Too much pollution in the ocean can make the seawater become too acidic. When the water is too acidic, some marine animals cannot survive. For some marine animals, acidic water reduces their ability to grow shells. “For instance, the thin shell of marine snails is easily eaten away by acid waters” (Levete, 15). The ability to not grow shells can decrease its chance of survival. The marine snails will have less protection without those shells, so they could get eaten more easily by predators.
The number of dead zones and endangered animals are rising due to contaminated water. “Hypoxic zones are areas in the ocean of such low oxygen concentration that animal life suffocates and dies, and as a result are sometimes called ‘dead zones.’ One of …show more content…
According to the article “Jet Set; Climate Change”, “the upper layers of parts of the Arctic Ocean are hotter than they have been for at least 2,000 years” (68). There is less oxygen as the water gets warmer. As a result, the animals that live at the top of the ocean zone will have to swim deeper to keep cool. This will disrupt habitats and also the food chain. An example of a food chain affected is phytoplankton. These tiny organisms cannot survive with temperature change. If there is a decreased amount of phytoplankton, the food chain is in trouble since many animals depend on this food source. This will cause a domino effect. For example, phytoplankton are eaten by zooplankton. The zooplankton are then eaten by fishes. The squids eat the fishes. Squids are finally eaten by the sperm whales (Stanley, 94). If the supply of phytoplankton are low, these organisms and many others will also be affected. According to the book, Destroying the Oceans, “The world’s phytoplankton produce at least half of the oxygen we breathe” (16). The endangerment of phytoplankton will not only affect marine life, but it also will affect human life. In other words, a low population of phytoplankton will also result in a low level of oxygen for
The number of dead zones and endangered animals are rising due to contaminated water. “Hypoxic zones are areas in the ocean of such low oxygen concentration that animal life suffocates and dies, and as a result are sometimes called ‘dead zones.’ One of …show more content…
According to the article “Jet Set; Climate Change”, “the upper layers of parts of the Arctic Ocean are hotter than they have been for at least 2,000 years” (68). There is less oxygen as the water gets warmer. As a result, the animals that live at the top of the ocean zone will have to swim deeper to keep cool. This will disrupt habitats and also the food chain. An example of a food chain affected is phytoplankton. These tiny organisms cannot survive with temperature change. If there is a decreased amount of phytoplankton, the food chain is in trouble since many animals depend on this food source. This will cause a domino effect. For example, phytoplankton are eaten by zooplankton. The zooplankton are then eaten by fishes. The squids eat the fishes. Squids are finally eaten by the sperm whales (Stanley, 94). If the supply of phytoplankton are low, these organisms and many others will also be affected. According to the book, Destroying the Oceans, “The world’s phytoplankton produce at least half of the oxygen we breathe” (16). The endangerment of phytoplankton will not only affect marine life, but it also will affect human life. In other words, a low population of phytoplankton will also result in a low level of oxygen for