Habitat Fragmentation

HABITAT FRAGMENTATION

By: Ferris Troy B. Yu Asensi

Habitat Fragmentation is a process of environmental change

essential in evolution and conservation Biology. As the name

implies, it describes the emergence of discontinuities

(fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment

(habitat).

Habitat Fragmentation affects biodiversity due to reduction in the

amount available habitat for plants and animals like rain forests,

forests, oceans, etc. Habitat Fragmentation invariably involves

some amount of habitat destruction. Plants and other sessile

organisms in these areas are usually directly destroyed. The

remaining habitat fragments are smaller than the original

habitat.

.

Habitat Fragmentation eliminates habitats for those species

requiring large unbroken blocks of habitat. Additionally, the small

habitat patches resulting from fragmentation, often do not provide

the food and cover resources for many species that do attempt to

use them. This can result in an increased risk of death by

predation, if the animal has to venture beyond the cover of the

patch to find new resources, or starvation

__________________________________________________________

MY INSIGHTS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE:

__________________________________________________

.

Habitat Fragmentation is an environmental issue we are

constantly encountering nowadays but us, humans are not

aware of it. Moreover,we are the culprit of this environmental

problem. Habitat Fragmentation is frequently caused by us, humans

when native vegetation is cleared for human activities such as

agriculture, rural development or urbanization.

Habitat Fragmentation isn't popular as global warming but

it's effects are as tremendous and dominant like global warming.

Many animals are threatened by this growing environmental

problem we all struggle to unravel. Many living organisms

experience starvation that increases competition among animals.

There are many management practices for the maintenance of

species which are threatened because of fragmentation. Some of

these practices include: reduction of inbreeding, preserving or

restoring habitat, meta populations, and facilitating dispersal,

migration, and breeding.

Habitat Fragmentation brought about by geological processes,

can be a major problem in the near future. When animals lose their

habitats, they may endanger their existence. Overcrowding and

increased population are the possible results. Providing synthetic

habitats for animals can be a way to prevent this phenomenon.

.

BYE..!!

.

HOPE YOU'D TAKE A STAND IN SAVING THE NATURE!

.

Acid precipitation by Roylan Magtoto

Acid precipitation has been an important
environmental topic for many years, not only in
the United States, but in Europe as well. What is
acid precipitation?

Acids are an important group of chemicals. All acids contain chemicals that are
combined with hydrogen in a specific way. Acids are present in aspirin, carbonated
drinks, and your stomach.

Another group of chemicals is called bases. They contain oxygen and hydrogen that are
Combined with other chemicals. Chemicals containing bases are called alkaline.
Examples of alkaline substances are deodorants, ammonia cleaners, and the mortar
around bricks.

Acid precipitation occurs when water (rain, snow, sleet and fog) combines with
pollutants containing sulfur or nitrogen. This may bring the pH down to between 4 and
5.

Many laws and regulations have been created in United States and other countries to cut
down the amount of sulfur and nitrogen that is released into the air by human activity.
This seems to already be helping to raise the pH of precipitation back to normal. An
Illinois State Water Survey study has shown that the amount of sulfur in precipitation
has decreased the last few years over Illinois and much of the Northeastern United
States.

Toxic Waste by: Nixon Branda

Toxic waste is waste material, often in chemical form, that can cause death to people living in a certain place. It usually the product of industry or commerce, but comes also from residential use.
Toxic waste can be also released from air, land and especially in water.


As you will imagine if they will keep on continuing their bad works do you think we will have a good places to live and do you think all of us will live for a long time, of course not because that picture above are releasing toxic waste and if we inhale that toxic we will have a chance to be killed and have any injuries. That’s why before it might happen we must put an action to solve that , they must released it to its proper places.
Toxic waste can pollute the natural environment and contaminate groundwater. Love Canal is a famous incident in which homes and schools were built near an area where toxic waste had been dumped, causing epidemic health problems. A number of toxic substances that humans encounter regularly may pose serious health risks. Pesticide residues on vegetable crops, mercury in fish, and many industrially produced chemicals may cause cancer, birth defects, genetic mutations, or death. Many chemicals have been found to mimic estrogen, the hormone that controls the development of the female reproductive system in a large number of animal species. Preliminary results indicate that these chemicals, in trace amounts, may disrupt development and dick to a host of serious problems in both males and females. These range from infertility, increased mortality of offspring and disruptions of bodily functions (such as slowing heart rates, or breathing rates) to cold/flu like symptoms (such as vomiting, diarrhea and swelling) and behavioral changes (such as depression, tiredness and behavior confusion).

