Phytoplankton

In the article, the author mentions that when a man named Norris F Rabalais was a child, there were no “Navigation Locks” in Mississippi, and this is one of the topics in the article that I have decided to write about. To be precise, the first system of navigation locks that were built in the state of Mississippi were authorized for construction is 1930, and this allowed larger “river vessels” to safely navigate the areas where the locks were, as the new lock would raise the water level through…

Eutrophication is a natural occurrence over the past centuries as bodies of water age and contains sediment (Carpenter 1981). However, due to human activities, the rate of eutrophication has increased and now plays a big role in fish kills. This happens when inordinate amount of fertilizers flow down the rivers and streams and into the sea, which in turn encourages algae and most, if not all, aquatic plants to overgrow. Fishes will then suffocate due to lack of oxygen and sunlight excessively…

for marine animal life. This has created short and long-term effects on the ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico. The hypoxic waters of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone are a short-term effect in its own. The waters in the gulf are perfect condition for phytoplankton blooms. As the conditions are good for the plankton, they grow in large number covering the surface providing food for algae. The remains of the plankton the algae have feasted on falls to the floor where they are consumed by bacteria.…

Baleen Whales Baleen whales are the largest animals on earth, yet they feed on some of the smallest animals in the ocean. There are 12 baleen whale species divided into 4 families: Right, Pygmy right, Gray, and Rorqual. Characteristic baleen plates and paired blowholes help distinguish baleen whales from toothed whales. Whaling is definitely affecting the world's ecosystems. It has decimated the great whale population, especially in the southern hemisphere. The whales are vital to the food…

Bloody sharks, http://www.care2.com/causes/will-the-silky-shark-in-central-america-be-saved-from-extinction.html red stained water and piles of fins. http://www.care2.com/causes/why-is-ups-still-shipping-shark-fins-despite-public-outcry.html It feels like the Taiji dolphin slaughter http://www.care2.com/causes/stand-against-taijis-dolphin-slaughter-and-cetacean-captivity-this-weekend.html all over again, but now the victims are sharks. Horrific images circulating around the web showing…

Biology and Ecology: The introduction of non-native species may pose significant dangers to the local ecosystems and the Asian carp is one of them. Asian carp is the common term for the species of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), Bighead Carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) (Michigan Department of Natural Resources 2012). In the United States, the Bighead Carp have greatly affected the river ecosystems that it…

global warming the whole earth, even the oceans are heating up. This is having many new and potentially life-threatening changes for both ocean life and humans. A mysterious, potentially deadly neurotoxin has been found in many new shellfish. Phytoplankton produces a natural acid called Domoic acids which in small doses it's harmless. However, when it is produced in excess it becomes poisonous to people. "The shellfish that eat these algae blooms don't seem to be affected by the toxin," said…

Florida red tide is a high concentration of harmful marine algae. Algae blooms occur when cold-water from the seafloor stimulates the growth of algae, and when a buildup of a species that creates blooms known as red tides called phytoplankton, release toxins. According to the article Experts discuss climate, red tide, researchers say many harmful blooms are “fueled by fertilizer runoff from farming operations, which in many regions pour tons of excess nitrogen and other nutrients into…

The Effects of Ocean Acidification on the Southern Ocean Marine Organisms and the Ecosystem The Southern Ocean has changed slightly over the last thirty years (Constable, A.J, Melbourne-Thomas J, Corney S.P, et al. 2014). Modern society burn fossil fuels which cause a steady increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide combines with seawater producing carbonic acid and causes seawater to become more acidic, a process known as ocean acidification (Cooley S, Mathis J, Yates K.…

Aquatic environments and how they differ in chemical nature due to the effects if global warming Introduction The term ‘Global Warming’ refers to the process in which the Earth’s average, global temperature increases due to numerous trace gases in the atmosphere, which have the power to absorb part of Earth’s outgoing infrared radiation. The concentrations of these gases have been increasing due to human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, since the Industrial Revolution. The…