5 | Environmental Science 1
UNIT 5: People, Water and Aquatic Ecosystems
1.0 Intended Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit, students should be able to
a. Define the water ecosystem
b. Differentiate each type of ecosystem
c. Identify the different legal aspects in preserving aquatic ecosystem
1.1. Introduction
Is the water around you safe to drink or swim in? Most of the time the quality and
the availability of water is something we take for granted. We just turn on the
faucet and take a drink, not thinking much about where the water comes from or
whether it is polluted. We assume that it is unending available and safe to use.
this learning packet is about the significance of water for earth systems and your
life.
1.2 Topics/Discussion (with Assessment/Activities)
1.2.1 Water Supports Life
Why is
water
important to
life?
” If there was no water there would be no life on earth.’’
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
5 | Environmental Science 2
Water makes up 75-80% of human
body weight. A loss of just 4% of total
body water leads to dehydration, and
a loss of 15% can be fatal. Likewise, a
person could survive a month
without food but wouldn’t survive 3
days without water. This crucial
dependence on water broadly
governs all life forms. Clearly water
is vital for survival, but what makes
it so necessary?
Water required for human body
Water is the basic unit of life; without it life cannot exist. We are constantly adding fresh
water in our body to maintain it or for the body functioning:
Headache
Fatigue
Joint pain
Muscle stretch
Proper blood circulation etc.
Human body is almost comprised of 80% of water different body parts required a huge
amount of water for proper blood circulation. Like:
Water composition of human brain is 85%
Water composition of blood is almost 80%
Water composition of muscles is almost 70%
There is no alternative of water in this world. No drink can complete the water
requirement of human body. Shortage of water in the human body may cause the :
Muscle stretch
Heart attack
Brain failure
Increase fat in the human body
Short-term memory etc.
Water is essential for the different processes like:
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
5 | Environmental Science 3
Water is required for the digestion process
Nutrient absorption in plants
And it is required for all the chemical reactions taking place in all living things.
For the transportation of carbohydrates and proteins in the blood streams of the
human body
Water is necessary for the transport of waste material from the human body.
Water is required for proper circulation in the human body.
Water keeps the body of an living organism in a “well-hydrated” form.
Water helps to remove toxic compounds from the human body
Water helps the body to store fat
Water regulate the body cooling system
Hence water is important for human body to its proper functioning. Doctors said that a
human body required at least 16 glass of water daily.
1.2.2 Fresh Water Ecosystem
Freshwater ecosystems are interactive
systems within which biotic species and
their growth and adaptation, and
associated biological productivity,
nutrient cycling, and energy flows
among inland aquatic microbial, plant,
and animal communities, are integrated
with their environment. These inland
waters include lakes, reservoirs, rivers,
streams, and wetlands. The subject
discipline, termed limnology, evaluates
how these interactive relationships are
regulated by natural and modified
variations in their physical, chemical,
and biotic environments. The standing
water (lentic) lake or reservoir
ecosystem is a system that is intimately
coupled with the land surrounding it in
its drainage area via chemical
components transported to the lake by
groundwater or running surface waters
(lotic) of streams and rivers.
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
5 | Environmental Science 4
1.2.3 Use Fresh Water Ecosystem
The use of Freshwater ecosystems
naturally shares resources between
habitats. The ecosystems in rivers and
streams, for example, bring salts and
nutrients from the mountains to lakes,
ponds, and wetlands at lower
elevations, and eventually they bring
those nutrients to the ocean
1.2.3.1 Marine Ecosystem
Marine ecosystems can be defined as
the interaction of plants, animals,
and the marine environment. By
“marine,” we mean of, or produced
by, the sea or ocean. The term
encompasses the salty waters of the
Earth, and is also known simply as a
salt water ecosystem. As over 70% of
Earth’s surface is covered in water,
and 97% of that water is salt water,
marine ecosystems are the largest
types of ecosystems on the planet.
There are various types of marine ecosystems,
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
5 | Environmental Science 5
including salt marshes,
estuaries,
the ocean floor,
the broad ocean,
the inter-tidal zones,
coral reefs,
lagoons,
and mangroves.
