ABSTRACT
(Received November 16, 1985)
Regulating eutrophication through nutrient limitation is a common water quality management technique. However, limiting nutrients does not confront the issue of the underlying cause for the development of the nuisance populations of blue-green algae associated with eutrophication. To some extent, blue-green blooms have been accepted as the natural outcome of a succession process, since traditional succession theory predicts a directed and determined sequence of species culminating in a climax community. However, current ecological succession theory does not support the inevitability of a specific sequence and rate of species replacement. Current theory is applied to a management situation by giving examples of how the abiotic and biotic factors involved in community interactions can be manipulated to prevent blue-green population dominance. By directing the rate and sequence of species replacement, the process of succession can be altered so that eutrophication is regulated.