Ghost Net

`Ghost Net`
By: Mary Lloyd P. Lumalang

Sea Turtle caught in a ghost net

Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been left or lost in the ocean by fishermen. These nets, nearly invisible in the dim light, can be left or tangled on a rocky reef or drifting in the open sea. Maybe they were lost in a storm, or simply forgotten. They entangle and kill fish, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, dugongs, crocodiles, penguins and various seabirds, crabs and other creatures, including the occasional human diver.

(Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_net)

Undoubtedly, ghost nets have negative effects on marine resources. The fact that they entangle and subsequently kill fish and other sea creatures, it means that they are obviously contributing to the determination of the marine life.

Some commercial fisherman use gillnets. These are anchored to the sea floor with floatation buoys along one edge. In this way they can form a vertical wall hundreds of metres long, where any fish within a certain size range can be caught. Normally these nets can continue to catch fish until the weight of the catch exceeds the buoyancy of the floats. The net then sinks, and the fish are devoured by bottom-dwelling crustaceans and the other fish. Then the floats pull the net up again and the cycle continues. Given the high-quality synthetics that are used today, the destruction can continue for a long time.

(Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_net)

It is unfortunate that there are people who do not give important to the world's marine resources. Their are those who exploit and abuse the sea, ocean and the like, because they want to earn more money. They employ means that affect not only the sea creatures and the bodies of the water but the entire environment as well.

As a youth of today, I hope that people will learn to love our natural resources. Through it they will also learn how to preserve so that the future generations can still benefit from the different riches of the mother earth.

Thank you for reading !!

Mary Lloyd P. Lumalang
II-B Gandhi

** ü BioLogy ü **







♥ ♥ [ [ til` my next pOst ] ] ♥ ♥

++ _mary**beauty**llOyd_ ++

Hazardous wastes..

By : Marinel Louise d. Lapada

In addition to releasing gases and particles into the atmosphere, humans produce waste that is dumped on the environment. Often, this waste is hazardous and dangerous to both nature and human life.

As a result, many people and industries are failing to prevent the creation of hazardous waste or to limit the negative effects it produces.

Individuals often throw out goods without realizing that they are headed for a landfill and could be dangerous for the environment. No matter where people put these hazardous waste materials, there is always a chance that they could find their way into the ground, and eventually into our bodies.

Corporations usually want to avoid the costs associated with having to limit creation of hazardous waste. Consequently, they build landfills on site and fill them with waste, or sometimes pay to have their waste removed. Often, hazardous materials are transported to areas that accept money to take the waste.

It may prove very difficult to reduce hazardous waste in the future. Unlike many other environmental problems, waste creation is something people do not often think about.

In the future, people may have to reduce not only their generation of hazardous waste, but also their consumption of many products that end up in landfills.

Causes..

Hazardous waste is produced both on a huge scale by major industries and on a relatively tiny scale by individuals.

One of the main causes of the abundance of hazardous waste is that people do not realize how large a problem it is. Because it can be simply removed and sent to a landfill, it is often assumed that the problem ends there.

Many industries and governments create crude landfills to store waste, and often just dump waste chemicals into nearby bodies of water.

Over 80,000 different chemicals are used in industries worldwide. Often, it is difficult and expensive to get rid of these chemicals and to store them in a way that does not endanger human life or the environment. Obviously, not all of these chemicals are dangerous, but many are and they do create serious problems.

Around the world, hundreds of millions of tons of hazardous waste are produced annually. Rather than cleaning up or storing waste more carefully, one method of reducing the hazardous waste problem may be to simply stop producing so much of it.

Effects

Every year, major health problems result from hazardous waste. Increasing amounts of hazardous waste have caused increasing health problems.

There are over 80,000 chemicals in existence, and many are used commonly in industrial processes. Often, these chemicals find themselves in places where they are able to harm human health.

Insufficient research has been done to provide data on the effects of every chemical. Because waste chemicals often mix together, it will also be necessary to learn how combinations of these chemicals affect human health.

To compound the problem created by a lack of knowledge, 1,500 new chemicals are invented every year and many are introduced into industrial processes.

In 1989, a school in New Jersey had to be closed because students there had suffered excessive exposure to chromium. It was later learned that large amounts of chromium had been dumped nearby, and had blown over to the school area.

Sadly, it is often only after someone has died or become seriously ill that governments will intervene and reduce levels of dumped hazardous waste.

Solutions..

Hazardous waste has created many problems and dangers that have not gone unnoticed. Despite the fact that the problem receives less attention than many other environmental threats, some successful solutions to the problem of hazardous have been suggested and used.

As with air pollution and many other environmental problems, hazardous waste can be controlled through input and output controls.

The government can increase regulations on the disposal of hazardous waste to ensure that problems do not occur. It could also limit the amount of waste industries are allowed to produce, or provide incentives to create less waste.

