Causes And Consequences Of The Lake Erie

More than 24 billion gallons of untreated sewage waste and storm water are pumped into the lakes annually. Pollution is increasing as well, due to the cottage development, where people enjoy spending their summers relaxing. For many years, the lake habitats have been affected by pollution and habitat destruction. The market for fish is tremendous; so much so, that we have depleted our fishing resources, and have had to market on invasive species.

One of the most damaging algae species known to Florida along the south-west coast is the Karenia brevis, also known as Florida red tide. These microscopic algae bloom all year around in the Gulf of Mexico producing brevetoxins, which contains a suite of neurotoxic polyether compound. These blooms can last as long as 18 months fluctuating between insignificant blooms to critical, impacting both the marine ecosystems and humans health (Pierce and Henry, 2008). The Florida red tide will continue to be the cause of unexplained fish and other animal deaths, along with human illnesses unless more research and observations is done to find a way of controlling these algae blooms.

Lake Erie is thriving biologically but not in the way one might think. It’s poisoned with toxic algal blooms that grow in the phosphorus-concentrated waters millions of Canadians and Americas alike depend on for drinking water. Unfortunately, this is also not the first time this has happened to the Great, not-so-great Lake.

When there are excessive loads of Nitrogen and Phosphorous in the water, Alage can “bloom” to harmful levels, changing water color, and eventually stripping dissolved oxygen from the water when they die, fall to the bottom, and decay. This dissolved oxygen is critical to the health of the Chesapeake Bay’s critters and

In this research paper I will talk about how a large decrease in the algae population in the Chesapeake Bay will cause problems for not just fish and other species but the people who fish and make a living off of it. A large decrease in algae population will have a domino effect on the food chain. Having a major decrease in algae will hurt how others species live and protect themselves.

There are many problems in Ohio that require attention for them to be solved. One of our main problems in Ohio right now is the level of algae we have in our lakes and rivers. Having algae in our lakes and rivers is dangerous for our present and future. Having our community drink water with algae in it can get people sick and poisoned. There have been many large algae blooms within these past few years, and having no preparations for the algae in the water caused immense panic in the community. There were stores that limited one case of water per customer, and most stores didn’t even have any water after only a couple hours, while the tap water wasn’t safe for only three days. Given that we didn’t know how long the algae would be in our water, no one was prepared and officials couldn’t tell us exactly when the water would be clean again. Most of the phosphorus that causes the algae to grow comes from our crops, like corn and wheat, being fertilized. This algae causes terror in our community and causes people to react in terrible ways. We need to have a solution figured out so that the terror stops and our families are safe. Having no water is one of the worst situations for so many people to be in when they aren’t prepared for it. This is an issue not only for our community, but for our whole country.

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.

In this paper I will examine multiple perspectives in an attempt to understand the recent eutrophication of the Chesapeake Bay. Our textbook, Cambell Biology defines eutrophication as a process in which nutrients, usually phosphorus and nitrogen, are unusually present in a body of water, leading to algae blooms and accelerated growth. Anoxia is a condition in which areas of water are severely depleted of dissolved oxygen.

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

Lee, Jane. “Driven by Climate Change, Algae Blooms Behind Ohio Water Scare Are New Normal.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 24 Aug. 2016, news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140804-harmful-algal-bloom-lake-erie-climate-change-science/.

Toxic algal blooms are occasions of excess reproduction of toxin-producing algae, making damage to the ecosystems and humans. Among the toxic algal blooms are ones caused by Pseudo-nitzschia species, producing a toxin called domoic acid (DA) (Tatters, Fu & Hutchins, 2012). These microalgae belong to diatoms and are spread within the Northwestern Atlantic region, causing sporadic issues in the Gulf of Maine (Fernandes et al., 2013), Chesapeake Bay and along the west coast since 2006 (Pistocchi et al., 2012).

There are several environmental concerns affecting the community of Lusby, Maryland, but of main concern is the cyanobacteria growing in the Chesapeake Bay. The blue-green algae called cyanobacteria is infesting the waterways in and around Lusby causing a hazard to the community. According to National Geographic (n.d.), the Chesapeake Bay was one of the first waterways recognized in the 1970s having overgrowth of cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria contains both an algae and a bacteria and when growth exceeds space and the algae begins to die, two issues occur: toxins are produced and released which are harmful to both humans and animals and hypoxia follows as oxygen is consumed in excessive creating a dead zone in the water for all other living

In the course of the past year or so, the world has under gone immense natural disasters. Including but not limited to: hurricanes, tsunamis, wildfires, blizzards, and more. These unfortunate events all have a source of which they occurred. At the same time, the world’s oceans have under gone less noticeable but apparent changes as well. These changes include temperature variations, heightened acidification, intensified salinity, and more. However, a specific issue is the effect of Indiana’s activities impacting ocean life through nutrient and sediment pollution. There is a multifarious number of reasons that could affect ocean life, even in Indiana, which one will discuss throughout this report. One will describe sediment runoff, the

(London 4) Too much phosphorous promotes excessive algae and plant growth, leading to harming the water quality, as well as decreasing the amount of oxygen in the water that many aquatic lifeforms need to survive. Algal blooms, excessive algae growth, will cause deaths to large amounts of fish and also harm humans if they come into contact with the polluted water or consume the affected organisms living in the algae-infested water. (United States Environmental Protection Agency) An example of widespread algal blooms is shown in Figure 2 where much of the visible water is covered in algae, slowly suffocating the life that lives within the water.

Many places in the world there are small organisms that feed off high-nutrient pollutants caused by human related activities. They can also thrive off environmental factors, like global warming, and they can thrive off of natural factors like droughts. Most are cyanobacteria, that can be both non-toxic and toxic, but either one can have a huge impact on the ecosystem around them. For the past few decades, harmful algal blooms or HABs have been causing major issues to not only the aquatic life that lives in the water, but also to the land animals that live near the water, including humans. These blooms are also happening all over the world. Anywhere there are humans there are some form of factors that play a role into HABs, whether there is