1.2.3.2 Use of Marine Ecosystem
Marine ecosystems also provide other
important services, associated with
their regulatory and habitat functions,
such as pollution control, storm
protection, flood control, habitat for
species, and shoreline stabilization
The ocean is used for a very wide range of human activities
Recreation
Fishery/Food production
Transportation
Ecosystem health
Stability and biodiversity
1.2.3.3 Human Activities Altering Aquatic Ecosystems
Pollution entering our oceans from both man-made and natural activities is
affecting marine ecosystems throughout the world. And the danger isn’t just to
marine animals: most of the pollutants that enter the ocean come from the land,
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
5 | Environmental Science 6
according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
Animals often eat these pollutants which, means humans will as well.
Runoff
International discharge
Oil spills
Deep-sea mining
Atmospheric pollutants
Effects of pollutants in the ocean
What are the effects of
ocean pollution?
Ocean Pollution
Specific effects of ocean pollution on sea life include: Oil covering the feathers of
birds and the gills of fish. Skin and eye irritation and lung and liver problems
from oil deposits and byproducts. Reproductive system failure from exposure to
poisonous industrial and agricultural chemicals.
Overfishing
Overfishing depletes the
population of adult fish and doesn't
leave enough fish to reproduce and
replenish their dwindling numbers.
This can be attributed to poor
fisheries management,
unsustainable fishing, economic
needs, as well as illegal and
unregulated fishing.
Invasive species
An invasive species is an
organism that causes ecological or
economic harm in a new
environment where it is not
native. ... Invasive species are
capable of causing extinctions of
native plants and animals,
reducing biodiversity, competing
Ocean acidification
with native organismsis the
forongoing
limited
decrease in the
resources, and pH of the
altering Earth's
habitats
oceans, caused by the uptake of
carbon dioxide (CO. 2) from the
atmosphere. Seawater is slightly basic
(meaning pH > 7), and ocean
C. M. D.
acidification Hamo-ay
involves a shift towards
5 | Environmental Science 7
Ocean acidification
What causes of ocean acidification?
Ocean acidification is mainly caused by carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere dissolving
into the ocean. This leads to a lowering of the water's pH, making the ocean more acidic.
Many factors contribute to rising carbon dioxide levels. Currently, the burning of fossil
fuels such as coal, oil and gas for human industry is one of the major causes.
Deforestation results in fewer trees to absorb the gas. Also, when plants are cut down and
burnt or left to rot, the carbon that makes up their organic tissue is released as carbon
dioxide.
Some parts of the ocean are naturally acidic, such as at hydrothermal vent sites -
underwater 'hot springs
1.2.3.3 Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration
Restoration is the "return of an
ecosystem to a close approximation of
its condition prior to disturbance" or the
reestablishment of pre-disturbance
aquatic functions and related physical,
chemical and biological characteristics
Ecosystem Restoration is the “process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that
has been degraded, damaged or destroyed” (SER Primer, 2004).
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
5 | Environmental Science 8
Exercises:
Direction: Please read each questions carefully and choose the letter of the correct
answer.
1. What is the basic unit of human life?
a. Water b. ecosystem c. aquatic ecosystem
2. What is the main cause of Ocean acidification?
a. caused by carbon dioxide gas b. caused by ecosystem restoration
c. invasive species
3. Dense growths of mangrove trees in swampy areas are called
a. Forest b. Coral reef c. Mangrove swam
4. Nutrient rich area near the shore of lakes and ponds
a. Littoral zone b. Mangrove c. Swamp
5. An area where land is periodically underwater.
a. Wetland b. Forest c. Desert
B. Essay (10 pts each)
1. Explain the importance of aquatic ecosystem?
ANSWER:
Aquatic ecosystems perform many important environmental functions. For
example, they recycle nutrients, purify water, attenuate floods, recharge ground water and
provide habitats for wildlife
2. How do you contribute the restoration of ecosystem?
ANSWER:
To contribute the restoration of ecosystem I will do the following:
a. Repairing and replanting wetlands, creek beds, forestland, and other habitats.
b. Eradicating invasive species.
c. Replacing turf grass with native species.
d. Planting rain gardens to absorb rainwater running off roofs or asphalt.
e. Monitoring pond and lake habitats and preparing reports on findings to
government authorities.
