Eutrophication comes from the Greek word "eutrophos" meaning well-nourished. In other words, this natural process found in water occurs as a result of additional rich nutrients forming a flourish in plant production.
At this moment in time, eutrophication is causing worldwide devastation to not only aquatic life, but the fishing industry. The release of nutrients into fresh water lakes, rivers and reservoirs leads to excessive growth of three different plant species:
a) Open water algae (phytoplankton)
b) Attached algae (periphyton)
c) Higher plants (macrophytes)
Above all, these organisms encourage the growth of algae, which absorb dissolved oxygen in the water essential for the survival of fish populations. Occasionally, the decomposition of newly-submerged biomass and sediment further reduce the water's oxygen content. Water sources can literally choke to death as a result of increasing human activity, such as industry and agriculture giving rise to increased nutrient loading.
I am particularly surprised how the agricultural industry inflicts these problems on themselves, by excessive use of sewage systems and pollutants which find their way to local rivers [Fig 1.]. The trophic state (i.e. the natural nutrition factors) and biodiversity of lakes and rivers are greatly effected by the main nutrients involved, nitrates and phosphates. The transition occurs mainly between a mesotropic state, with an average biological productivity to a eutrophic state where there is a larger production of organisms due to high nutrient concentrations. Tropical reservoirs in particular often become eutrophic.
Water quality impacts
Contaminants acting as plant nutrients in excessive concentrations, overcompensate by forming...
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...ish industry for example has taken a beating, in terms of annual income and available resources. Organisations in Norway have been obliged to spend millions of pounds on nutrient control programs in order to resolve their excessive fertility. Despite this though, we must not completely rid of all nutrients in our ecosystems. Mesotropic conditions are ideal as they will provide enough
It can be said that similar methods can be elsewhere for other biological problems such as the acidification of ecosystems where acid rain, as a result of sulphur dioxide dissolves aluminium salts in rivers and lakes which suffocates fish.
Having studied these various aspects, I believe that eutrophication is a very important issue and is often disregarded. The continuation, without reducing systems, could end in despair for our environment and indirectly affect farmers worldwide.
Fish habitat is the underwater world which many people do not see. It is just like the world that people live. Fish and plants reproduce, eat, and live in this environment, and even face challenges such as invasive species. It is said that “Invasive species are non-native species that threaten the diversity or abundance of native species due to their uncontrollable population growth, causing ecological or economic impacts” (“Invasive” par. 1). Vegetation plays a big role for fish habitat and for a lake itself. Aquatic habitat provides living space for not only fish but also for many aquatic insects. These insects then in turn provide fish and other species of animals with food (“Native” par. 4).
For example, when the labors take oil from the ocean or sea, the oil may leak from the pipes and it will mingle with water. That time the living things in the sea are destroyed by the polluted water. So many fishes and sea organism may
Eutrophication is a concern in the Chesapeake Bay. Eutrophication is caused by excessive amounts of nutrients. Excessive nutrients in the bay have negative affects on the bay's ecosystem. The extra nutrients make the environment unbalanced. The extra nutrients cause a chain reaction that depletes oxygen and kills most of the organisms in that area. This is what is known as a dead zone.
Once that step is determined, scientists will assign that group of species to a trophic level; to either the primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, or the tertiary consumers. The bottom of the chain and the trophic level that depends upon by all others is the primary producers. These primary producers consist of autotrophs, which are capable of deriving their food and energy source without consuming organisms or substances taken from other organisms. In the Arctic lake of Alaska, one of it’s primary producers consists of aquatic plants and algae. These aquatic and algae contain chlorophyll, which means that they can use light energy from the sun to synthesize glucose and other organic compounds, that they can use for cellular respiration and building material for growth.
Because of farm fertilizer, an excess quantity of nitrogen and phosphorus can be wash down becoming runoff into rivers. From this, marine algal blooms cause the water to turn green from the chlorophyll (Reed, 2011). Eutrophication then becomes a dilemma in the system causing either an increase of primary production or an expansion of algae. An enormous expansion of phytoplankton on the water’s surface is then established. At the same time the water column is also stratified, meaning things such as the temperature and salinity are not sync from top to bottom. The seasonal warm surface water has a low density forming a saltier layer above while the cooler and more dense water masses near the bottom layer is isolated from the top cutting off oxygen supply from the atmosphere (Overview, 2008).
