Algal Biomass: That Green Muck That Just Wants Some Love

Even though, fertilizers are needed to supply essential nutrients to the growth of plants; an excess of them is one of the major issues contributing to pollution in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Fertilizers are mainly composed of two elements: nitrogen and phosphorus.(4) Throughout the years, millions of pounds of this nutrients are applied all around the Chesapeake Bay Watershed; everything not absorbed by the soil or taken up by plants eventually reaches the Chesapeake Bay through storm-water runoff. This nutrients end up creating algae blooms in the water, which reduce the amount of sunlight available to underwater grasses; not allowing plants to photosynthesize and produce the food they need to survive. Algae then decomposes creating dead zones killing fish and other species since oxygen is needed for any organism to live. (5)

Phosphorus, “...the primary algae-feeding nutrient in Lake Erie, and contributed to the largest algae bloom in history last year” (McCarty, para. 3), is a key factor in how

Did you ever wonder how things you do everyday effect the Chesapeake Bay watershed and Its tributaries? Well, It turns out to be not so good. One of the main causes for the Bay’s bad health are nutrients which are caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the air and water. Plants and animals need nutrients to survive but when too many nutrients are in the water they fuel the growth of algae blooms and create conditions that are harmful for aquatic creatures.

Algae blooms have been an issue in the Chesapeake Bay, especially in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Algae is a natural and critical part of the ecosystem, however in large doses it is harmful to the plants and organisms within the ecosystem. Algae blooms can block out sunlight and kill other plants in the water. Algae depends on various factors such as water, nutrients and carbon dioxide to grow. Eutrophication of the Inner Harbor has lead to algae blooms that have caused large fish kills in the past. When there is an over abundance of certain chemical nutrients eutrophication can occur. Runoff from land and farms is the main cause of excess nutrients into the water. The most common nutrients that are related to algae outbreaks are nitrate nitrogen and phosphate. In addition, a lack of dissolved oxygen can also be an indicator for the process of eutrophication and risk of an algae outbreak. A particular type of algae commonly found in Maryland is known as Prorocentrum minimum. Prorocentrum tends to cause “mahogany tides” causing water to be brown and have an odor. There has been a campaign launched by the Healthy Harbor

Patel, Jugal, and Yuliya Parshina-Kottas. “Miles of Algae Covering Lake Erie.” The New York Times, 3 Oct. 2017.

Canada is a country that is well-known for its beautiful land and freshwaters. However, Jackfish Lake in Yellowknife was starting to display abnormal signs of algae growth. Currently, the algae displays a liver-like appearance and is spreading deeper into the lake. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources asks the City of Yellowknife to test this lake and confirm the source of the algae growth. Citizens assume that the Jackfish power

Our end results only supported to some extent our hypothesis that increasing numbers of brine shrimp would directly cause decreases in algae concentration. Our hypothesis, if applied to only the jars of 3 and 6 brine shrimp, would be highly supported, due to the significant difference in algae concentrations. Evidently, the more shrimp that were present in the ecosystem, the less algae that were available at the end. In an ecosystem with more consumers, the consumers demand a higher amount of nutrients from the environment, or more specifically, the producers. And as the consumers develop and grow, those demands also grow. And thus, when we increased the amount of brine shrimp, more algae were consumed per unit time. Though the rate of consumption from the brine shrimp did not exceed the rate of growth of the algae in any jar, the

This has led to a doubling of phytoplankton biomass and cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae. Phosphorus concentrations are three times higher in the south basin than in the north. As well as the nitrogen concentration is slightly higher in the south than the north. The concentrations typically gather at the south end of the lake and decline as it moves north, this is likely the cause of the Red River flowing inward.

Introduction: I am going to do an experiment that will test whether algae effects mud snails. I want to test this because I have learned about the effects of algae on certain ecosystems, and I want to know how it will affect the salt marsh. I am interested in how algae growth will effect mud snails. This project will help me learn the effects of algae on organisms living in the salt marsh.

In Lake Erie, there is out-of-control algae growth that created dead zones. The problem has become critical in the western Lake because of harmful chemicals. Contaminants in fish certainly are causing health problems. At present, the solution is to make

Nitrogen in the lake is detected under the forms of Ammoniacal Nitrogen, Nitrate, and Nitrite. These three types of Nitrogen formed a parameter named Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen (DIN). This factor DIN couples with the organic form of Nitrogen to define Total Nitrogen (TN). Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus are two of the most important micronutrient components for algal development and hence very important parameters to be used for predicting scenarios of algae bloom occurrence and

This was supported, and the table number 1 shows the gradual increase in absorbance value for most of the group’s test tubes, when comparing the low and high values in nutrients. This shows that the higher values correspond with more algae, and that goes true with what the hypothesis was. Due to the values going up; that meant to us that the absorbance was higher and that meant there were change in the properties of the sample. Even though there was room to get more precise values there were many problems that could have cause the deviance in the expected results such as not clearing out the test tubes well, or leaving them sitting for too long, this experiment was a great learning experience and educating myself about the effects of pollution on algae growth was a great topic. The absorbance level did increase the concentration of various nutrients increased it didn’t increase as was expected but nevertheless it did increase. Basically there were some readings that were obtained that didn't go with what the majority of what the class had, which could have been the result of human error that was present during the course of the experiment. There are some changes that could be made into how the experiment was conducted. The cuvettes could have been cleaned better by using a disinfectant and wiping off the excess with a tissue paper that could been done before the sample from the test tubes were poured into the cuvettes. The time that the cuvettes were out before having their absorbance values collected could be lessen to ensure the most accurate readings possible. From participating in such an experiment, it is easier to recognize the problems that arise from the presence of acidic rain. As it was mentioned earlier acidic rain leaves the environment less and less suitable for the organisms that live there

If the amount of nitrates due to fertilizer runoff increases in an aquatic ecosystem, then the amount of algae in that ecosystem will increase at an accelerated rate.

Phosphorus gets into the soil and its particles, which then are transferred into surface water through watering the plants, and then that surface water turns into runoff which is transferred into our major bodies of water, causing pollution in our major water sources. When phosphorus gets into lake or surface water, the growth of plankton and aquatic plants greatly increases and as a result of this, the fish population is also increasing. This increase will continue as more and more phosphorus gets into the water. Excessive amounts of phosphorus in the water have been shown to be “the main cause of eutrophication over the past 30 years. This aging process can result in large fluctuations in the lake water quality and trophic status and in some cases periodic blooms of cyanobacteria” (Water Research Center). As phosphorus becomes excessive in the water, an imbalance occurs between production and consumption of living material in an ecosystem. When this imbalance occurs, an overabundance of phytoplankton and vegetation is produced than what is possible for an ecosystem to consume and utilize. The overabundance of phytoplankton and vegetation can lead to a variety of issues like a decrease in diversity and habitat destruction. Phosphorus greatly affects our waters and diminishes the quality of water, but there are also several ways that these issues can be

Two cobble samples from three sets of riffles and pools across each study reach were used to determine algal biomass. Each cobble was scraped and the