Water takes up 70% of the earth surface, and in recent decades have we understood the extent of damage humans have caused to marine habitats. Many think that plastic in the oceans is the only form of pollution causing this damage. Chemical, light, and noise pollution are essential to the decline of many ecosystems. Scientists estimate that more than eight million metric tons of pollution is entering our oceans every year. Chemical Pollutants include pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, sewage, and oil. Farmers tend to use a lot of fertilizers to help grow crops. That fertilizer then gets washed out from the rain into streams and eventually ends up in estuaries, or bays. There are many consequences to fertilizers in marine ecosystems. This fertilizer triggers massive blooms of algae that deprive the water of oxygen and leave many areas dead. Only few amounts of organisms can live in this extreme living condition. Another example of chemical pollution is pharmaceutical medications end up in marine ecosystems.
Pharmaceutical medication gets in the water by people flushing them because they don’t need them anymore. Another way is when people take medication, absorb it, and pass it on through there urine or feces. These medications remain even after wastewater treatments and cleansing. The levels are low and it is safe enough to drink. In 1802, Humphrey Davy invented the first electric light. Ever since then, the environment has been affected. Light has spread across the globe, reaching almost every ecosystem out there. Artificial light during night can drastically affect an ecosystem. Artificial light penetrates under the water creating a different environment for the fish and other species. Light pollution affects species normal cues, such as evolved timing of migration, feeding, and reproducing. Artificial light at night also affects breeding because its easier for predators to find their prey. Noise pollution is not visible like chemical and light pollution, so it is a little more difficult to measure. Just because one can’t see this pollution doesn’t mean it’s less important than the others. Noise pollution is caused by ships, sonar devises, oil rigs, and obviously people just being plain loud. In large bodies of water, sound waves can carry on for miles. How does this noise affect animals?
For example, many marine mammals like dolphins or whales use echolocation to communicate and “see” because they have low visibility and high distances to travel. Unnatural noises disturb communication, migration, hunting, and reproductive patterns. Last but not least, plastic pollution, probably the most common and life threatening pollution there is. The amount of plastic in the Atlantic Ocean has tripled since the 1960s.
Many animals accidentally eat plastic thinking it is food. For example seabirds eat plastic thinking it’s food because the plastic releases a chemical that makes it smell like natural food. Another example, sea turtles eat plastic bags thinking it’s jellyfish, a common food for sea turtles. Fishing nets drift for years and end up killing thousands of animals. A lot of this plastic is sinking to the deepest depths of the oceans, and scientists figured out that corals are choosing plastic over natural food. Dying marine animals are washing up on shore containing plastic in there stomaches. The only way to prevent more of this damage is to spread awareness. The more people know the more ecosystems, and species will be saved. SPREAD AWARENESS!
Discussion questions:
Have you ever seen someone litter? If you did, did you do something about it?
Why do you think people litter?
Was there a type of pollution mentioned in this blog you haven’t heard about?
Sources: https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2019/09/we-know-theres-lots-of-plastic-in-the-ocean-why-cant-we-find-it/
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/heres-the-drugs-that-can-show-up-in-drinking-water
https://www.britannica.com/science/noise-pollution
20 comments:
I had no idea that there was that many reasons marine life and its ecosystems are declining. I had just assumed my whole life that trash and plastic was causing problems in marine life, but clearly there is many more areas of pollution such as fertilizers and noise! Many people do not realize how important the marine ecosystems are to our planet. Most of the Earth is made up of oceans and marine life and if we as people can not save it before destruction, then everything will go sideways including human lives.
Wow, I didn't really know about the different types of pollution to that extent. It wouldn't seem like light and sound could act as a pollutant, but they totally can! It is so much easier for people to only think that trash affect oceans and animals because they are so visible; however, there are many other forms of pollutants. It is important that people raise awareness about not only trash but also about the amount of light and noise they make around wildlife.
When people think about pollution in oceans, the immediate response involves chemical and plastic pollution. I was not aware that there were other types of pollution that affected marine life so greatly. I hadn’t realized that noises affect marine life so greatly. It is now clear that ship noises can affect how animals communicate, which can affect their way of life. I have seen cases of littering, many people dump trash out of the window when they are driving, I have also seen instances of plastic on beaches as well. People litter because they are too lazy to go and put their trash where it truly belongs, it is only hurting our planet. Spreading awareness of the many types of pollution affecting marine life is very important.
You really opened my eyes to the different types of pollution that can affect marine life ! I was completely unaware that our medication could have such a profound effect on marine life, whether we ingest it or not. Are there truly any solutions for this problem since we need medication but no matter where it goes, it can harm the environment ? Maybe there’s a way to make even medication bio-friendly?
Many people don’t truly realize how essential our oceans and other bodies of water are to everyday life. Though natural disturbances can cause negative effects to organisms, humans are the biggest reason for these struggles. Pollutants come in all different types of ways, shown very well in this blog in which highlights ways we cause a ripple effect without even knowing it.
I didn't know noise pollution was even a thing that existed, and I didn't know it had such a negative effect on marine life. This should definitely be taken into consideration in the future when it comes to the development of vehicles such as boats. As for littering, I will never for the life of me understand why people litter. I feel like there is no excuse for an act of pure laziness.
That was a very interesting read on the effects of noise pollution. I've never heard of it but i had no idea it affected our oceans ecosystems like that. I agree with you because littering is simply destroying our oceans for no reason. This was a great read thank you.