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
5 | Environmental Science 9
3. What are the human activities affecting the aquatic ecosystems?
ANSWER:
The human activities that affect the aquatic ecosystems are:
a. Plastic pollution
More than five trillion pieces of plastic pollution are afloat in the oceans. And the Great
Pacific Garbage Patch is growing. For every pound of tuna we are taking out of the ocean,
we are putting two pounds of plastic back in. This resulted to water pollution.
b. Poisonous pollutants
Agrochemicals, metals, acids and phenol cause mortality, if present in a high
concentration and affect the reproductive functionality of fish (Kime, 1995).
c. Suspended solids
It affects the respiratory processes and secretion of protective mucus making the fish
susceptible to infection of various pathogens.
d. Sewage and organic pollutants
They cause deoxygenation due to eutrophication causing mortality in fishes.
e. Thermal pollution
It cause increase in ambient temperature and reduce dissolved oxygen concentration
leading to death of some sensitive species.
f. Climate change
Climate change arguably presents the greatest threat to ocean health. It is making oceans
hotter, promoting acidification, and making it harder to breathe in them by reducing
dissolved oxygen levels. Imagine how poorly a fish in an aquarium would fare if we
turned up the heat, dripped in acid, and pulled out the oxygen bubbler.
g. Overexploitation of species
Overexploitation of species affects the loss of genetic diversity and the loss in the relative
species abundance of both individual and /or groups of interacting species. The
population size gets reduced because of disturbances in age structure and sex
composition. Efficient gears remove quick growing larger individuals. Consequently, the
proportion of slow growing ones increases and the average size of individuals in a
population decreases. Over-fishing causes change in the genetic structure of fish
populations due to loss of some alleles. Thus, genetic diversity gets reduced.
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
5 | Environmental Science 1
h. Habitat modification
Physical modification of habitat may lead to species extinction. This is mainly caused due
to damming, deforestation, diversion of water for irrigation and conversion of marshy
land and small water bodies for other purposes. Construction of dams on river impedes
upstream migration of fishes and displaces populations from their normal spawning
grounds and separate the population in two smaller groups. Deforestation leads to
catchment area degradation due to soil erosion which results into sedimentation and
siltation. This not only affect the breeding ground of aquatic organisms but cause gill
clogging of small fishes also.
4. What are cause and effect of ocean pollution?
ANSWER:
There are Various Causes of Ocean Pollution. Some of them are:
a) Sewage
Pollution can enter the ocean directly. Sewage or polluting substances flow through
sewage, rivers, or drainages directly into the ocean. This is often how minerals and
substances from mining camps find their way into the ocean.
The release of other chemical nutrients into the ocean’s ecosystem leads to reductions in
oxygen levels, the decay of plant life, and a severe decline in the quality of the seawater
itself. As a result, all levels of oceanic life, plants and animals, are highly affected.
b) Toxic Chemicals From Industries
Industrial and agricultural waste is another most common form of wastes that is directly
discharged into the oceans, resulting in ocean pollution.
The dumping of toxic liquids in the ocean directly affects marine life as they are
considered hazardous, and secondly, they raise the temperature of the ocean, a
phenomenon known as thermal pollution, as the temperature of these liquids is quite
high. Animals and plants that cannot survive at higher temperatures eventually perish.
c) Land Runoff
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
5 | Environmental Science 1
Land runoff is another source of pollution in the ocean. This occurs when water infiltrates
the soil to its maximum extent, and the excess water from rain, flooding or melting flows
over the land and into the ocean.