After hazardous waste has been created, there are several actions that can be taken. Industries can break down chemical compounds into less dangerous forms, or store waste in ways that protect the environment from being exposed to the waste.

Not only major industries but individuals as well must form part of the solution. They can choose not to buy those products which require the production of hazardous waste, attempt to influence policymakers, and produce less hazardous waste themselves.

Many scientists think that waste production can be cut. Experts say that waste can be reduced by at least one-third using existing technologies and methods.

"Water Depletion"

By Renato Deleon
¾ of the earth is composed of water and the remaining ¼ is composed of land where a couple of biotic factors live. These biotic factors such as people, animals and plants depend on water for survival. When we try to compare and contrast the ¾ water and ¼ lands, we can say that the water is definitely suitable for the biotic factors.

But surely, Not now-a-days. Population of biotic factors especially the people is really uncontrollably huge. And all of these depend on water for survival even without food. Simply because lots of people suffer poverty.

But the ¾ water can still satisfy the ¼ of the earth. It will continue to exist even after we drink it or use it on chores. Absolutely, because the water undergoes a cycle, which has no definite beginning nor a definite end. As it undergoes a cycle, the water will again, be clean.

If that’s how water behaves, how come there is still water depletion? Water depletion is seriously decrease of clean, uncontaminated water supply. It is also one of the effects of human activities on the balance of nature. So, that’s it, isn’t? When people interrupt the balance of nature by some human activities, the nature will definitely suffer unable to recover on its own. These human activities are oil leaks, throwing of garbage on rivers and alike, contaminating the water. By contaminating the water, we continuously suffer and die. It’s either we die from thirst or die because of possible diseases we can get from contaminated water.

Therefore, it is us who needed and yet it is us who contaminate and deplete it. And it is us who must help the nature to recover.

"Soil Erosion"

by Alyssa Mae O. Villamor

What is Erosion?

Erosion is displacement of solids (sediment, soil, rock and other particles) usually by the agents of currents such as, wind, water, or ice by downward or down-slope movement in response to gravity or by living organisms (in the case of bioerosion). There are two different types of erosion "mechanical erosion" and "chemical erosion" Each of these has a different effect on the environment. Mechanical erosion would include water, wind, sun, ice, natural disasters such as earthquakes and shoreline erosion. Chemical erosion would be acid rain, over use of fertilizer, human land use, deforestazation and overgrazing.
Erosion is distinguished from weathering, which is the process of chemical or physical breakdown of the minerals in the rocks, although the two processes may be concurrent.
Erosion is an intrinsic natural process but in many places it is increased by human land use. Poor land use practices include deforestation, overgrazing, unmanaged construction activity and road or trail building. Land that is used for the production of agricultural crops generally experiences a significant greater rate of erosion than that of land under natural vegetation. This is particularly true if tillage is used, which reduces vegetation cover on the surface of the soil and disturbs both soil structure and plant roots that would otherwise hold the soil in place. However, improved land use practices can limit erosion, using techniques like terrace-building, conservation tillage practices, and tree planting.
A certain amount of erosion is natural and, in fact, healthy for the ecosystem. For example, gravels continuously move downstream in watercourses. Excessive erosion, however, does cause problems, such as receiving water sedimentation, ecosystem damage and outright loss of soil.
Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded.[1] In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to UNU's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.

What causes Erosion to happen?

Because we are dealing about environmental problems caused by man, we will focus more on the chemical erosion which was said to be caused by human land use. There are many causes of erosion. First is deforestation. Deforestation means destruction of our forestlands. Deforestation results from removal of trees without sufficient replacement. As we all know, trees plays a very important role on the environment. It doesn’t only give us food, but protection also from calamities. How? It protects us from calamities like floods by absorbing the water that the rain is producing. When there are no trees, there’ll be difficulties in the absorption of water which causes the soil to soften and results to erosion. Just like what happened in the landslide in Aurora Quezon. They abused the usage of trees so Mother Nature gave revenge in the form of landslide. Second is illegal mining. Mining is known for digging precious gems and stones under the land. For example is diamond. Diamonds today are considered to have a great value to most people and are equivalent to thousands and thousands of money. Because of poverty, every one of us wants to be rich. Who doesn’t, right? So, miners, to be able to find more stones and gems, are digging so hard and so deep. Stones are said to be the foundation of soil. When stones under the soil are gone, it softens and results again to soil erosion.

What are the effects of soil erosion?

