ecosystems. For instance, an increase in nitrogen might allow new, competitive species to invade and out-compete original inhabitant species. This has been shown to occur in New England salt marshes. In Europe and Asia, the common carp frequently lives in naturally Eutrophic