Algae is "a plant or plantlike organism of any several phyla, divisions, or classes of chiefly aquatic usually chlorophyll-containing nonvascular organisms", and it is most commonly seen in areas where it is moist, or damp, and can grow on both land and water. Algae is most commonly seen and found in places such as on rocks or in lakes or ponds. Algae is a type of organism that although, can be very beneficial to the environment, it can also be one that can cause harm to humans as well. Some benefits and hindrances of algae are that it is a form of micro-logical biomass, and it is also not seen to be likely but it can also purify waste waters as well, but to the negatives its toxins that it may release can also be very harmful to both humans and things we eat such as fish.
The benefits of algae surprisingly can actually be very numerous, and one very important one is that algae is that it can be cultivated to have a high protein and oil content level which can very beneficial for both people and animals. It can be useful in such was such as being used to produce biofuels and animal food such as feed for cattle. This is a major plus to algae as it can be significantly rich in nutrients that can help boost the health of people as well as give people a very significant boost of dietary supplements. This is good for animals and people as it is proven that micro-algae contains important nutritious things such as proteins, carbohydrates, antioxidants as well as vitamins. This can be a very bright sign of increasing the certain use of algae.
The things that algae is able to provide for both the health of humans and animals is greatly, but being able to protect our health is just as good or even better than that. Algae has proven ...
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..."Algae Growth Environments – Terrestrial/Land, Aquatic/Water Algae Habitat, Algal Habitats - Oilgae - Oil from Algae." Algae Growth Environments – Terrestrial/Land, Aquatic/Water Algae Habitat, Algal Habitats - Oilgae - Oil from Algae. Oilgae, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
"Algae Growth Environments – Terrestrial/Land, Aquatic/Water Algae Habitat, Algal Habitats - Oilgae - Oil from Algae." Www.glerl.noaa.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
"Algae Basics - Benefits of Algae." Allaboutalgae.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
"CAN ALGAE HAVE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON WATER SUPPLIES?" Water Quality Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Williams, Kenneth. "Langston University Aquaculture." Langston University Aquaculture. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
"Why Microalgae for Feeds." RSS A4F MicroAlgae for Food. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
Nitrogen and nitrates relate to Hypoxia via the process of eutrophication. Since Nitrogen is a limiting nutrient in most waters, the added input of nitrate causes massive growth in algae. The algae rapidly consume all available N, and once the nutrient is limited again, the alga dies en masse. As the alga decomposes, oxygen is depleted in the water. This lowers dangerously lowers the level of dissolved oxygen in the water, which harms living organisms in the area. Small organisms and organisms that are immobile or unable to escape low-oxygen areas are particularly vulnerable. Hypoxia and resulting “dead zones” are harmful to local fishing and shrimping industries and algal blooms hurt the tourism industry. Hypoxia has lead to a decrease of about 25% in the brown shrimp habitat, forcing shrimping operations further offshore. As the hypoxia issue continues to grow, negative human effects will only increase. Since nitrate runoff from ag. has been proven to be the dominant source of hypoxia, policies could be enacted to effectively deal with “point-source” pollution. This makes enacting environmental policy more easily adapted, possibly included in past policy such as the Clean Water Act.
Over the past years, due to warming waters, a toxic kind of algae called Pseudo-nitzschia has been blooming. This toxic algae affects sea life, especially marine mammals such as sea lions, which die of brain disease after feeding on this algae. This research paper will provide the reader with a conclusion in respect to what causes algal blooms and how we can prevent them.
This is representative of how eutrophication works in an aquatic environment. It shows that the greater the number of blue-green algae then the faster the oxygen depletion
The Chesapeake Bay has faced an excessive amount of pollution over the past century. The water in the bay has become so highly polluted that It is capable of causing harm to humans coming in direct contact with the water. Although algae serves a vital role in the bay’s ecosystem, it also creates a problem that is causing a large amount of the problem.
Latham, A., Wright, E., & Tsang, A. (n.d.). Pollution's Effects on the Great Lakes Ecosystem: Introduction and Background. Pollution's Effects on the Great Lakes Ecosystem: Introduction and Background. Retrieved May 28, 2014, from http://sitemaker.umich.edu/section5group1/introduction_and_background
Waters extremely rich in nutrients, with high biological productivity. Some species may be choked out.
