Dr.

Ong Meng Chuan Department of Marine Science Faculty of Maritime Studies and Marine Science Universiti Malaysia Terengganu

Chapter 4: Nutrient Pollution

CHAPTER 4
NUTRIENT POLLUTION
Pollution is discharged either directly into the sea, or enters the coastal waters through rivers and by atmospheric decomposition To control the impact of pollution on marine environment, it is essential that the type and load of pollutants be identified It involves determination of the sources and their location, the volume and concentration of the pollutants

The discharge of nutrients into coastal waters is a major cause of eutrophication especially in areas of limited water circulation Nutrient pollution is the common thread that links an array of problems along the coastline, including o o o o o eutrophication harmful algal blooms dead zones fish kills some shellfish poisonings o loss of seagrass and kelp beds o some coral reef destruction o marine mammal and seabird deaths

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Chapter 4: Nutrient Pollution

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Chapter 4: Nutrient Pollution FACT More than 60 percent of our coastal rivers and bays in every coastal state of the continental are moderately to severely degraded by nutrient pollution

Many of the wastes entering the aquatic environment are plant nutrients The main nutrients are nitrogen and phosphorus compounds and they enter coastal waters from point and nonpoint sources Fertilizers used in agriculture are one source of nutrients reaching the coastal zone

Inputs of plant nutrients enhance the growth of phytoplankton EXAMPLE o Seto Sea is the largest enclosed body of coastal water in Japan and provides 5% of the countrys commercial catch of fish. o As Japanese economy grew after World War 2, increasing development resulted in elevated inputs of plant nutrients, boosting primary production in the sea o The consequence, fishery catches increased

Continued economic growth and development drastically changed the traditional land use patterns Although moderate input of organic material may be beneficial, overfertilization results in extravagant growth of plants and the bacterial decay of dead plant material may result in oxygen depletion Sewage from coastal settlements is also a major source of nutrients in coastal waters

EUTROPHICATION Simple definition : Increase in chemical nutrient compounds containing nitrogen or phosphorus in an ecosystem, and may occur on land or in water However, the term is often used to mean the resultant increase in the ecosystem's primary productivity (excessive plant growth and decay), and further effects including lack of oxygen and severe reductions in water quality, fish, and other animal populations

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Chapter 4: Nutrient Pollution Eutrophication was recognized as a water pollution problem in European and North American lakes and reservoirs in the mid 20th century Since then, it has become more widespread Surveys showed that 54% of lakes in Asia are eutrophic; in Europe 53%; in North America 48%; in South America 41%; and in Africa 28%

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Chapter 4: Nutrient Pollution

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Chapter 4: Nutrient Pollution CULTURAL EUTROPHICATION Cultural eutrophication is the process that speeds up natural eutrophication because of human activity Due to clearing of land and building of towns and cities, land runoff is accelerated and more nutrients such as phosphates and nitrate are supplied to lakes and rivers, and then to coastal estuaries and bays Extra nutrients are also supplied by treatment plants, golf courses, fertilizers, and farms

Eutrophication is an common phenomenon in marine, coastal waters In contrast to freshwater systems, nitrogen is more commonly the key limiting nutrient of marine waters; thus, nutrient levels have greater importance to understanding eutrophication problems in seawater Estuary tend to be naturally eutrophic because landderived nutrients are concentrated where runoff enters the marine environment in a confined channel

Upwelling in coastal systems also promotes increased productivity by conveying deep, nutrientrich waters to the surface, where the nutrients can be assimilated by algae

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Chapter 4: Nutrient Pollution

When an ecosystem experiences an increase in nutrients, primary producers reap the benefits first. In aquatic ecosystems, species such as algae experience a population increase (called an algal bloom) Algal blooms limit the sunlight available to bottomdwelling organisms and cause wide swings in the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. Oxygen is required by all respiring plants and animals and it is replenished in daylight by photosynthesizing plants and algae

In addition, runoff from land and atmospheric anthropogenic fixed nitrogen can enter the open ocean Some scientist found that this could account for around one third of the ocean s external (nonrecycled) nitrogen supply It has been suggested that accumulating reactive nitrogen in the environment may prove as serious as putting carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

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Chapter 4: Nutrient Pollution SOURCES OF HIGH NUTRIENT RUNOFF Point source Nonpoint source Soil retention Runoff to surface water and leaching to groundwater Atmospheric deposition ETC

ECOLOGICAL EFFECT Many ecological effects can arise from stimulating primary production, but there are three particularly troubling ecological impacts: o decreased biodiversity, o changes in species composition and dominance o toxicity effects

ECOLOGICAL EFFECT Increased biomass of phytoplankton Toxic or inedible phytoplankton species Increases in blooms of gelatinous zooplankton Decreased biomass of benthic and epiphytic algae Color, smell, and water treatment problems Dissolved oxygen depletion Increased incidences of fish kills Loss of desirable fish species Reductions in harvestable fish and shellfish Decreases in perceived aesthetic value of the water body

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Chapter 4: Nutrient Pollution DECREASED BIODIVERSITY Under eutrophic conditions, dissolved oxygen greatly increases during the day, but is greatly reduced after dark by the respiring algae and by microorganisms that feed on the increasing mass of dead algae When dissolved oxygen levels decline to hypoxic levels, fish and other marine animals suffocate As a result, creatures such as fish, shrimp, and especially immobile bottom dwellers die off Zones where this occurs are known as dead zones

NEW SPECIES INVASION Eutrophication may cause competitive release by making abundant a normally limiting nutrient This process causes shifts in the species composition of ecosystems For instance, an increase in nitrogen might allow new, competitive species to invade and outcompete original inhabitant species

TOXICITY Algal bloom

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