The removal by erosion of large amounts of rock from a particular region, and its deposition elsewhere, can result in a lightening of the load on the lower crust and mantle. This can cause tectonic or isostatic uplift in the region. Research undertaken since the early 1990s suggests that the spatial distribution of erosion at the surface of an orogen can exert a key influence on its growth and its final internal structure. Farms and seas are affected when soil erosion happens so people living there loses source of work and living. It also causes the sea to absorb the chemicals in the soil and results to death of some organisms in the sea. In farms, it results to death of plantcrops which happened to be a source of food. So it means erosion also results to food shortage. It also results loss of habitat not only for animals but also for us. The phosphorus in the soil may also mix with bodies of water in soil erosion. As we all know, phosphorus is a common constituent of agricultural fertilizers, manure, and organic wastes in sewage and industrial effluent. It is an essential element for plant life, but when there is too much of it in water, it can speed up eutrophication (a reduction in dissolved oxygen in water bodies caused by an increase of mineral and organic nutrients) of rivers and lakes. Soil erosion is a major contributor of phosphorus to streams. But the hardest part is, loss of loved ones specifically death of people.

Instinct and reflections:

The environment is really a wonderful gift to us from God. Almost all of the things we need in our everyday life come from it. But we abuse it for we want to sustain our needs. Because of this, we give Mother Nature a reason not in a literal way to send calamities that can lead to destruction of the earth and danger to the human beings and other life forms. Sensitivity and discipline. That’s the answer. The answer that may change the world’s unpleasing aura into a good one. The answer that will also change many people’s lives. We should be very thankful and grateful to our Creator for He gave us wonderful things. In return, we should appreciate it, love it and lastly, to take care of it for it may vanish in just one snap.

♀_♥.Thanks for reading. I hope you learned something. ♀_♥

red tide...by pauLa nicoLE zaLdivar

RED TIDE...WHEN I FIRST HEARD THESE TWO WORDS, WHAT CAME INTO MY MIND WAS THAT THE OCEAN LITERALLY TURNS TO RED AND IT IS BECAUSE OF THE BLOOD OF THE DEAD MARINE ORGANISMS BECAUSE ISN'T IT, WHEN AN OCCURENCE OF RED TIDE IS REPORTED, WE ARE PROHIBITED TO EAT IT BECAUSE OF THE TOXINS THEY MIGHT CONTAIN, BUT THEN, I STILL DO NOT KNOW WHAT CAUSES THE DEATH OF THOSE ORGANISMS, IT IS STILL A BIG QUESTION MARK (?) TO ME. MY THOUGHT ABOUT THIS MATTER WAS STILL SHALLOW AND VERY LITERAL THEN NOT UNTIL I ENTERED SECOND YEAR AND STUDIED BIOLOGY. THIS TOPIC WAS DISCUSSED AND WAS ELABORATED THAT IS WHY I ALREADY HAD ENOUGH OF THE THOUGHT THAT RED TIDE IS CAUSED BY BLOOD.HONESTLY SPEAKING, MY MIND WAS ENLIGHTENED JUST NOW, WHEN I AM A SECOND YEAR STUDENT, (IMAGINE THAT, OF MY 13 YRS. OF EXISTENCE, I BELIEVED THAT BLOOD IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF THIS PHENOMENON!)AND WAS INTRODUCED TO ALGAES.

WELL, ENOUGH NOW OF MY 'INNOCENT' ACT AND EXPERIENCE, LET US NOW GO ON WITH MY REAL TOPIC.RED TIDE, WHAT IS IT? WHAT CAUSES IT? DOES IT HAPPEN ONLY NATURALLY OR HUMAN ACTIVITIES ALSO CAUSES IT? THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE'LL BE TRYING TO ANSWER AS WE GO ON WITH THE KNOWLEDGE I'VE GAINED FROM MY BIOLOGY SUBJECT AND WITH THE IDEAS I HAVE RESEARCHED.

RED TIDE IS JUST A NAME COMMONLY USED TO NAME THE PHENOMENON KNOWN AS ALGAL BLOOM.THIS IS AN EVENT WHEREIN MARINE OR FRESH WATER ALGAE RAPIDLY ACCUMULATE IN THE WATER COLUMN OR BLOOM.THESE ALGAE, MORE SPECIFICALLY PHYTOPLANKTON RELEASES PIGMENT ( A CAROTENOID) INTO THE WATER WHICH CAUSES THE DISCOLOURATION OF THE WATER SURFACE AND THIS IS ALSO THE SOURCE OF THE TERM RED TIDE.AS THE STRUCTURE OF THE ALGAE BREAKS DOWN AND RELEASES THE PIGMENT, IT IS USUALLY RELEASED ON THE DEATH OF THE BLOOM.PHYTOPLANKTON, AS WE ALL KNOW ARE SINGLE-CELLED, MICROSCOPIC ,PLAN-LIKE ORGANISMS PROTISTS .