Nelson, A.N. 1971. Effects of oil on marine plants and animals. London: Institute of Petroleum.
Growing food with Aquaponics is more efficient than growing food the traditional soil garden way. In a typical soil garden, growers end up spending hours of their time doing back breaking work on their garden, but not anymore, with Aquaponics the need for any tilling, digging, or weeding is eliminated. Aquaponics combines Aquaculture (Raising fish in tanks), and Hydroponics (Growing plants without soil). The outcome is a working system that provides plants with all the nutrients they need, while using a minimum of space, effort, water, fertilizers, and pesticides. Aquaponics allows farmers to use up to 90% less water than normal farming would use, so instead of watering your soil and having the majority of your water either lost by run off or evaporated by the sun, the water is recycled repeatedly through the system saving farmers hundreds of dollars on their monthly water bills. Also when growing with Aquaponics, much more food can be produced in a smaller space, in some cases growers have produced around twenty times the amount of produce in the same area a soil garden would. In addition, with the closed, controlled environment of the system, the need for the use of any pesticides a basically eliminated. Finally, Aquaponics enables growers to grow bigger, better and more quality produce.
Another social impact of eutrophication is an overall loss of biodiversity in areas of severe nutrient input due to the hypoxic conditions that can occur. As large amounts of algae go through their life cycles, decomposers subsequently eat the dead algae. As these algae are decomposed, the decomposers use up the oxygen in the surrounding water which leads to low oxygen conditions if carried on for long periods of time. Due to these low oxygen conditions, other organisms such as fish cannot survive in these areas and die. This can create large dead zones where few organisms can survive. As Dybas(2005) states in her article “Worldwide, there are now some 146 coastal dead zones. Since the 1960s, according to a report by the United Nations Environment
Above all, these organisms encourage the growth of algae, which absorb dissolved oxygen in the water essential for the survival of fish populations. Occasionally, the decomposition of newly-submerged biomass and sediment further reduce the water's oxygen content. Water sources can literally choke to death as a result of increasing human activity, such as industry and agriculture giving rise to increased nutrient loading.
How often also does a human use or eat algae in his daily life? When most people think of algae, they probably think of something that is slimy, gross, and dirty. Algae may irritate people because it grows in unwanted places like swimming pools and boats. Algae can be toxic and it is slimy, but algae benefits people in all aspects of life. Humans obtain algin from algae to help make ice cream, pudding, face cream, and shoe polish. Algae is present in hamburgers, yoghurt, and cakes. Algae also helps make explosives, insulation, and paint. Algae produces most of the oxygen that animals breathe and without it the world would suffocate. Also, according to Helen Challand, "It is now believed that the oil and gas formed millions of years ago in the ground were created by algae" (20).
"Water Pollution Solutions: Cleaning Our Water Systems." Water Pollution Solutions: Cleaning Our Water Systems. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Different pollutants cause different things to happen to plants. Sometimes, water pollution causes an explosion of new plant growth by providing necessary nutrients and food. If there is too much of one species, this can harm or kill plants by changing their growing conditions, such as raising or lowering the environment’s acidity. Plants must take in nutrients from the surrounding environment in order to grow. Nitrogen and phosphorus, in particular, help a plant’s growth because they are important in photosynthesis. This is why they are common ingredients in plant fertilizers. When runoff from farms pollute waterways with nitrogen and fertilizers rich with phosphorus, the water enriched with nutrients often have stunts of growth. Sometimes too much growth can be harmful, as when plant-like algae bloom in polluted waters and create oxygen-depleted dead zones. One solution to this issue is planting seaweed farms in areas that get alot of runoff from farms. This is because seaweed can soak up the excess nutrients and be harvested for people to eat. Marine debris is garbage that ends up in the ocean. Plastic debris that builds up at or near the water’s surface blocks sunlight from fully reaching plants that rely on sunlight to move along the photosynthesis process. By blocking sunlight, marine debris prevent plants from creating glucose at full capacity, which stunts their growth. When chemical pollutants
life. It is a good thing. Algal blooms include sea scum, whale food, and sea sawdust. Algal blooms are bundles of fine threads, rusty brown, they have a fishy smell, and are common in August through December -.