S3L2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the effects of pollution (air, land, and water) and humans in the environment.
B. Explore, research, and communicate solutions, such as conservation of resources and recycling of materials, to protect plants and animals
Introduction
The detrimental effects of pollution are most apparent on the natural world as the most common cause is human neglect and disregard for the environment. The release of carbon into the environment is detrimental to soil composition, air and water purity, biodiversity, and
the ozone layer. This is because the increased release of carbon emissions has a direct relationship with climate change, which leads to natural disasters and other environmental problems such as acid rain. The conservation of our environment should be of the utmost importance, starting with the most basic fundamental elements of water, air, and the earth.
Cyanobacteria
The bacteria known as cyanobacteria can be seen as a natural form of pollution in the most basic sense of the word. Pollution is defined as the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects. Blue-green algae is an invasive species that grows seasonally in an environment and hinders the natural processes. Algae are extremely detrimental to the life expectancy, diameter of the burrowed holes, and number per region of the Uca Minax fiddler crab. This is because algae take up important nutrients such as carbon, oxygen, phosphorus, and nitrogen in the environment, which shortens the average life expectancy for the species in the surrounding areas. The removal of such algae would help the growth of native plants, the water clarity, and the
number of species (biodiversity) that would be able to survive and thrive within the environment. My project would aid in the creation of a nutrient rich environment for the native species of certain marsh and wetland habitats. Algal blooms are most prevalent during the spring, so the start of the removal process will be in the final stages of the school year pending the results of the requested permission from Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Chatham County Police, and private organizations concerning the locations. An access point on the Herb River, Skidaway Island National Park, or an access point to a river stemming off of Betz Creek are the predisposed locations. The removal of the Blue-green algae itself has to come from ameliorating, cleansing, the water/wetland habitat where it is found. The amelioration of the water through non-toxic chemicals, such as aluminum sulfate, reduces the risk of repeated algal blooms. Other less economically friendly options would include the increase of oxygen, to immobilize nutrients, plant growth, etc. Ameliorating the water quality will help to directly prevent or reduce the chance of algal blooms while other solutions, such as the use of biofertilizer with glomus fungi on the surrounding flora, will help to boost rates of phosphorus consumption. The imbalance of phosphorus in an environment leads to a surplus in algae growth as phosphorus and nitrogen are the two main nutrients that cyanobacteria, blue green algae, feeds off of. My methods for the starting and completion of this project are as follows;
Research methods of obtaining aluminum sulfate and the qualifications needed.
Hopefully acquire permission to plant additional, native flora to the environment to boost oxygen levels and nutrients in the ecosystem.
Use biofertilizer with glomus fungi on the surrounding flora to boost phosphorus consumption.
Record the phosphorus, nitrogen, and aluminum sulfate levels in the environment.
Record and observe the growth and spread of cyanobacteria in the environment once the solutions have been instated.
Implementation
Before the aspired joining of a predisposed project, I will be completing the project through physical removal at an access point off of the Herb River. The acquirement of the certain chemicals required for amelioration have possible detrimental effects to the environment if used in inappropriate proportions. The use of them without permission could be deemed as reckless and I would not want to jeopardize the results.
Thank you for reading my Week 12 upload and I cannot wait for the start of the implementation of these methods!
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