Often, this water picks up man-made, harmful contaminants that pollute the ocean,
including fertilizers, petroleum, pesticides and other forms of soil contaminants. Fertilizers
and waste from land animals and humans can be hugely detrimental to the ocean by
creating dead zones.
d) Large Scale Oil Spills
Ship pollution is a huge source of ocean pollution, the most devastating effect of which is
oil spills. Crude oil lasts for years in the sea and is extremely toxic to marine life, often
suffocating marine animals to death once it entraps them. Crude oil is also extremely
difficult to clean up, unfortunately, meaning that when it is split, it is usually there to stay.
e) Ocean Mining
Ocean mining in the deep sea is yet another source of ocean pollution. Ocean mining sites
drilling for silver, gold, copper, cobalt, and zinc create sulfide deposits up to three and a
half thousand meters down into the ocean.
f) Littering
Pollution from the atmosphere is, believe it or not, a huge source of ocean pollution. This
occurs when far inland objects are blown by the wind over long distances and end up in
the ocean.
Ocean pollution is a raging problem that needs to be solved as early as possible. With the
world’s oceans getting polluted, the marine ecosystems are getting severely disturbed.
Not only that, but the world’s water reserves are also becoming more and more limited. In
these situations, it is essential that we find ways of solving ocean pollution. Some of the
ways are as follows:
a. Reducing the Use of Plastic Products
Believe it or not, plastic wastes form the largest portion of ocean pollutants. Out of the 260
million tons of plastic produced each year globally, approximately 10% ends up in the
oceans.
b. Use Reusable Bottles and Cutlery
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
5 | Environmental Science 1
Use and throw bottles and cutlery, too, are an immense contributor to ocean pollution. We
must not forget that most of the non-reusable bottles and cutlery are made out of either
plastic or Styrofoam. Both these materials require a few hundred or thousand years to
decompose.
c. Recycle Whatever You Can
The 3 R’s are definitely the savior of ocean health. With the increase in population, it is
true that the waste produced would also increase significantly. As finding dumping
grounds become more and more difficult, a lot of the wastes find their way to the ocean
beds. These wastes that are dumped in the ocean remain there for a long time, affecting
marine life.
d. Stop Littering the Beach, and Start Cleaning It
The beach is undoubtedly one of the loveliest places to visit and hang out in. As a result of
this, there is a lot of littering around as well. The first and foremost thing that really needs
to stop is this. Abundant dustbins should be placed on the beaches.
e. Reducing the Use of Chemical Fertilizers
Runoffs, too, pollute the oceans immensely. To prevent this, the use of chemical
fertilizers must also be controlled and regulated. It must be remembered that excess use of
chemical fertilizers harms not only the soil but also the water bodies nearby and,
ultimately, the ocean. These runoffs are so toxic that they can very easily kill marine life.
f. Reducing the Energy Use
As the population increases, our demand for energy increases too. A major chunk of this
energy is produced from petroleum. This petroleum is obtained by the drilling of the
ocean beds. Any spillage during the procedure could harm marine life. Not only has that,
but the procedure itself also violated the marine ecological balance. So by controlling our
energy use, we could also solve the problem of ocean pollution.
1.3 References
Miller G.T. (2013) Environmental Science.14th ed. Melbourne Australia. Cengage
Learning.
Krohne, D.T. (2012). General Ecology. 2nd ed. Pasig City, Philippines. Cengage
Learning Asia Pte Ltd
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
5 | Environmental Science 1
Botkin D.B. (2005). Environmental Science. 5th ed. New Jersey,USA. C & E Publishing.
Climate Change Message of Our Times: Excerpts from Loren Legarda’s Speeches
https://www.slideserve.com/serge/uses-of-tropical-rainforest-12-feb-2014
https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-role-of-individuals-in-protecting-the-
https://www.toppr.com/guides/evs/whose-forests/forest-conservation/
https://www.google.com/search?q=list+of+human+activities+that+affect
https://www.google.com/search?q=deforestation&tbm=isc
https://sciencing.com/human-activities-affect-ecosystem-9189.html
1.4 Acknowledgement
The images, tables, figures and information contained in this module were
taken from the references cited above.
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
5 | Environmental Science 1
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
5 | Environmental Science 1
C. M. D. Hamo-ay