IT IS NOT YET CLEAR ON WHAT REALLY CAUSES RED TIDE. IT IS STILL QUESTIONABLE IF IT JUST OCCUR NATURALLY BECAUSE IN OTHER CASES, THEY APPEAR TO BE A RESULT OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES. THERE ARE REPORTS THAT IRON FERTILIZATION MAY CAUSE THIS PHENOMENON WHEREIN THE METHOD OF GEOENGINEERING IS USED BUT THEN AS WHAT IS BELIEVED NOW, RED TIDE IS PURELY A NATURAL PHENOMENON.WHEN TEMPERATURE, SALINITY, AND NUTRIENTS REACH A CERTAIN LEVEL, A MASSIVE INCREASE IN KARENIA brevis ALGAE OCCURS.NO ONE KNOWS THE EXACT COMBINATION OF THESE FACTORS THAT CAUSES RED TIDE, BUT SOME DO BELIEVE THAT HIGH TEMPERATURE COMBINED WITH A OF RAINFALL AND WIND ARE USUALLY THE ROOT OF RED TIDE. STILL, SCIENTISTS AROUND THE WORLD STUDIES RED TIDE AT PRESENT.

WELL, I'M DONE WITH MY BLOG NOW, I HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING IT AND YOU WERE ABLE TO GET SOME KNOWLEDGE FROM IT. AND REMEMBER, IT IS NOT CAUSED BY BLOOD OF DEAD MARINE ANIMALS...OKAY?!?!...

,,BYE,,

pauLa zaLdivar

Water Pollution

WATER POLLUTION

by: Alec Abarro

Water Pollution is the contamination of any body of water. May it be a lake, a stream, a river, etc. Water is necessary to living organisms. Without water, life on Earth would not have started. A body of water can be contaminated by toxins or harmful microorganisms. If one will ingest contaminated water, he or she may develop an illness. Fishes or shells swimming living in contaminated water is unsafe to eat and is hazardous to an organism's health.

Major Water Pollutants

The major water pollutants are chemical, biological or physical materials that degrade water quality. Pollutants can be classed into 8 categories, each of which presents its own set of hazards.

1. Petroleum Products

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Clean-up

Oil and chemicals are used for fuel, lubrication, plastic manufacturing, and many other purposes. These petroleum products may get into water by means of accidental spills from ships, tanker trucks, pipelines, and leaky underground storage tanks. Many of these substances are poisonous when ingested by animals and spilled oil damages the feathers of birds or the fur of animals, often causing death. In addition, spilled oil may be contaminated with other harmful substances, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

2. Pesticides and Herbicides

Chemicals used to kill unwanted animals and plants, for instance on farms or in suburban yards, may be collected by rainwater runoff and carried into streams, especially if these substances are applied too lavishly. Some of these chemicals are biodegradable and quickly decay into harmless or less harmful forms, while others are nonbiodegradable and remain dangerous for a long time.
When animals consume plants that have been treated with certain nonbiodegradable chemicals, such as chlordane and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), these chemicals are absorbed into the tissues or organs of the animals. When other animals feed on these contaminated animals, the chemicals are passed up the food chain. With each step up the food chain, the concentration of the pollutant increases. In one study, DDT levels in ospreys (a family of fish-eating birds) were found to be 10 to 50 times higher than in the fish that they ate, 600 times the level in the plankton that the fish ate, and 10 million times higher than in the water. Animals at the top of food chains may, as a result of these chemical concentrations, suffer cancers, reproductive problems, and death.
Many drinking water supplies are contaminated with pesticides from widespread agricultural use. More than 14 million Americans drink water contaminated with pesticides, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 10 percent of wells contain pesticides. Nitrates, a pollutant often derived from fertilizer runoff, can cause methemoglobinemia in infants, a potentially lethal form of anemia that is also called blue baby syndrome.

3. Heavy Metals

Copper

Heavy metals, such as copper, lead, mercury, and selenium, get into water from many sources, including industries, automobile exhaust, mines, and even natural soil. Like pesticides, heavy metals become more concentrated as animals feed on plants and are consumed in turn by other animals. When they reach high levels in the body, heavy metals can be immediately poisonous, or can result in long-term health problems similar to those caused by pesticides and herbicides. For example, cadmium in fertilizer derived from sewage sludge can be absorbed by crops. If these crops are eaten by humans in sufficient amounts, the metal can cause diarrhea and, over time, liver and kidney damage. Lead can get into water from lead pipes and solder in older water systems; children exposed to lead in water can suffer mental retardation.

