How Water Pollution Affects the Abundance of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in North Carolina

1. Presented by: Brittany Griffin, Melvin Boyce, Kevin Lee, Ray Baker, and Deon Price How Water Pollution Affects the Abundance of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in North Carolina

2. Problem Statement What is the relationship of poor water quality to the decline of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the estuaries of Northeastern North Carolina?

3. What is SAV? • SAV are true vascular plants that have leaf-stem-root systems • SAV grow entirely under the water, relaying on the water for buoyancy to support their stems and leaves • SAV is an underwater garden for juvenile fish and small invertebrates and a barometer of water quality. • SAV produces oxygen and detritus that is exported to other habitats, and reduces moderate turbidity and turbulence.  • SAV is extremely dependent on the clarity of the water column for its existence. • There are about 200,000 acres of SAV in coastal North Carolina

4. SAV Species foundin Northeastern North Carolina • Horned Pondweed • Redhead Grass • Widgeon grass • Southern Naid • Eel Grass

5. The Value of SAV as an Important Fisheries Habitat • Over 150 fish and invertebrate species are known to use SAV as adults or juveniles • 30 of these are important commercial fishery species. • SAV beds provide an excellent nursery area for blue crabs, red drum, pink shrimp, spotted seatrout, and gag.  • SAV blades provide a surface for post-larval shellfish attachment, especially bay scallops • Large predators, like flounders, rays, and red drum forage around SAV. Biosphere

6. SAV and Water Quality

7. Water Quality Parameters • Nutrients • Sediments • Water temperature • Salinity • Dissolved oxygen • Chemical contaminants

8. Water Column Ecological Characteristics • Dissolved Oxygen: • DO levels< 3 ppm are stressful to most aquatic organisms. • DO levels< 2 ppm will not support fish. • DO= 5-6 ppm is required for growth and activity of most aquatic organisms. • pH: • A pH of 6.5 to 8.2 is optimal for most organisms. • Acidic< 6.5pH Basic> 7.5pH • Water Color: • Yellow/Brown= dissolved organic materials, humic substances from soil, peat, or decaying plant material. • Blue= transparent water with a low accumulation of dissolved materials and particulate matter, indicates low productivity. • Red= can be produced by some algae. • Green= water rich in phytoplankton and other algae. • Mix of colors= may be caused by soil runoff. hydrosphere

9. What are the sources of water pollution? • There are many causes for water pollution but two general categories exist …direct or POINT SOURCE and indirect or NONPOINT • Point source pollution includes effluent from waste treatment plants • Nonpoint source pollution includes surface and ground water that contains sediment, pesticides or other contaminants • Nonpoint Source pollutants can also enter the water column from the atmosphere. An example of this in northeastern North Carolina is nitrogen from hog farms.  

10. What are the effects of water pollution on SAV?

11. Agricultural runoff contain harmful chemicals such as, nitrates, phosphates, pesticides, and herbicides. Runoff can reach a temperature of 90 degrees before entering the Stream . Water above 70 degrees may be harmful to aquatic life. Agricultural runoff harms SAV

12. More on Water Pollution • Pollution is caused when silt and other suspended solids, such as soil, wash off plowed fields, construction and logging sites, urban areas, and eroded river banks when it rains.  • When sediments enter various bodies of water, fish respiration becomes impaired, plant productivity and water depth become reduced, and aquatic organisms and their environments become suffocated.  • Pollution in the form of organic material enters waterways in many different forms as sewage, as leaves and grass clippings, or as runoff from livestock feedlots and pastures.

13. How Sewage effects SAV!! • Oxygen-demanding wastes • Suspended Solids • Nitrates • Phosphates • Toxic metal compounds

14. Study Area

15. Samples that were taken

16. Currituck Sound • We found that the pH level in Currituck Sound (at the bottom) was 7.84. This means that the water is fairly good for SAV to grow in. • The DO was 17.18 (at the surface). That means that animals that live in SAV are able to survive.

17. Locating SAV With GPS! • It is very important to find out were SAV is located. • Knowing where SAV is helps scientist test and come up with answers to what type of habitat SAV grows best in, and where it grow the most.

19. Collecting data

20. Going to Retrieve Data

21. Discussing data Bringing Data Back to Shore

22. Ways we can reduce pollution ! • Cleaning up. • Recycling. • Dispose of hazardous household products properly. • Use nontoxic household products whenever possible. • Use natural fertilizers. • Avoid over watering lawns and gardens. • Maintain septic systems properly. • Recycle used motor oil. • Be an activist.

23. Summary • Through this journey we’ve all learned how SAV is affected in the different types of spheres. We’ve discussed our problem statement and how to answer that problem. We talked about where to find SAV and its study area. • We’ve discussed how pesticides and sewage leaks affect the hydrosphere where SAV grows. • We also talked about how silt, which is part of the lithosphere, affects SAV growth and water quality. • In the Biosphere we learned that SAV beds provide an excellent nursery area for blue crabs and many more species of fish. • In the atmosphere we discussed how pollutants can enter the water from nitrogen rising in the air and then it precipitates back down from the sky as nasty pollution and runs right into our water.

24. Summary • We as a group went into the water to collect and sample some of the different species of SAV

25. References • www.associtedcontent.com/article/ • www.wikipedia.org/oil_spills • www.wikipedia.org/surfacerunoffs • www.learner.org/exhibits/garbage/sewage • http://wupcenter.mtu.edu/education/stream/watercheminfo.htm • http://nationlzoo.si.edu/Education/communityoutreach/ColumbiaHeights/Water_Quality/Tests?water_temp.cfm

26. Acknowledgements • On behave of our group we would like to give a special thanks to the people who made this project possible. Mrs. Noble Dr. Porter Dr. Botti Ms. Wiggins Dr. Pringle Ms. Harris Ms. Fowlkes Dr. Rossbach And a special thanks to the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Summer Workshop, with out their support there would be no program. THANK YOU

27. THE END • Created by: • Brittany Griffin • Researched by: • Kevin Lee • Melvin Boyce • Ray Baker • Deon Price