According to the Worldwatch Institute the rapid industrialization has polluted many lakes and streams resulting in chemical pollution and increased algae blooms leaving the water undrinkable. These combined issues are then causing knock on effects to the aquatic life by staving them of oxygen. Many areas are also suffering with an increase in dust storms; these have been a cause of over agricultural use. These increased storms would not cause many problems but now they can ...
Eutrophication is a concern in the Chesapeake Bay. Eutrophication is caused by excessive amounts of nutrients. Excessive nutrients in the bay have negative effects on the bay's ecosystem. The extra nutrients make the environment unbalanced. The extra nutrients cause a chain reaction that eventually kills most of the organisms in that area. This is what is known as a dead zone.
According to World WildLife Fund, many ecosystems around the world are being destroyed, eliminating many plant and animal species that inhabit them (“Pollution”).
Eutrophication is the reaction resulting from the addition of harmful substances to aquatic ecosystems. Eutrophication causes decreased biodiversity, changes in species composition and dominance dissolved oxygen depletion and problems in water treatments. Eutrophication is currently happening to many of the Canadian Lakes including Lake Winnipeg. Since 1969, it has been observed that Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) has been the reason for the 90% hike in the algal blooms.Cyanobacteria causes a smelly odour and releases toxins that are detrimental to humans and some other organisms. When the lake is enriched with phosphorus, cyanobacteria thrive due to nitrogen-fixing. Due to the unfair advantage cyanobacteria has over other non-nitrogen-fixing species and its cause in oxygen depletion, other species die off causing decrease in biodiversity. It has been proven through the recoveries of lakes in many countries, including Canada, that reducing phosphorous is the most inexpensive and efficient way to solving the Cyanobacterial blooms. Synthetic fertilizer applications and manure from ca...
... Under normal conditions, herbivores fish and some invertebrates keep the algae population in check, but over-fishing has diminished populations of herbivores.
Some of the serious environmental tribulations related to food production and consumption consist of “climate change, water pollution, water scarcity, soil degradation, eutrophication of water bodies, and loss of habitats and biodiversity (Reisch L., 2014).” ... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited APHA. 2014, February 28.
Different pollutants cause different things to happen to plants. Sometimes, water pollution causes an explosion of new plant growth by providing necessary nutrients and food. If there is too much of one species, this can harm or kill plants by changing their growing conditions, such as raising or lowering the environment’s acidity. Plants must take in nutrients from the surrounding environment in order to grow. Nitrogen and phosphorus, in particular, help a plant’s growth because they are important in photosynthesis. This is why they are common ingredients in plant fertilizers. When runoff from farms pollute waterways with nitrogen and fertilizers rich with phosphorus, the water enriched with nutrients often have stunts of growth. Sometimes too much growth can be harmful, as when plant-like algae bloom in polluted waters and create oxygen-depleted dead zones. One solution to this issue is planting seaweed farms in areas that get alot of runoff from farms. This is because seaweed can soak up the excess nutrients and be harvested for people to eat. Marine debris is garbage that ends up in the ocean. Plastic debris that builds up at or near the water’s surface blocks sunlight from fully reaching plants that rely on sunlight to move along the photosynthesis process. By blocking sunlight, marine debris prevent plants from creating glucose at full capacity, which stunts their growth. When chemical pollutants
The problem of water scarcity has increasingly spread throughout the world as of yet, The UN reports that within the next half- century up to 7 billion people in 60 countries which is more than the whole present population will face water scarcity (Sawin “Water Scarcity could Overwhelm the Next Generation”). As well the demand for freshwater has tripled over the past 50 years, and is continuing to rise as a result of population growth and economic development. 70% of this demand derives from agriculture which shows the influence of water on food supply globally as well not just drinking water (Sawin “Water Scarcity could overwhelm the Next Generation”). But increasing water use is not just a matter of the greater number of people needing it to drink and eat; it also comes from pollution and misuse of water supplies, by either dumping or runoff of bacteria or chemicals into water. This also “causes other pollutions as well such as soil and air pollution, accelerating wetland damage and human caused global warming” (Smith and Thomassey 25). According to UN report, recent estimates suggest that climate change will account for about 20 percent of the increase in global water scarcity in coming decades.
Water pollution is also a major thing in the world because almost 60% of it is fishes. It occurs due to several factors; the industrial waste dumped into the rivers and other water body’s cause am imbalance in the water leading to its severe contamination and deaths. And the infamous Global warming is the emission of greenhouse gases particularly CO2 is leading to global warming.
Rogers, Peter. 2008. "Facing the Freshwater CRISIS. (Cover story)." Scientific American 299, no. 2: 46-53. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed November 4, 2010).