It angers me that many people just throw trash on the ground. Doesn’t matter if you are on land or on the beach, one should always dispose of waste properly. Another thing that I was frustrated with was the fact that people flush medication down the drain. Even though these actions are very common. I believe there are many things one can do to end the problem from continuing. If we could increase awareness through the internet(like your blog), it could minimize the issue significantly. Little things like that only take an hour max to finish but can save a whole ecosystem.
That is crazy, I did not know that medicine can pollute the pollution let alone those trash. I have seen so many people throw trash on thr ground or into the ocean and it makes me mad. I feel that if more of the world knew about this, the pollution could stop on a global scale. What lacks among some of the polluters is knowledge and thuse when people know that pollution harms the environment it can create a big difference.
Wow I didn’t know that there were that many types of pollution. I knew some of the pollutions that were written in the blog but I wasn’t aware that they had a huge impact in the environment just like plastic and chemicals. Awareness of all these pollutions that are affecting the environment should be raised in order to protect our earth soon!
Aw, this is so sad :( This just proves that we need to educate people more on the effects of their actions and the causes of environmental destruction. If people were more aware, maybe we could do more to stop such deterioration of delicate ecosystems. I’ve heard of most of these before, especially the plastic one, but I was shocked by the idea of medication causing a negative impact on marine life. I would have never guessed that medicine could travel through our systems and end up in those of dolphins, small fish, and other marine life. I wonder what kind of an impact that, in turn, has on us when we end up consuming fish that has had exposure to prescription drugs we are not personally intended to ingest. Also, to add to the light pollution one, I think it’s especially sad because light pollution in ocean side cities has had an exceedingly negative impact on sea turtles who, when they hatch on the beach, follow the light of the sun to get into the water. Instead, due to constant lighting of cities along the coast, baby sea turtles are traveling in the wrong direction and ending up on major roads killed and the sort. It really is too bad people don’t know enough about these things to do something.
This was very interesting because I didn’t know that light and noise pollution affected wildlife so much. When you said marine pollution, I just thought of natural gas and plastic. Learning that light and noise have so much of an effect on animals makes me think that we should give animals their space and not expand too much into their homes. I think the main reason people litter is because it’s an easy way to get rid of their trash. There are many forms of littering such as flushing medicine down the toilet, or throwing a can on the ground. But some people who litter don’t realize the consequences on the animals. Some people do, but they still do it and we have to find a way to stop that, such as passing laws to make littering illegal, or enforce them more if they already exist.
Most people do not realize that plastic pollution confusing turtles in the oceans is the only thing that is disturbing this important ecosystem. There are also noise, light, and waste medication pollution that affect the ecosystem. I think we should make more people aware of these other forms of pollution so that we can stop these problems. People litter every day and it is mainly because they are too lazy to wait and put it in the trash. So, if we can spread awareness hopefully less people will be willing to pollute the ocean environment.
Wow I never really knew that there were chemical, light, and noise pollution. I find it very interesting that pharmaceutical medication can end up in the ocean and cause disturbance in the marine ecosystem because people are purposely flushing their medication in the toilet. I also find noise pollution to be quite interesting because many people cannot determine the amount of noise pollution, but we know that it affects animals when communicating with one another. I like how your blog spreads awareness towards these different types of unknown pollutants, so we are kept responsible for pour actions.
I found your blog very informative as it explained a lot examples of pollutants as well as how these animals are effected by said pollutants. For example, it never occurred to me that things like artificial light could effect Marine life the way you mentioned. To answer the questions you posed: I actually have seen someone little and after I saw that I went over there and picked it up and disposed of it properly. Although, I didn’t tell the person responsible that what she did was wrong, instead I maintained eye contact with her as I was picking up and throwing away the piece of litter. Which I felt probably made her feel uncomfortable and less likely to do it again. I feel the reason people liter is due to the fact that some people are just plain lackadaisical and don’t understand what they are doing has serious effects. If we could get people to feel the sense of uncomfortableness that they feel when they use the bathroom and don’t wash their hands, for instance, then maybe this issue will see a turn.
I think the main reason that people litter stems from laziness and thoughtlessness. People think that it won't matter if they drop a piece of trash somewhere, but when many people do this, the trash begins to build up. Also, I hadn't really thought about pollution from prescription drugs. This just shows how every human action has an environmental impact.
I have 100% seen people litter before, and the takeaway I am left with is that they feel entitled to doing whatever they want. These people don't care about repercussions because they either do not think far enough ahead to comprehend consequences or they think they are invincible. It sounds like I'm describing a teenager, but we are more aware of environmental impacts because this is our planet for the rest of our lives. Older people who grew up not caring or learning about the environment have no problem trashing it. I have literally seen my father or his parents throw trash out of a car window because they "won't be around long enough to see the effects". It's a selfish act, and there's no denying that.
The piece on marine pollution is superb, and I like how you adress multiple factors of pollution such as biological and garbage pollution. The medication flowing into the water as pollution as you mentioned I know is a real problem with the antibiotics. I don't think that people realize that when they get rid of antibiotics down the water system that the entire system can develop antibiotic resistant bacteria that threatens us all.
Marine ecosystems are an undeniably vital part of our ecosystem and the fact that its health and well being is currently being plagued by the very society which relies upon its services to exist is ironic and epitomizes the inherent hypocritical nature of our actions as humans continue to industrialize and develop. This article is very informative and well put together; I had no idea whatsoever that fertilizers and noise were causing marine pollution in addition to trash and plastic.
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