Why Fish Dying

As mentioned in the case description, tetrodotoxin is a molecule that blocks voltage-gated sodium ion channels. Describe the structure of a sodium ion.

Crawfish naturally excrete phosphorous as well as nitrogen, and have enabled the lake to have a faster turnover rate within its waters thanks to their large numbers (University of Davis Centers for Water and Wildlife Resources, 1996). Warm-water fish not native to the Lake Tahoe area have also begun to thrive within the near shore environments because of the increase in water temperature, and continue to intrude on native fish. The rise in water temperatures is most likely from an increase in algae production within the near shore areas caused by the production of nutrients by the Asian clams, which in turn then feeds the growing crawfish population.

: Larchwood Lake may not ever be the same again. The story about Larchwood Lake is not that uncommon. Without doing extensive research into possible things that could occur by lowering the lake level, the Larchwood Lake Homeowner’s Association destroyed the very thing they were trying to protect. Carelessness and poor planning are not the only root causes however. There are a number of reasons that led to the degradation of Larchwood Lake that happen to relate to more macro level environmental issues. Those reasons are poorly designed environmental policy created by the E.P.A., poor understanding of lake ecology by the managers of the land, and false confidence in poorly planned ideas. By looking at how these factors contributed to the degradation of the lake, hopefully we will be able to make more ecological sound decisions in the future.

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.

The text mentions that the bay is filled with smaller ecosystems like forests, streams and marshes that benefit from each other. These smaller ecosystems play a huge role in the stability and balance of the Bay, so when outside forces like pollution cause an imbalance in one of the ecosystems, all of them are affected and put at an imbalance. The balance of the bay is extremely important for its stability. The current imbalance of the bay has caused the decline in many of the plants and animals in the region. This is because many species have a hard time quickly adapting to a new environment, so when there is a sudden drastic change in the environment they start to suffer and struggle, and unless the problem is fixed, they go extinct.

Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to identify the element that is causing the fish in the Halibut tank to die, by testing each variable between both of the identical tanks.

On March 21st, our class went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The purpose of this trip was not only to explore Earth’s natural habitat’s, but it was also to gather information on our upcoming project and to gather information on how the community of St.Mary, affects the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The answer that we found out is one based off of what we eat. The Monterey Bay Aquarium released an app where it showed which type of seafood were lower in numbers than others. So, if plankton were very low in numbers, it is advised that we not fish for them or not eat as much of it. This shows based just off of what we eat, we can affect the numbers of in the ocean. Also, those plastic bags we buy at Target and Walmart, that we drop outside, drifts itself to the streams, which flow to rivers, which go to oceans, they are floating there, not doing much harm, until sea turtle comes by starts eating it, but gets tangled and choked in it, dies.

Studies have repeatedly shown that as oxygen concentrations decrease, the abundance and diversity of fish decrease (Breitburg). Fish kills, in which large numbers of dead and dying fish float to the surface or wash onto shore, are probably the most dramatic and publicly visible manifestation of hypoxia and nutrient over-enrichment of coastal waters(Breitburg). In addition to mass mortalities that are easily observed, high mortality of fish lacking a swim bladder can occur leaving little or no visible evidence of fish at the surface or littering beaches (Breitburg). With no fish, shrimp, or crabs the Louisiana fishing market takes a huge hit that the economy feels in a major way. The gulf accounts for almost one-fifth of the countries fishing landings, which total to be three billion dollars (Petrolia). Fishing is not only a major part of Louisiana’s economy but also its culture. Without wildlife in our waters microorganism are given more opportunity to grow leading to bacteria infected waters. These bacteria infected waters could cause major health risks for those who come in contact with

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.

When the words spread about the large size of fishery, fleets from all over the world joined the hunt. Every year, the size of the fleets got bigger and every year, the size of the catch increased. In the late 50s the arrival of large factor ships from other countries hailed the first onslaught to the finely balanced renewable cod fishery. These factory trawlers came from England, the U.S., the Soviet Union, East and West Germany, Portugal, Poland, and some Asia nations such as Japan and Korea. Towards the end of the 20th century, over 3

I will say that as much as the expression “Canary in the coal mine” implies an early warning of danger in mines so does it in water too. In this case the fish directly helps us know the extent to which our ecological sphere is damaged, and helps humans to take the necessary precautions to save the environment.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta supplies almost two-thirds of the state with water. Many plants and animals live in the Delta. One of them is a tiny three-inch fish called the Delta smelt. It is due to the endangerment of this fish that the pumps that supply many of the farmlands in the state with water to grow crops were shut off. The fish were getting caught in the pumps. This caused the environmentalists to file a suit to get the pumps shut off. When the suit was won it was hard blow to the farmers. Having to worry about getting enough rain every year is enough of a burden to them. Now the water they need to grow crops was shut off for a fish. Humanity is more important than a tiny fish.

Back in the 1960’s, Lake Erie was declared “dead” because, ironically, it was full of life – just not the right kind (GLIN, n.d.). The algal blooms that formed due to high concentrations of nutrient-loaded city street run off invaded the freshwater lake, killing native species, reducing oxygen quantities, and smothering beaches with its slime (GLIN, n.d.).

The Water In The Valley. If the water is contaminated by the airborne pollutants, whether by depositing through direct water surface contact or by depositing on land and being carried to water bodies through run off, the residents will face problems. Once in the water, these pollutants can cause the fish to poison people upon consumption, or the fish could die out. Harmful algal blooms could occur; the water will become contaminated and unsafe to drink. This might seem like an exaggeration but in the San Joaquin Valley, the threat is very real. One might say that the people of the San Joaquin Valley may depend on water more than people elsewhere. The residents need water more because many of them depend on having enough water for their jobs, not just for their consumption. Being one of the top agricultural industries, the San Joaquin Valley residents need to have plenty of water for their industry of choice, whether is be for watering their crops or keeping the cows ' food (grass) alive, to ensure that they will be able to bring in profit to the valley and be able to feed themselves and their families.

“You can’t blame gravity for falling in love.” This quote from Albert Einstein raises importance to the universal theme of true love. This theme can be seen in the Italian story “Poor Fish,” where the main character had low self-esteem. Later in the story, he met a girl named Ida and started gaining more confidence in himself. Another story that demonstrates true love is the Chinese “The Tall Woman and Her Short Husband.” This story revolves around the lives of a married couple in which the woman is taller than her spouse. In the story, no one believes that they are in love and they start suspecting that Mrs. Tall only married for wealth. However, in light of the tragedies that happen, true love is exemplified in the end. These stories demonstrate