4. Hazardous Wastes

Hazardous wastes are chemical wastes that are either toxic (poisonous), reactive (capable of producing explosive or toxic gases), corrosive (capable of corroding steel), or ignitable (flammable). If improperly treated or stored, hazardous wastes can pollute water supplies. In 1969 the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, was so polluted with hazardous wastes that it caught fire and burned. PCBs, a class of chemicals once widely used in electrical equipment such as transformers, can get into the environment through oil spills and can reach toxic levels as organisms eat one another.

5. Excess Organic Matter

Fertilizers and other nutrients used to promote plant growth on farms and in gardens may find their way into water. At first, these nutrients encourage the growth of plants and algae in water. However, when the plant matter and algae die and settle underwater, microorganisms decompose them. In the process of decomposition, these microorganisms consume oxygen that is dissolved in the water. Oxygen levels in the water may drop to such dangerously low levels that oxygen-dependent animals in the water, such as fish, die. This process of depleting oxygen to deadly levels is called eutrophication.

6. Sediment

Sediment, soil particles carried to a streambed, lake, or ocean, can also be a pollutant if it is present in large enough amounts. Soil erosion produced by the removal of soil-trapping trees near waterways, or carried by rainwater and floodwater from croplands, strip mines, and roads, can damage a stream or lake by introducing too much nutrient matter. This leads to eutrophication. Eutrophication is a process in which water bodies receive excess nutrients that stimulate excessive plant growth. This enhanced plant growth, often called an algal bloom, reduces dissolved oxygen in the water when dead plant material decomposes and can cause other organisms to die. Sedimentation can also cover streambed gravel in which many fish, such as salmon and trout, lay their eggs.

7. Infectious Organisms

Giardia lambia

Giardia lamblia enters the body of a human or other host as a cyst. The hard, outer coating of the cyst is dissolved by the action of digestive juices to produce a trophozoite, which attaches itself to the wall of the small intestines, where it reproduces. Offspring quickly encyst and are excreted out of the host's body.

A 1994 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that about 900,000 people get sick annually in the United States because of organisms in their drinking water, and around 900 people die. Many disease-causing organisms that are present in small numbers in most natural waters are considered pollutants when found in drinking water. Such parasites as Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum occasionally turn up in urban water supplies. These parasites can cause illness, especially in people who are very old or very young, and in people who are already suffering from other diseases. In 1993 an outbreak of Cryptosporidium in the water supply of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sickened more than 400,000 people and killed more than 100.

8. Thermal Pollution

Water is often drawn from rivers, lakes, or the ocean for use as a coolant in factories and power plants. The water is usually returned to the source warmer than when it was taken. Even small temperature changes in a body of water can drive away the fish and other species that were originally present, and attract other species in place of them. Thermal pollution can accelerate biological processes in plants and animals or deplete oxygen levels in water. The result may be fish and other wildlife deaths near the discharge source. Thermal pollution can also be caused by the removal of trees and vegetation that shade and cool streams.

HABITAT FRAGMENTATION
By: Ferris Troy B. Yu Asensi

Habitat Fragmentation is a process of environmental change essential in
evolution and conservation Biology. As the name implies, it describes
the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's
preferred environment (habitat).

Habitat Fragmentation affects biodiversity due to reduction in the amount
available habitat for plants and animals like rain forests, forests, oceans, etc.
Habitat Fragmentation invariably involves some amount of habitat
destruction. Plants and other sessile organisms in these areas are usually
directly destroyed. The remaining habitat fragments are smaller than the
original habitat.

Habitat Fragmentation eliminates habitats for those species requiring large
unbroken blocks of habitat. Additionally, the small habitat patches
resulting from fragmentation, often do not provide the food and cover
resources for many species that do attempt to use them. This can result in
an increased risk of death by predation, if the animal has to venture
beyond the cover of the patch to find new resources, or starvation.

INSIGHTS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE:

Habitat Fragmentation is an environmental issue we are constantly
encountering nowadays but us, humans are not aware of it. Moreover,
we are the culprit of this environmental problem. Habitat Fragmentation
is frequently caused by us, humans when native vegetation is cleared for
human activitiessuch as agriculture, rural development or urbanization.

Habitat Fragmentation isn't popular as global warming but it's effects
are as tremendous and dominant like global warming. Many animals are
threatened by this growing environmental problem we all struggle to
unravel. Many living organisms experience starvation that increases competition
among animals.There are many management practices for the maintenance
of species which are threatened because of fragmentation. Some of these
practices include: reduction of inbreeding , preserving or restoring habitat,
meta populations, and facilitating dispersal, migration, and breeding.

