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Coral Reef Ecosystem Article
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A Freshwater ecosystem reflects the health of its surrounding landscape.
from:The importance of understanding the freshwater ecosystem involves the life forms and plant cultures that are part of the healthy environment. The freshwater ecosystem is a fresh water environment that can reveal the health of a local area. Fresh water environments in contrast to salt water environments have specific life forms that show its overall health. Toxins or pollution can effect the freshwater ecosystem adversely.
The healthy freshwater ecosystem will have a balance of both plant and animal living with in its parameters. Studying the balance between plant and animal and soil, sedges and underlying strata can give an overall view of the quality of the water table and land. The freshwater ecosystem begins with what lives in the water. From the smallest microbes, single cell creatures to the guppies, leeches and midges, only clean water can sustain life. The plants that convert oxygen for these creatures are as important as the fauna. With human activity impacting on the freshwater environment, toxins can effect the quality of the freshwater ecosystem. If toxins effect the water, plants can die. Without plants to add oxygen to the water, the creatures might perish. Without the smallest life forms in the food chain, the ripple effect can lead to other species dying out or leaving the Freshwater environment.
If the freshwater ecosystem is not balanced, or there are impurities in the water that the life forms cannot deal with then one of the first to suffer or leave the environs, is the humble leech. Leeches have long been an indicator of the freshwater ecosystem’s health status. Leeches are found where water quality is good.
Without clear clean water, filtered by ample plant life or good drainable soil, the larger animals will need to find other sources of water. Birds, spiders, lizards, rodents, rabbits and larger mammals are all reliant on a healthy freshwater ecosystem.
Fertilizer, oil, introduced species, pollution, fishing can all upset the delicate balance that exists in a healthy freshwater ecosystem. Agriculture and the impact of human activity on the freshwater ecosystem can effect the quality and purity of soil and water.
Rain, climate, drought, humidity, rising salinity are all important factors that can effect the freshwater ecosystem beyond the initial impact of human activity. Maintaining the balance, keeping every species alive and in good numbers will ensure a healthy, vital freshwater ecosystem.
The food chain, from tiny water borne creatures that feed midges and insects that feed birds, to the rabbits that feed foxes and the grasses that feed cattle and sheep, all depend on the freshwater ecosystem to sustain their lives. The quality of clean water in the freshwater ecosystem is actually of global importance. Fresh water is essential to life on this planet.
Coral Reef Ecosystem News
Oceans in Peril: Primed for Mass Extinction? - LiveScience.com
 Christian Science Monitor | Oceans in Peril: Primed for Mass Extinction? LiveScience.com But climate change poses another problem for coral reefs: Sunlight and small increases in water temperature cause corals to expel the symbiotic algae that ... World's Oceans Are in Grave Danger |
Scientists Find Evidence That Oil And Dispersant Mix Is Making Its Way Into ... - Huffington Post (blog)
Scientists Find Evidence That Oil And Dispersant Mix Is Making Its Way Into ... Huffington Post (blog) Diaz also expressed concern that dispersed oil droplets could end up doing great damage to the Gulf's many undersea coral reefs. ... |
Oz scientist discovers world's rarest coral in Pacific - Sify
Oz scientist discovers world's rarest coral in Pacific Sify "So far I have only found this new population of coral to occur along a small stretch of reef at a single atoll in the Marshalls group. ... |
UH receives $3.5M for coral reef protection - Honolulu Star-Advertiser
UH receives $3.5M for coral reef protection Honolulu Star-Advertiser It will be spent on coral reef ecosystems in Hawaii, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, the Line and Phoenix Islands, ... |
University of Hawaii at Manoa gets $3.5M grant - Bizjournals.com
University of Hawaii at Manoa gets $3.5M grant Bizjournals.com The funds will be used for the Sustaining Healthy Coastal Ecosystems project that began in 2001 and will include assessing the health of coral reefs, ... |
Special Report: Watching grass grow in the Gulf, and cheering! - Reuters
Special Report: Watching grass grow in the Gulf, and cheering! Reuters ... impact will be on the Gulf ecosystem, which ranges from deep-diving sperm whales to endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtles to centuries-old coral reefs to ... |
U.Va. scientist studies coral reefs - Staunton News Leader
 Treehugger | U.Va. scientist studies coral reefs Staunton News Leader CHARLOTTESVILLE — Coral reefs are sometimes called "the rainforests of the sea." These ecosystems are among the most diverse and complex in the world, and, ... Coral reefs doomed by climate change Experts Say Coral Reef Health Worldwide Depends on US Toughening Its Laws Amazing reefs: how corals 'hear', an interview with Steve Simpson |