The industrial sector as a great enemy of phytoplankton
Greetings dear readers and friends of Project.HOPE, in this new delivery, I will give continuity to the thematic line of environmentalist cut, that has for purpose to socialize scientific-ecologist information, in the search to help to form conscious citizens of the environmental reality.
The physicochemical modifications in the water bodies, product of the discharges of waste and industrial residues, alter the individual, population and community answers of the aquatic organisms, mainly to those categorized like phytoplankton (microalgae and cyanobacteria), these biological alterations, are commonly used to estimate the quality of the water in disturbed ecosystems.
Fig. 3 The water discharges from the industrial sector to the water bodies, most of them do not go through previous decontamination treatments. Image of public domain, Author: Aitoff, 2018
The sensitivity of phytoplankton, has become in the last decade a reference of the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems, where organizations such as WHOI (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) in recent studies have reported that "phytoplankton productivity has fallen by 10 percent in the North Atlantic, one of the most productive marine basins in the world, since the beginning of the industrial era in the mid-nineteenth century".
Such a decline in the North Atlantic is nothing more than the consequence of the constant environmental deterioration that has undeniably affected phytoplankton diversity on a planetary scale, and most seriously, according to oceanography researcher Matthew Osman, "phytoplankton productivity may decrease further as temperatures continue to rise as a result of human-induced climate change".
According to what has been reported by this outstanding specialist, it is a sufficiently important decrease for us to be concerned, considering that the purely mechanistic industrial orbit does not have within its priorities to comply with environmental resolutions.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES CONSULTED:
[1] Osman M., Trusel L., Evans M., Grieman M. New insights into multi-century phytoplankton decline in North Atlantic predict further decline under climate change. Article: Online access
[2] WHOI. North Atlantic Ocean productivity has dropped 10 percent during industrial era. Climate & Ocean. 2019. Article: Online access
[3] Richa., Sinha R., and Häder D. Phytoplankton productivity in a changing global climate. Nova Science Publishers. 2014. Article: Online access