Habitat Fragmentation brought about by geological processes, can be
a major problem in the near future. When animals lose their habitats, they
may endanger their existence. Overcrowding and increased population are
the possible results. Providing synthetic habitats for animals can be a way
to prevent this phenomenon.

Cyanide Fishing

CYANIDE FISHING

BY: William Gariell L. Sarita

Estimates suggest 70 to 90% of aquarium fish exported from the Philippines are caught
with cyanide. It is more safer to use than dynamite fishing.
If Cyanide is use in water sodium cyanide breaks down into sodium and cyanide ions so that’s why it is more safe to use, in humans, the latter blocks the oxygen transporting it is called haemoglobin, but even it is safer to use there still danger in it if you ingest or inhale this it leads to a minute of unconsciousness asphyxiation follows. Lower leads to temporary or permanent disability or sensory failures. This is constant danger ion fishermen that are practicing this.

Usually in the Philippines most fishermen is poor, so there job is fishing. In desperation time they use all illegal things just to earn money so they use cyanide fishing. Because there poor they dive in with out artificial breathing aids. And when they reach on the coral reefs they spray poison between the individual layers, after which the yield is collected.

"DefoReStaTioN" By ChucK aNsis!!..^^,

Chuck David aNsis
II-b

“Deforestation”

This “Deforestation” means is when people always cut trees in forest so trees are kept on decreasing..

This “Deforestation” is very big problem in every country in the world. This doings is very bad and
People know that but they kept on doing it..

This “Deforestation” has a big effect in a forest because the role of a tree is very important it sips the water, holds the soil and obtains the polluted air. So if theirs no trees around who will sip the water, who will hold the soil and who will obtain the polluted air??.. That’s the question...

This “Deforestation” has many causes like Landslide, Flood and Pollution.. So the innocent people are being affected in this wrong doings.. So many innocent people are being affected..

So I have a message to the foolish, indiscipline and irresponsible people that please stop on your wrong doings many innocent people are being affected and be reluctant, embarrassed and ashamed on yourself..

Oil Spill by Megan Silva

An oil spill is the release of a Liquid petroluem hydrocarbon into the environment due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term often refers to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters. The oil may be a variety of materials, including crude oil, refined petroleum products (such as gasoline or diesel fuel). Spills take months or even years to clean up.

Studies of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spills have shown that the environmental damage caused by oil spills can be greater than was previously thought. Petroleum-based hydrocarbons can negatively impact marine life at concentrations as low as one part per billion.

Seabirds are severely affected by spills. The oil penetrates and opens up the structure of their plumage, reducing its insulating ability, and so making the birds more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water. It also impairs birds' flight abilities, making it difficult or impossible to forage and escape from predators. As they attempt to preen, birds typically ingest oil that coats their feathers, causing kidney damage, altered liverdigestive tract irritation. This and the limited foraging ability quickly causes dehydration and metabolic imbalances. Most birds affected by an oil spill die unless there is human intervention. function, and

Marine mammals exposed to oil spills are affected in similar ways as seabirds. Oil coats the fur of sea otters and seals, reducing its insulation abilities and leading to body temperaturehypothermia. Ingestion of the oil causes dehydration and impaired digestion. fluctuations and

A sheen is usually dispersed (but not cleaned up) with detergents which makes oil settle to the bottom. Oils that are denser than water, such as Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), can be more difficult to clean as they make the seabed toxic.

Clean-up efforts after Exxon Valdez oil spill.
Experiencing Oil Spills makes an economic crisis,for the reason, that we will be having a hard time removing all the oil. And by this, instead of earning more money for our country, we are obligated to pay a high maintenance machine to suck it all, and worse, the people who are living near it will be having a hard time looking for a new diverse job to earn money for there family.

Here are the methods that we have to do to clean up the oil spills

Methods for cleaning up include:

• Bioremendation: use of microorganisms or biological agents to break down or remove oil
• Controlled burning can effectively reduce the amount of oil in water, if done properly. But it can only be done in low wind, and can cause air pollution.
• Dispersants act as detergents, clustering around oil globules and allowing them to be carried away in the water. This improves the surface aesthetically, and mobilises the oil. Smaller oil droplets, scattered by currents, may cause less harm and may degrade more easily. But the dispersed oil droplets infiltrate into deeper water and can lethally contaminate coral. Recent research indicates that some dispersants too are toxic to corals.
• Watch and wait: in some cases, nautural attentuation of oil may be most appropriate, due to the invasive nature of facilitated methods of remediation, particularly in ecologically sensitive areas.
  
