Greta Jimenez
Pollution is a significant threat to animal life, with both air pollution and water pollution causing harm to wildlife. Air pollution affects animals in two main ways: it degrades their habitats and reduces the availability and quality of their food supply. Water pollution, particularly plastic pollution, is also a major concern, with thousands of marine animals dying each year from ingesting plastic or getting entangled in it. Other forms of water pollution, such as toxic algal blooms and nutrient pollution, also pose risks to aquatic life. The accumulation of pollutants in animal tissues, known as bioaccumulation, is another harmful consequence of pollution, affecting top-level predators like bears and eagles. As pollution continues to impact ecosystems and wildlife, it is essential to address these issues and mitigate their effects on animal populations.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type of pollution | Air pollution, plastic pollution |
| Animals affected | Insects, worms, clams, fish, birds, mammals, marine animals, wildlife, plants, humans |
| Pollutants | Acid rain, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), toxic substances, nitrogen, mercury, carbon dioxide, microplastics |
| Impact on animals | Disrupts endocrine function, causes organ injury, increases vulnerability to stresses and diseases, lowers reproductive success, causes death, affects food sources, damages habitats, causes bioaccumulation of toxins |
| Impact on the environment | Climate change, destruction of ecosystems, water quality issues, harmful algal blooms, nitrogen pollution |
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What You'll Learn
- Air pollution: acid rain, heavy metals, and other toxic substances harm animals in various ways
- Plastic pollution: ingestion of plastic and entanglement in abandoned fishing gear kill marine animals
- Climate change pollution: increased carbon dioxide and global temperatures contribute to rising sea levels, threatening aquatic life
- Water pollution: agricultural runoff and wastewater discharge cause harmful algal blooms, threatening aquatic ecosystems
- Mercury poisoning: a toxic heavy metal, mercury accumulates in fish and wildlife, impacting their health and reproduction
Air pollution: acid rain, heavy metals, and other toxic substances harm animals in various ways
Animals are vulnerable to harm from air pollution, which can affect them in various ways. Pollutants of concern include acid rain, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and other toxic substances. Each animal's exposure and susceptibility to air pollution vary depending on their interaction with the environment. For instance, insects, worms, clams, fish, birds, and mammals all have unique relationships with their surroundings, influencing their vulnerability to air pollution.
Acid rain alters the chemistry and quality of soils and water, making water bodies too acidic for some animals to survive or maintain normal physiological functions. It can also increase the release of heavy metals like aluminum into water habitats, endangering aquatic life. Heavy metals, such as mercury, can be transported over long distances, impacting animals far from emission sources. They accumulate in the tissues of animals and are passed up the food chain, a process known as bioaccumulation. This makes top predators like bears and eagles particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of heavy metals.
Additionally, air pollutants can enter the food chain, damaging the availability and quality of the food supply for animals. They can also directly poison wildlife, disrupting endocrine function, causing organ injury, increasing susceptibility to diseases and stresses, reducing reproductive success, and even leading to death.
Other forms of air pollution, such as smog, particulate matter, and ground-level ozone, likely harm wildlife health in similar ways to human health, including damaging the lungs and cardiovascular systems. An animal's vulnerability to these pollutants depends on its respiratory system, such as the use of lungs, gills, or passive diffusion across the skin.
Air Quality Alert: Why the AQI is So High
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Plastic pollution: ingestion of plastic and entanglement in abandoned fishing gear kill marine animals
Plastic pollution is a global crisis, with billions of pounds of plastic in the oceans and on beaches, accounting for about 40% of the world's ocean surfaces. It is estimated that plastics are contributing to the death of more than 100,000 marine mammals annually. The primary causes are ingestion and entanglement in plastic-based fishing gear.
Ingestion of Plastic
Plastic bags, for instance, can be mistaken for jellyfish, the staple diet of leatherback turtles. When turtles eat plastic bags, they feel full, eventually leading to starvation. A recent study found that all seven species of sea turtle from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea had traces of microplastics in their gut. Microplastics are invisible to the naked eye, making them easy for wildlife to consume. They can also absorb toxins, which are then transferred to the fatty tissues of the organisms that ingest them.
Entanglement in Abandoned Fishing Gear
Entanglement in plastic-based fishing gear is another leading cause of death among marine animals. Abandoned fishing gear, also known as "ghost fishing equipment", continues to entrap marine creatures, leading to drowning. Large items of plastic can capture and entangle marine mammals and fish, causing injury and making them more vulnerable to predators. Discarded fishing nets can also smother and break coral reefs, hindering their growth.
The Center for Biological Diversity is actively tackling the plastic pollution crisis. They have petitioned the US Environmental Protection Agency to regulate plastics as a pollutant under the Clean Water Act and are pushing for plastic pollution to be treated as hazardous waste. They are also suing companies that produce consumer goods made from plastic to better control their runoff.
Freshwater Pollution: Human Activities and Impact
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![Biology of Puget Sound marine mammals and marine birds : population health and evidence of pollution effects John Calambokidis ... [et al.] 1985 [Leather Bound]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61IX47b4r9L._AC_UY218_.jpg)
Climate change pollution: increased carbon dioxide and global temperatures contribute to rising sea levels, threatening aquatic life
Air pollution is undoubtedly harmful to animals, and climate change caused by human activities is a significant contributor to this. One of the most prominent ways in which human activities have influenced climate change is through the increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere. In the past 60 years, the rate of increase in atmospheric CO2 has been 100-200 times faster than at the end of the last ice age. This is largely driven by human activities, such as forest fires and industrial emissions.
