Fish Survival

Fish survival game by Cat Thoss and Jonas Sandoval

 Avoid all the pollution/ trash for as long as you can to help fishy survive!

Statement

This project was made to spread awareness of pollution in our oceans.  Pollution causes aquatic life to change their behavior, get sick, and ultimately many of them die. The rate at which we dump waste and sewage into our oceans of far too devastating (1.2 trillion gallons in the U.S. per year). Marine pollution is a global issue we should be more aware of because even when it starts off as a small local problem it can affect the entire world as the pollution spreads from one ocean to another. This doesn’t just effect aquatic life either, it effects the environment as a whole and can throw off the balance of our entire ecosystem. If we don’t stay aware of pollution or if we let it continue to get worse eventually it could cause the death of many non-aquatic species including our own.

Environmental Research

Content Research:

• -Pollution
  • Aquatic life is in danger
  • Industrial waste goes into water 1.2trillion gallons of sewage
  • 70% of wastes are dumped
  • 80% of sewage in developing countries is untreated- rivers, lakes, costal areas
• -Defined by seametrics.com:
  • Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). This form of environmental degradation occurs when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.
• -Conserve-energy-future.com: https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/sources-and-causes-of-water-pollution.php
  •  In America, 40% of the rivers and 46% of the lakes are polluted and are considered unhealthy for swimming, fishing or aquatic life.
  • 80%  of the water pollution is caused due to domestic sewage like throwing garbage on open ground and water bodies.
  • Plastic waste being a major water pollutant, is causing huge destruction of marine life and is believed to be responsible for deaths of more than 100,000 sea mammals, sea birds and various types of fishes.
  • Aquatic animal have faced an estimated extinction rate five times more than that of terrestrial animals.
  • Each year 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, storm water, and industrial waste are dumped into U.S. waters.
  • Cruise ships are also a major source of water pollution. They produce over 200,000 gallons of sewage which is mostly released in the ocean. Apart form that, they are also causing at least 35,000 gallons of water contamination due to oil spill.
  • SEA TURTLES
  • SEA LIONS
  • SEA BIRDS
  • FISH   
    • EX: BROWN TROUT, CISCO, AND PERCH HAVE CONSUMED MICROFIBERS OF PLASTIC DUE TO WASTE
  • WHALES AND DOLPHINS
  • PARROTFISH
  • HUMPHEAD WRASSE
  • GROUPER
  • SPINY LOBSTERS ARE VERY HARD TO FIND
  • Florida manatee (loss of habitat and high rate of still births and intoxication by pesticides and herbicides) 3,200 alive
  • Kemps ridley turtle (500 alive- habitat loss, pollution, fishing net)

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/marine-animals-are-dying-because-of-our-plastic-trash/

MARINE CREATURES THAT DIE FROM WATER POLLUTION:

 

http://marinebio.org/oceans/threatened-endangered-species/

MARINE CREATURES THAT ARE AT RISK OF EXTINCTION/ENDANGERED SPECIES:

 

http://marinebio.org/oceans/threatened-endangered-species/

(website based on several scientific journals and reasearch)

Fact: In order for global ecosystems to function genetic diversity, habitat diversity, and species diversity must work together. Thoughts: if we keep polluting waters, we are reducing safety to endangered species, large bodies of water that inhabit healthy ecosystems, and straight out torturing innocent marine life just to satisfy human consumption.

https://www.marineinsight.com/environment/10-endangered-ocean-species-and-marine-animals/

(Article based on sources from: marinebio, ehow,hubpages, animalport,endangeredspecie, einfopedia,)

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists three hundred and sixty eight marine species which are either endangered already or vulnerable of becoming endangered very soon.

At risk due to irrational human behavior and activities.

The Maritime Mammal Protection Act (MMPA-1972) and The Endangered Species Act (ESA-1973) have contributed so far to salvage this ocean life but it requires adequate knowledge about these issues and the transcendence of the human behaviour in accordance to that, which can inevitably make a difference for these ocean endangered species

“Under polluted conditions most fish either went to the top to gulp air or became hyper- active or both. A very few showed no response or became inactive. After a few hours the hyperactivity was replaced by quiescence or normal activity although periods of abnormal activity might reoccur at a later time.”

Hall, J., Arnold, J., Waller, W., & Cairns, J. (1975). A Procedure for the Detection of Pollution by Fish Movements. Biometrics, 31(1), 11-18. doi:10.2307/2529705

“The substances which are introduced into the water not only affect fishes directly but also act through effects on the bottoms on which eggs rest. Lake Michigan once produced numerous white-fish. The number of whitefish has been greatly reduced. The reasons are not only over-catch but also the covering up of breeding bottoms with a large amount of sawdust and other rubbish which makes the spawning grounds useless. Some of this bottom can never be recovered, at least, not for a long time.”

Shelford, V. (1918). WATER POLLUTION AND FISH LIFE. Journal (American Water Works Association), 5(4), 434-437. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41224482

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/marine-species-extinction-and-plastic-pollution/

http://www.takepart.com/article/2015/02/20/ocean-plastic-pollutions-shocking-death-toll-endangered-animals/

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/22/11-extinct-animals_n_4078988.html