WHAT IS THIS SITE ABOUT?

         

This site is for a science project I need to complete at my school. It was originally a sustainability project, and each student chose their own issue of concern and worked out their method of action to make a difference concerning this issue. I chose to take a look at the pollution in Lake Ontario and how this pollution is affecting the many organisms currently residing in the Lake. My main focus was the impact on the fish populations, and below is a list I compiled of some interesting things concerning the effect of the pollution to Lake Ontario’s fish:

 

Causes:

 

1.    Human activities (construction, development or agriculture) have a bad effect on fish habitat

 

2.    Fisheries hunt too much of the fish species (mainly salmon and rainbow trout) due to high demand and tourist opportunities, makes big impact on the population numbers

 

3.    People don’t realize that there are any problems and continue to make unrealistic demands (of large quantities of fish): they have no regard for ecosystem

 

4.    The fish are considered purely as “resources for the economy” and are unappreciated and therefore wasted or abused

 

 

5.    They are unprotected: the government has not done everything they can to preserve these species of fish at their regular numbers

 

Consequences:

 

1.    Unique genetic material will be lost if some fish species become extinct/endangered: loss of biodiversity slows down/interferes with rehabilitation efforts and affects the ecological stability for the worse

 

2.    Some contaminants and waste material will be harmful to the fish populations: impairing their reproduction and survival abilities and making them unsafe for consumption

 

3.    Some exotic/invading species (ex. sea lamprey and zebra mussels) can become established in degraded systems and prey on the species or compete with them for food

 

4.    They have little economic value and cause a (in) direct loss of revenue as highly-valued fish species decline.

 

5.    Declining aquatic organisms’ health results in lost opportunities for society to derive benefits from the fisheries resource, leading to impact on economy