The rise in atmospheric CO2 has led to an enhanced greenhouse effect, causing global temperatures to increase. Warmer temperatures contribute to rising sea levels in two main ways. Firstly, the thermal expansion of water causes the ocean volume to expand. Secondly, glaciers and ice sheets melt, adding more water to the oceans. The melting of mountain glaciers and ice sheets has accelerated in recent decades, with ice loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet increasing sevenfold between 1992 and 2016.
Rising sea levels pose a significant threat to aquatic life. Coastal ecosystems, including commercially valuable fisheries, are particularly vulnerable. As sea levels rise, saltwater intrudes into freshwater habitats, endangering species that rely on these environments. For example, a University of California-Davis study predicts that up to 90% of coastal freshwater turtle species will be at risk due to rising sea levels. Additionally, many low-lying islands and atolls, such as those in Hawaii, are home to endangered species like the Hawaiian monk seal, and these habitats are in danger of being submerged.
Furthermore, increased atmospheric CO2 has led to ocean acidification, which interferes with marine life's ability to extract calcium from seawater to build skeletons and shells. This further threatens aquatic life, particularly those species that rely on calcium for structural support.
The combination of rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and increasing global temperatures poses a significant threat to aquatic life, demonstrating how climate change pollution, driven by increased carbon dioxide levels, is detrimental to the health and survival of various animal species.
Pollution's Impact: Environmental Balance Disrupted
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Water pollution: agricultural runoff and wastewater discharge cause harmful algal blooms, threatening aquatic ecosystems
Water pollution is a significant threat to aquatic ecosystems and the animals that inhabit them. One of the primary sources of water pollution is agricultural runoff, which contributes to the excessive presence of nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen in water bodies. These nutrients fuel the rapid growth of harmful algal species, leading to the formation of dense blooms known as harmful algal blooms (HABs).
Agricultural practices, such as fertilizer use in industrial corn and soybean farms, can result in runoff that contains high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen. When heavy rains or flooding occur, these nutrients are washed into nearby water bodies, promoting the growth of harmful algae. Climate change further exacerbates this issue, as warmer waters may prolong the growing season for harmful algal species, and changes in precipitation patterns can lead to increased nutrient-rich runoff.
Wastewater discharge is another significant contributor to water pollution and the development of HABs. Sewage discharges often contain high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen, which stimulate the growth of harmful algae. When these discharges enter water bodies, they create favourable conditions for the proliferation of toxin-producing species.
The occurrence and intensity of HABs are influenced by various factors, including water temperature, nutrient availability, and weather conditions. Warmer temperatures and extended periods of strong sunlight can enhance the growth of HABs, particularly when combined with excessive nutrient availability. Additionally, changes in water flow, such as flooding events, can further promote the development of HABs.
The consequences of HABs are far-reaching. These blooms produce toxins that contaminate drinking water sources, causing illnesses and even deaths in both animals and humans. They also consume oxygen and block sunlight from reaching underwater plants, leading to the creation of "'dead zones' where aquatic life cannot survive due to depleted oxygen levels. HABs have a direct impact on fisheries, with declines in fish populations and disruptions to the food chain. Furthermore, the toxins released by HABs can adversely affect marine mammals and birds, posing a threat to biodiversity and ecosystem health.
Essays on Plastic Pollution: Getting Started
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Mercury poisoning: a toxic heavy metal, mercury accumulates in fish and wildlife, impacting their health and reproduction
Mercury is a toxic heavy metal that poses a significant threat to marine wildlife and humans. It can enter freshwater systems through point sources, such as industrial spills, and non-point sources, like flooding, which creates an ideal environment for bacteria that converts mercury to methylmercury—the toxic form that accumulates in aquatic food webs.
Methylmercury is a highly toxic organomercury compound that bioaccumulates in fish and other marine organisms. As smaller organisms, such as plankton and small fish, consume contaminated food, methylmercury accumulates in their bodies. When larger predators consume these smaller organisms, the concentration of methylmercury increases in a process called biomagnification. This means that marine mammals, such as dolphins, whales, and seals, as well as large predatory fish like tuna and swordfish, are particularly susceptible to mercury contamination due to their position at the top of the food chain.
The accumulation of mercury in these animals can lead to severe health issues and reproductive failures. High levels of mercury in large predatory fish have been linked to developmental abnormalities, reduced reproductive success, and impaired growth. Similarly, marine mammals affected by mercury contamination may experience reproductive failure, behavioral changes, and even death.
In humans, the consumption of contaminated seafood can result in methylmercury exposure, causing a range of health issues, especially in pregnant women and young children. Symptoms of high methylmercury exposure include disturbed vision, hearing, and speech, lack of coordination, and muscle weakness. It can also lead to neurological damage and developmental delays in children, impacting cognitive thinking, memory, attention, language, fine motor skills, and visual-spatial skills.
Reducing mercury emissions and implementing strategies to minimize exposure are critical to protecting the health of marine ecosystems and human populations that rely on seafood as a source of nutrition.
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Frequently asked questions
Pollution kills animals in a variety of ways, including entanglement, ingestion, poisoning, and habitat destruction. Animals can also be indirectly harmed by pollution through the disruption of their food supply.
Air pollution, including acid rain, heavy metals, and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), is harmful to animals. Plastic pollution is another major threat, with single-use plastics killing marine mammals like whales, dolphins, and seals.
Marine animals can be entangled in plastic debris, leading to drowning or infections. They may also ingest plastic, mistaking it for prey, which can cause intestinal injuries and death. Plastic pollution also contributes to the bioaccumulation of toxic chemicals in animals, increasing their vulnerability to diseases and reducing reproductive success.
