What Is Water Pollution? |
Affect On AnimalsMillions of animals are dying each year due to water pollution. Just as
we humans need water to survive, so do the animals. Animals are affected by many different types of pollution. A few of these pollutants include: eating or getting caught in plastic, chemical run off, and the oil spill. Continuing this post I will further explain each of these pollutants. The first pollutant is the plastic. 10% of the 100 million tons of plastic that we use worldwide per year ends of up in the ocean. Unlike us, animals have no idea what is food and what isn't. They often will think that the plastic is food and eat it or manage to get tangled in it. This is something that can be reduced. If we are using this much plastic we should think again before we just toss that empty water bottle in the trash. Recycling is the best option to keeping everything and everyone happy and healthy. The use of fertilizers and pesticides not only affects our environment, but it also affects our water. When it rains and these substance make their way to a body of water, it creates an abundant amount of algae that messes with the oxygen in the water. When this occurs it makes it makes it hard for any water critters to live there. Scientists have found over 400 of these spots where animals that live in the water can now not have a home. The trail that the run off leaves behind also manages to kill insects along the way. Oil is extremely harmful to not only marine animals but also any of the other animals or birds that come in contact with that water. When the animals with fur come in contact with the oil, it eats away at their ability to insulate themselves from the cold water. When this happens the animals often die of hypothermia. Oil is also very poisonous to the animals, so when they go to the water to clean themselves, the are also drinking the contaminated water. All of the underwater creatures are greatly affected by the oil as well. When fish are swimming through the oil filled water, they have the risk of reduced growth , changes in their heart rate, and erosion of their fins. |