Investigation of water pollution; comparison of water entering and leaving Newquay zoo.

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By Annette Wilkinson

Investigation of Water

Pollution

Investigation of water pollution; comparison of water entering and leaving Newquay zoo.

Many causes of pollution contain nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates.  In excess levels, nutrients over stimulate the growth of aquatic plants and algae.  Excessive growth of these types of organisms consequently clogs our waterways, use up dissolved oxygen as they decompose, and block light to deeper waters.
This is harmful to aquatic organisms as it affects the respiration ability or fish and other invertebrates that reside in water.

Pollution is also caused when silt and other suspended solids, such as soil, wash off ploughed fields, construction and logging sites, urban areas, and eroded riverbanks when it rains.  Under natural conditions, lakes, rivers, and other water bodies undergo Eutrophication, an aging process that slowly fills in the water body with sediment and organic matter.  When these sediments enter various bodies of water, fish respiration becomes impaired, plant productivity and water depth become reduced, and aquatic organisms and their environments become suffocated. 

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Pollution in the form of organic material enters waterways in many different forms as sewage, as leaves and grass clippings, or livestock feedlots and pastures.  When natural bacteria and protozoan in the water break down this organic material, they begin to use up the oxygen dissolved in the water.  Many types of fish and bottom-dwelling animals cannot survive when levels of dissolved oxygen drop below two to five parts per million.  When this occurs, it kills aquatic organisms in large numbers, which leads to disruptions in the food chain.

Water was collected from five different sites around the ...

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