Boats and motorized watercraft are great for a fun day on the lake, but how fun are they for the diverse ecosystems living just beneath the hull of your boat? Boat exhaust and small traces of gasoline and oil are emitted into the waters when motorized watercraft are running. Boats have been shown to affect water clarity and can be a source of algal growth in aquatic ecosystems. The toxins emitted from boats can add chemicals to the water. Certain amounts of the fuel that is in motors is discharged, unburned, and ends up in the water. Boats may also cause disturbances by creating turbulence and noise thus becoming a problem for larger animals such as large fish or alligators that may be living in the waters. Direct contact of boats or propellers may be a death threat for large animals living in the lake. Pollution from boat exhaust or gasoline spills (if large or consistent) could be toxic to lake wildlife. Boat movement and increased turbidity can affect individual fish directly by disturbing their daily activities such as nesting, mating (including success of eggs), or hunting (including sight-based feeding). Boats may also affect fish and other species through habitat alteration caused by waves or propeller damage.
My hypothesis states that the wastes from boats and motorized watercrafts, if considering the extreme, will in fact alter the lake’s pH and dissolved oxygen levels in areas of frequent boat and motor activity and create a disturbance in the lake’s biodiversity due to the toxins in the various types of fuels burned. Dissolved oxygen and pH levels influence the abundance of fish. In high enough amounts, metals may be toxic to fish, wildlife, and or microscopic animals. Local lake water will need to be tested in order ...
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...e effects on the lake’s pH and dissolved oxygen levels.
The lake’s pH level is slightly acidic at a level of 6 and the lakes dissolved oxygen level is slightly stressful for aquatic life at a level of 4ppm. These slightly stressful levels could be a result of human activity over time and could continue to progress negatively. This could only be determined through years of continuous testing, but is quite possible.
Works Cited
Asplund, Timothy R. The Effects of Motorized Watercraft on Aquatic Ecosystems. Publication. University of Wisconsin – Madison, Water Chemistry Program and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Integrated Science Services, 17 Mar. 2000. Web.
Boat Motors and Water Quality - RMBEL." RMBEL. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014. http://www.ci.davidson.nc.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/902 http://roundthelake.com/PIER%20WI%20DNR/lakes.pdfp
Fish habitat is the underwater world which many people do not see. It is just like the world that people live. Fish and plants reproduce, eat, and live in this environment, and even face challenges such as invasive species. It is said that “Invasive species are non-native species that threaten the diversity or abundance of native species due to their uncontrollable population growth, causing ecological or economic impacts” (“Invasive” par. 1). Vegetation plays a big role for fish habitat and for a lake itself. Aquatic habitat provides living space for not only fish but also for many aquatic insects. These insects then in turn provide fish and other species of animals with food (“Native” par. 4).
Picture this: you're having a nice weekend at the lake with your family, fishing, swimming, and having an all-around great time. But then you notice that your boat isn't running as well as it should, especially considering you just cleaned it and made sure everything was in perfect condition before leaving your house. Puzzled, you take your boat out of the water to notice that the hull and motor is covered in tiny clam-like creatures, making your pristine white boat look like something that was just drug out of the bottom of the lake. What are these animals that ruined your weekend of fun? They are zebra mussels, and are found in lakes, rivers, and other bodies of freshwater across the U.S. Normally found in Eastern Europe, the first group of this invasive species hitched a ride in the ballast tanks of ocean liners in the 1980s, and quickly spread. Regulations are in place to stop the spread, but removing them from places that have already been infested is tricky. Today we will talk about the damages zebra mussels cause, how this problem is managed, and what you can do to help.
The result is an acidity level that's harmful to fish, wildlife, plants, and trees. Already, 1,200 lakes in the U.S. have been completely acidified so the lake water is unfit for human use and little or nothing can live in it.Such is the case in the Adirondacks, which are a group of mountains surrounded by many lakes and rivers. They cover over 5,000 square miles in the northeastern part of New York state. It's an area where large resort villages are around the Saranac river and Lake George.
