Choose a specific site for further study where eutrophication is a problem (such as Chesapeake Bay, the Baltic Sea, or the Gulf
of Mexico). List some sources of nitrogen and/or phosphorous to the water body and describe some of the ecological problems due to eutrophication at this specific site.
Due to the commercial farming activities in the MidWest, fertilizers and pesticides are usually washed away by precipitation and drain into the Gulf of Mexico. These elements (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) offer much nutrients for algae causing them to thrive into algae blooms. Bacteria then find ‘fodder’ in dead algae breaking them down for energy sources. The bacteria, mostly aerobic, take up most of the oxygen from the water as they thrive. This makes the waters of the Gulf hypoxic hence the other marine organisms such as fishes cannot thrive. Actually, the ecosystem dies and the region is recognized as a' dead zone'.
Sources of nitrogen and phosphorous in Chesapeake Bay include runoff from agriculture, air pollution from vehicles and power plants, and wastewater from sewage and industry. Ecological problems resulting from the eutrophication include blocking of sunlight to aquatic grasses, stressing fish and shellfish by depleting oxygen, and rising pH, which further stresses fish and makes them susceptible to parasites.
It is only nucleotide phosphates e.g. adenosine triphosphate (ATP) that stores energy for all cell's use. It is also a molecule that is similar to one of the nucleic acids in DNA and RNA.
