Essay Sample on Water Pollution on Aquatic Life

Introduction

The dependents on aquatic life make it an important aspect to value and protect. Aquatic life is subjected to numerous dangers posed by the constant pollution of their habitat. The pollution threatens the life cycles and free existence of the aquatic animals. Polluted water is a damaging aspect of aquatic life. However, a polluted aquatic environment has economic significance to the populations around such water bodies. The analysis looks into the features of water pollution and its management.

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Causes of Aquatic Pollution

Pollution of aquatic life is in different forms. Some are deliberately caused by unregulated human activities, while some occur naturally with geophysical triggers. Water pollution is the discharge of toxic substances into the water body. There is a range of harmful substances that pose a threat to the survivability of aquatic life (Kim et al. 13). Some of the dangers are deliberately caused by human activities, while some are caused by nature. Soil erosion leads to a water body's siltation, thereby making the environment inhabitable for aquatic life. The discharge of industrial effluents and other toxicants into the water bodies poses a severe challenge to marine life. The incidents of mass oil spillages into the seas and oceans are among the dangers facing aquatic life. The petrochemical substances are a severe pollutant to the water body. The radioactive wastes from the atmosphere are another challenge to the safety of aquatic life. Heavy metals such as lead, copper, iron, and steel can accumulate to proportions that make it dangerous to aquatic lives.

The radioactive substances from weapon testing, wars, and nuclear discharges are harmful pollutants to the marine habitat. Some of them are released accidentally into the water bodies, while most of them are deliberately discharged. The radioactive elements from chemicals like uranium and polonium have devastating health effects on both the aquatic and human lives.

Natural occurrences and epidemics like tsunami and tornadoes also pose a severe threat to the organisms living in the water bodies (Denchak). The level of pollution in a water body depends on the proportions of the discharge of the harmful substance and the organism's position threatened by the toxic substances. Some aquatic life dwells in depths of far reach by the harmful substances, while others are easily exposed to the threats given their level of position in the aquatic environment. Again, aquatic organisms occupy different water depth levels, with different extent of exposure to pollutants.

Effects of Water Pollution on Aquatic Life

The aquatic life is dependent on the dissolved oxygen for their respiration. The loss of sustainable oxygen in marine life threatens the health and safety of marine plants and animals. The rising proportions of toxic substances in the water bodies deprive the aquatic organisms of the essential amount of oxygen for their respiration. The pollution of the aquatic environment has led to the extinction of biodiversity. It is a real threat that aquatic life species are still exposed to extermination dangers. Some of the extinctions include the Mako Sharks, the Giant Devil Rays, Galapagos Penguins, and the river Dolphins. The pollution of water bodies, in turn, affects the health safety of human beings in several ways. Humans feed on aquatic organisms like fish, which are feeding on dangerous substances with bacteria and pathogens. The latter transfers to human life and causes detrimental health challenges. As a result, humans are faced with the dangers of toxic substances from aquatic life. The pollution of water bodies causes an imbalanced ecosystem by breaking the natural chain circle of existence. The sewage discharge and agricultural chemicals are dangerous pollutants to marine life. Biological tests carried out on large water bodies lead to the explosions of toxic chemicals and threatening sounds that scare, kills, and migrates the aquatic lives in their natural habitat. The nutrients discharge into the water bodies are essential in improving the growth of the aquatic plants (Srivastava et al. 130). Water pollution increased economic activities resulting from the polluted water. In the proponent’s argument, the governments spend much money to hire experts and locals to clean the water bodies' mess of pollution. As a result, it translates to employment opportunities for better economic stability.

Control of Aquatic Pollution

The control of aquatic water pollution is better managed at the source before blowing its negative impacts. The nutrient discharged into the water bodies should be controlled at the source. Such include phosphorus, urea and ammonium, and calcium. The chemicals are applied to crops to sustain their growth; however, their water effects are detrimental. Therefore, the farmers need to be enhanced at the right time to apply the fertilizers to reduce the contamination of the water bodies.

Finally, there is a great deal of dependent on aquatic life. The survival in all aspects of ecological levels largely relies on aquatic life. They are an essential source of food, raw materials, employment, and recreational and research studies. The protection of aquatic life is a vital step in sustaining biodiversity. The aquatic environment is an essential element in the existence of both aquatic and human lives. Its conservation is a demanding responsibility. Human activities have threatened water bodies' safety, undermining the pollution's effects on the human. It is proper to regulate the deliberate contamination of water by human activities. Aquatic life is equally crucial for the sustenance of the ecosystem and the proper food chain. Any danger facing aquatic life translates to a problem facing all forms of life. The protection of water bodies from pollution is crucial in improving aquatic life and sustaining the different levels of biodiversity.

Works Cited

Denchak, M. "Water pollution facts, types, causes and effects of water pollution." The Natural Resources Defense Council, https://www. nrdc. org/stories/waterpollution-everything-you-need-know. Accessed 25 November 2019.

Kim, Yongeun, et al. "Temperature-dependent competitive advantages of an allelopathic alga over non-allelopathic alga are altered by pollutants and initial algal abundance levels." Scientific Reports 10.1 (2020): 1-13.

Srivastava, Varsha, et al. "Cytotoxic aquatic pollutants and their removal by nanocomposite-based sorbents." Chemosphere (2020): 127324.