LYNDONN STEPHEN D. SANTOS MRS.MICHELLE T.

FLORES
1-P1 GENERAL BIOLOGY

TITLE Human Waste: Severe Threat to Aquatic Ecosystems

PROBLEM Human waste produced by the residents near the shores of the
lake, as well as the informal settlers is directly discharged into the
lake. Human waste polluted and contaminated the lake. This waste
provides excessive nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus that
cause the large growth of algae, water hyacinths and other
nitrogen and phosphate-loving species. It is a process called
eutrophication. It causes imbalance in the aquatic ecosystem
present in the lake.

HYPOTHESIS Human waste discharged in the lake resulting in eutrophication is

the significant cause of the death by oxygen starvation of the large
numbers of fish in the lake.

METHODOLOGY 1. Start a site description of the lake (the surrounding area and
possible source of human waste).

2. Obtain five (5) to ten (10) live, dying (but not dead) fish samples
and transport it immediately to a laboratory in a cooler or a large
plastic bag with water and oxygen and kept it as cool as possible.

3. Test the samples to determine the cause of the fish kill.

4. Collect water sample from the contaminated lake (from the

surface and bottom waters) for a water quality assessment.

5. Proceed with a microbial toxicity test with the water sample. The
results are needed for the risk assessment of polluted water.

RESULTS The fish samples show that the fished died from oxygen depletion.
There’s a significant amount of nitrogen and phosphorus found in
the water sample which are the limiting nutrient in freshwater
systems. The sharp increase of these nutrients resulted in an algal
bloom. As the algae begin to die, bacterial populations move in to
decompose the organic matter. These aerobically respiring
microbes cause significant and sudden drops in the level of
dissolved oxygen.

CONCLUSION Fish kills event is an indicator that ecosystems health and water
quality have been deteriorated. Human waste discharged in the
lake result in the sudden increase and growth of algae. As it
decomposed, it resulted in the death by oxygen starvation of the
large numbers of fish. Shortage of oxygen happens because the
surrounding area of oxygen is contaminated with biotoxins from the
algal blooms and the sharp increase in decomposition of the dead
organisms by oxygen-using bacteria depletes oxygen levels.