Pollution
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Sources:
Karr, James R. (1981)
Terranovabiosystems.com. 200908-31.
Croteau, M., S. N. Luoma, and
A. R Stewart. 2005
EPA (U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency). 1997
By: Wu Shuin Kang
(2O131)
Pollution
WHAT IS POLLUTION?
BIOACCUMULATION
IMPORTANCE OF MINIMISING
Pollution is when foreign objects are
added into an environment, leading
to the disruption of the ecology
within the environment.
Bioaccumulation is similar to bioamplification,
but bioaccumulation refers to the accumulation
of substances within an organism, not the
entire food chain. Bioaccumulation is when an
organism absorbs a toxic substance faster than
it can expel the substance from its body.
POLLUTIONS
BIOINDICATORS
A bioindicator is an organism that will
react to the presence of pollutants.
Examples of some of these reactions are
the population of the bioindicator, their
cellular structure, or their biochemical
processes. Bioindicators can be plants,
animals, fungi, etc. There are also
genetically modified bioindicators, such
as grass that turns a different colour in
the presence of certain toxins.
BIOREMEDIATION
BIOAMPLIFICATION
Bioremediation can occur naturally, but can
also be enhanced by adding fertilizers to enable
microorganisms to speed up their metabolism
and thus decontaminate an environment
quicker.
Bioamplification is an impact of pollution.
It is when a substance increases in
concentration in the food chain of an
environment. This happens when the
substance (pollutant) is “persistent”, in
other words, cannot be broken down by
normal means. When this happens, the
substance will be detrimental to the
health of organisms within the
ecosystem, and cannot be purged.
Bioremediation is the use of microorganism
metabolism to decontaminate an
environment. There are two types of
bioremediation. In situ bioremediation is
when the contaminated substance is
treated within the environment. Ex situ
bioremediation is when the contaminated
substances are removed from the
environment to be treated elsewhere.
However, not all pollutants can be easily
treated by bioremediation. For example, some
heavy metals like lead are not easily absorbed.
The presence of pollutants in an
environment can lead to the deaths of
many organisms in that environment.
And these deaths will affect the
ecology in that environment greatly.
The pollution might even render the
environment inhabitable for any living
things. Humans need to draw on the
resources produced in these
environments for their survival. For
example, if water is polluted, humans
cannot draw water from there and will
have to find another source.