• Dredging: for oils dispersed with detergents and other oils denser than water.
• Skimmers: Requires calm waters

Equipment used includes:

• Booms: large floating barriers that round up oil and lift the oil off the water
• Skimmers: skim the oil
• Sorbents: large sponges that absorb oil
• Chemical and biological agents: helps to break down the oil
• Vacuums: remove oil from beaches and water surface
• Shovels and other road equipments: typically used to clean up oil on beaches

Prevention

• Secondary containment - methods to prevent releases of oil or hydrocarbons into environment.
• Oil Spill Prevention Containment and Countermeasures (SPCC) program by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
• Double hulling - build double hulls into vessels, which reduces the risk and severity of a spill in case of a collision or grounding. Existing single-hull vessels can also be rebuilt to have a double hull.

MeGaN AiShA

Dynamite Fishin'...@_@

Dynamite Fishing

Dynamite Fishing is a way of using dynamites and other explosives for easy catching of fish. This way of fishing is very dangerous for our ecosystem especially the coral reefs which support the fish for survival, without this coral reefs the fish could not reproduce and sooner there will be no fish for the fisherman to catch. Dynamite Fishing is not only dangerous to our surrounding but also to the fisherman as well.Dynamite fishing is well documented in the Philippines and also in the Aegean Sea and coastal Africa.

This dynamite Fishing is dangerous and also illegal form of fishing. And also the explosives that the fisherman use could cause death to them also. The dynamite is made from artificial fertilizers mixed with kerosene.

[Warning Do not Try this... It's bad...]

By: Adriano S. Remulla

Reef Fishing

REEF HUNTING

By Mark Camilo C. Mamaril

Reef Hunting, also known as “Muro Ami”, is one of the many forms of illegal fishing and child labor. In Muro Ami, The coral reefs are being crushed and pounded so that the fishes will come out of the reefs and into the fishermen’s net. This will not just kill a lot of fish but also render some homeless. For me, this way of fishing is illegal as well as worst. Reef hunters may have caught a lot of fish but they nearly emptied all the fish in that place. This activity greatly disrupts an ecosystem I so; I think reef hunting should really be put to a stop.

Added Info:

Some, of us think that Muro Ami is a term for the illegal fishing activity but it is a term to refer to a person. The term Muro Ami doesn’t refer to reef hunting itself but it is used to pertain to reef hunters. So, from now on we will use the term reef hunting to refer to the illegal way of fishing where coral reefs are being crushed to catch the fish living in it.

Reflections on Reef Hunting:

When I first learned about Muro Ami, I really felt pitiful for the fishes and the corals as well. I have nothing against fishermen but I despise fishermen who use Reef hunting as a method of fishing. I imagined if we were the fishes while the fishes are us; would we like it if our homes were destroyed and we were caught? Also, imagine if we are the coral reefs while the corals are us; would we also like it if we are destroyed for their own greedy purposes? Of course not! So, I like to say to everybody especially the reef hunters that all living things have feelings too even though they aren’t able too express it. So, from now on, I hope all would be more sensitive to the cry of help from Mother Nature.

Ocean Acidification by Marjorie Nieves

Introduction

Before we discuss the meaning of Ocean Acidification let us define first the meaning of "acid".Acid means is traditionally considered any chemical compound that, when dissolved in water, gives a solution with a hydrogen ion activity greater than in pure water which has a pH level of less than 7.0 meaning it tastes sour like lemon etc..Now we know what is the definition of acid we can easily understand this article entitled "Ocean Acidification". What comes first into your mind when you hear these words "Ocean Acidification" ? The water in the Ocean is sour? You'll find it out on the next paragraph.

Cause

Ocean acidification is the name given to the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans, caused by their uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It is caused by excessive carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (which also causes global warming) is a more “serious concern". Carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted to the atmosphere by human activities is being absorbed by the oceans, making them more acidic (lowering the pH the measure of acidity).
Evidence indicates that emissions of carbon dioxide from human activities over the past 200 years have already led to a reduction in the average pH of surface seawater of 0.1 units and could fall by 0.5 units by the year 2100. This pH is probably lower than has been experienced for hundreds of millennia and, critically, at a rate of change probably 100 times greater than at any time over this period.

Effect
When the ocean becomes acidic, it makes the marine organisms to grow and to maintain their shells.The researchers studied a common coral species called porites, growing along the northern end of the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland. The species grows into massive reefs and is a key species for reef eco-systems around the world. The scientists found that calcification - the process by which corals extract calcium carbonate from seawater to build their protective shells - had slowed by 21% over the past 16 years.
So if all the oceans around the world has acid, in the next generation only few sea shells will be left. While fishes will not survive because they have nothing to eat because planktons didn't survive also, as well as the corals where fishes live. To summarize it, Many organisms ranging from plankton to shellfish and corals might be unable to build their shells. Many others which have already grown might start dissolving.