dissolved oxygen – Aquarius-Systems

Herbicide to Treat Elodea Kills Native Aquatic Vegetation

Wed, 29 Dec 2021 21:49:49 +0000

Elodea is a plant commonly found in aquariums that, if released in the wild, will dominate certain lake or river habitats, choking out native vegetation and altering the food web at all levels.

It increases sedimentation rate, allowing more sediment to settle out of the water. And it can decrease the dissolved oxygen concentration in the water because it is growing so rapidly and using up all of that oxygen. But it also just displaces native aquatic plants, which are good forage for a variety of waterfowl species.

In addition, elodea can ruin the clear-water habitat needed by grayling and spawning salmon, and give an advantage to ambush predators like northern pike.

Applications of aquatic herbicide fluridone have appeared to have worked, and there is no elodea visible in Lake Hood (Alaska) now, but the herbicides killed most of the other plant life in Lake Hood as well.

Buffalo River Restoration Shows New Life After Decades of Pollution

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 21:26:19 +0000

Overwhelmed by decades of pollution, by the late 60’s, the Buffalo River’s condition was disgraceful. Both Lyndon Johnson and Robert Kennedy visited the New York river to inspect the carnage, and the death knell for this once proud waterway was sounding.

Jill Jedlicka is Executive Director Of Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper. The river hit rock bottom in around 1969 when it was functionally declared biologically dead by the federal government. Nothing could survive in the river, there was no oxygen in the water, not even Sludge Worms were living in the bottom of the river, it would change color, it would occasionally catch fire.

What was once a civic embarrassment is now a symbol of renewal. Over the past decade, a torrent of organizations has worked hard to restore the river. One of the most visible signs of life are the aquatic vegetation recently planted along the shore. From an environmental standpoint the re-establishment of sub aquatic vegetation and emergent vegetation is an indicator for the health of the river.

Copper Sulfate Algae Treatment Leads to Fish Kill in Colorado Reservoir

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 19:30:44 +0000

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is investigating Johnstown officials after their attempt to treat an algae outbreak left nearly 1,000 fish dead.

The Greeley Tribune reports that Parks and Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill says a worker put a copper sulfate into the town’s reservoir this summer to treat the algae. She says chemical ended up suffocating 972 fish.

The National Pesticide Information Center says copper sulfate can cause sudden plant death, causing fish to suffocate because of depleted oxygen and clogged gills.

Water Chestnut Spreads in New York and Harms Aquatic Ecosystems and Recreation

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 14:33:28 +0000

Trapa natans is native to Western Europe and Africa and northeast Asia, including eastern Russia, China, and southeast Asia to Indonesia. Trapa natans was first introduced to North America in the mid- to late-1870s, when it is known to have been introduced into the Cambridge botanical garden at Harvard University around 1877.

A decade later later, the aquatic invasive species made its way to New York and now stretches fro Long Island, inland to the Hudson River Valley and up to Lake Champlain and is spread throught the Finger Lakes.

The water chestnut most directly impacts aquatic ecosystems by blocking sunlight from penetrating the water and preventing other aquatic vegetation from photosynthesizing. At the same time, the water chestnut photosynthesizes at the surface, restricting oxygen exchange under its cover. Other aquatic life, particularly fish, can be sensitive to low-oxygen environments. For the recreationist, water chestnuts make boating, fishing and swimming a crowded feat.