The lake receives all of the storm runoff water from the land around it which is what causes the lake to be overrun with phosphorus. Phosphorus is actually considered a nutrient for the lake and is essential for the survival of a lot of the lake’s plant life. However, too much of the element impacts the biodiversity of the lake: there is a large increase in algae, which in turn, affects the rest of the life in the lake. Winnipesaukee Gateway lists more effects: decrease in water clarity, increased chlorophyll-a, increased cloudiness of the water, and decreased oxygen
Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable. GLRPPR, 12 Dec. 2013. Web. 15 Dec. 2013. .
The algal growths in the lake feed on phosphorus mostly caused by fertilizer runoff from farms and local residences. Microcystin, a toxin that causes liver problems, is produced by the growths have caused major health concerns for wildlife and people using the lake. It is our moral obligation to clean up this mess or it will continue to harm the wildlife and environment in and the lake, as we are the one’s solely responsible for it. Organizations such as the Ohio EPA and Buckeye Lake for Tomorrow, have taken a notice to the pollution of Buckeye Lake and are formulating plans to return the lake to its former glory. Our plan is to provide a short term solution for the lake via the process of dredging, while a much larger and permanent solution is put in
"An Ocean Of Trash." Scholastic Action 33.12 (2010): 16. MasterFILE Complete. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
The Great Lakes are the largest surface freshwater system on Earth, with a basin that is home to around 30 million people (USEPA, 2015). Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes that lies entirely within the United States, with a maximum length of 307 miles and maximum width of 118 miles. The Lake Michigan shoreline, composed mainly of sand and pebble beaches, stretches 1,640 miles along the coasts of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, as well as some islands (NOAA, 2015a). The Illinois portion of the Lake Michigan watershed (Figure 1) is only 100 square miles (0.22% of the lake’s total area) and the state’s coastline borders the lake for a short 63 miles (IEPA, 2014). However, despite this relatively small area of Lake Michigan, half of the state’s population lives within the watershed. Recreational water activities are popular throughout the Great Lakes and along Illinois’ Lake Michigan coastline. Lake Michigan is Illinois’ biggest recreational resource, as well as the state’s largest supply of drinking water and a major economic boon (IEPA, 2014). With so many people engaging in water activities, and both affecting and being affected by the lake in turn, it is important to frequently monitor the lake for potential health hazards.
Reduced area for the large fishes, too much noise in the water from turbines and constantly rotating blades could be disturbing for the marine life and seriously affect it. A project in Strangford implemented a security feature that automatically turns off the turbine whenever a marine animal was approaching towards it. Even the frequency and amplitude of the sound produces by the turbines could be harmful for marine animal so all possible effects should be considered and precautions are needed to keep as much marine life safe from turbine as possible. Feasibility study – Bay of Fundy
“ Effects of Oil Spills on Marine and Coastal Wildlife” Holly K. Ober. WEB. 19 May 2014
Some of the species being threatened by pollution include: dolphins, porpoises, penguins, sharks, and polar bears.
There are many reasons to monitor "boating fun." The ecological reasons are numerous; irresponsible operation of motorized watercraft degrades our natural systems. For example, reckless boaters destroy seagrass beds, oyster beds and mangroves, which are vital nursery and feeding grounds for not only fish and birds, but are also essential to the existence of manatees, dolphins and sea turtles.
Oroian, Viman Oana I. "Damaging Effects of Overall Water Pollution." BioFlux (2010): 113-15. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Research from the University of California San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography said that species in the ocean consume a projected 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic every year in the Pacific Ocean (Nall, 2014). Pollution of recyclable materials in the oceans is one of the leading causes of why some marine species are nearing extinction. Many authors of articles and books analyzing this topic tend to agree that pollution of our oceans is a problem. The future of this problem is where their ideas tend to differ. The following four literature reviews attempt to demonstrate and support my belief that pollution is getting worse in the ocean and more marine life ecosystems are being affected, but there are things that we as humans can do to change this. Imagine a world where we didn’t have to constantly worry about the vicious cycle of humans affecting animals and then animals in turn affecting us through consumption.
Water pollution is also a major thing in the world because almost 60% of it is fishes. It occurs due to several factors; the industrial waste dumped into the rivers and other water body’s cause am imbalance in the water leading to its severe contamination and deaths. And the infamous Global warming is the emission of greenhouse gases particularly CO2 is leading to global warming.