Each day the sunrises and we begin our daily grind, we inevitably will be in touch with the ecology that surround us. When we run the water to brush our teeth and take our showers, when we get in our vehicles and drive to work, when we come home and check our email on our computers, when we call our friends on our cell phones, and when we dispose of our trash throughout our day.
Ecology is the study of our earth – it’s relationships with organisms and their environment, and how those relationships affect the planet. There is a lot we can do as a species to help our environment sustain itself. And a great way to begin is to get educated.
Pollution Ecology / The Types of Pollutants
Pollution is an undesirable product of human activity. Industrial, agricultural, forestry, and transportation all generate substances and by-products that are considered pollutants. Other human activities as well as natural sources are also contributors of polluting substances.
These activities have been direct causes of pollution and have contributed a significant impact on our environment. Environmental quality has suffered as a result and we have now numerous concerns whose causes have been directly linked to environmental degradation.
7 Effects on our Environment
1. When pollutants enter an ecosystem they have several effects on that ecosystem. These are some of the effects that pollutants can have:The habitat quality of naturally adapted species is degraded.
2. There are detrimental effects on some groups and species depending on the type, duration, and intensity of the pollutant.
3. Matter and energy flux is often changed to an undesirable course.
4. Larger organisms with longer life spans are generally removed from the ecosystem.
5. The community structure is often altered and as a result the number of surviving species declines.
6. Populations of smaller opportunistic organisms with shorter life spans that can adapt o rapidly changing environments increase dramatically.
7. The gradient pattern of changes can be traced back to point of outflow.
Pollution Ecology / The Study of 3 Aspects
Pollution ecology studies the three aspects of this situation. The first aspect is a scientific analysis of the sources, the extent, and the characteristics of pollution. The second aspect is the study of the processes that have an effect on the ultimate fate and destination including methods of transportation of pollutants. And thirdly are the methods by which pollution is monitored and remedied.
In pollution ecology Liebig’s law of the minimum can be applicable when the effects of pollution on an ecosystem have a direct and negative effect on a particular ecosystem. As Liebig’s law states “the growth of an organism is dependent upon the amount of essential material that is in a minimum quantity”.
Take a pond for instance the amounts of food in that pond may be unlimited but if the oxygen in the water is sufficient only for x number of fishes then the population of the fishes will not reach a level of x+1.
The science of pollution ecology is increasing in importance with today’s degradation of various ecosystems and natural habitats. Adherents may bring fresh new ideas to the concerns of today which seem insurmountable to date.
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