The following is the script to a video uploaded to YouTube. Pictures are screenshots of drawings that I made in the video. Click here to watch the video: https://youtu.be/HrvPnfoN_pM
We tend to hear a lot about environmental tragedies happening all over the world, but sometimes, it can be tough to recognize what’s going on in our own backyards. For those of us in Northern Ohio and the surrounding area, we know and love the Great Lakes. Lake Erie, in particular, has had a growing problem of algal blooms.
Some of the most common forms of algae are cyanobacteria, which are able to convert sunlight and nutrients so that they may grow. In algal blooms, this algae grows much faster than what the ecosystem, or the living things and their environment, can handle. Algal blooms block out sunlight, and decomposition of this algae consumes so much oxygen to the point where it is no longer available to fishes in the Lake Erie fishery. This leads to the illness and death of these organisms in a place where they are normally meant to be raised and harvested. This creates what are known as “dead zones.” Without the oxygen, the fish populations may not thrive, and the surrounding environment may not thrive.
“Some of the most common forms of algae are cyanobacteria, which convert sunlight and nutrients so that they may grow.”
The main cuase of these algal blooms in Lake Erie is something called dissolved reactive phosphorus. This is phosphorus that remains in water after sediment and other particulate matter has been filtered out. According to the US EPA, dissolved reactive phosphorus can come from agriculture (manure and fertilizer), stormwater (rooftops, sidewalks, roads, etc.), wastewater (sewer and septic systems), fossil fuels, and at-home use (fertilizers, yard, and pet waste).
There is another type, known as particulate phosphorus, which is attached to sediment and particulate matter. Unlike dissolved phosphorus, particulate phosphorus tends to settle to the bottom of the body of water. Because of this difference, dissolved phosphorus is much more “bioavailable” to algae, meaning that it is very easily consumed and leads to such rapid algal growth.
In regards to agricultural runoff, higher phosphorus concentration is connected to stormwater from non-point sources (sources that cannot be traced to a specific location). Much of this water goes through tile drains (below-ground drain pipes used for collecting water and sending it away from farm fields) and into ditches, streams, and eventually Lake Erie. From this, we gather that farmers around Lake Erie have a large impact on severe algal blooms, which, in turn, negatively affects the fishery. So, what can farmers around Lake Erie do to help curb this problem?
Well, farmers can utilize adaptive management, changing their plans around based on information gathered from monitoring current conditions. They can also make efforts to use fertilizers in the right amount and at the right time and place. Farmers may also choose to plant things like buffer strips and cover crops to attempt to reduce the amount of water that carries phosphorus off the fields.
As non-farmers, there are still plenty of ways for us to reduce our negative influence on the Lake Erie fishery. Notably, we could put forth our best effort to minimize our use of phosphorus-containing products at home. These include things like garden fertilizers and lawn treatments.
I hope you enjoyed learning about the topic of algal blooms and how the affect the surrounding ecosystem, especially in Lake Erie. I hope you feel inspired to take greater action to help minimize humanity’s negative impacts on water quality and organism health in the area.
None of the facts found in this video are my own, and no copyright infringement was intended. Thank you to the US EPA and to lakeeriealgae.com for all information provided in this video, and thank you to the YouTube channel ASAPScience for being my inspiration for this style of video.
Sources:
Lake Erie Algae. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2019, from lakeeriealgae.com
Nutrient Pollution | US EPA. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2019, from https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution