The article that I read about acid rain showed the connection between chemistry, biology, and environmental science. It also connected to a class that I took last spring, called Coastal Zone Management, which I really enjoyed. The story of how acid rain has turned a lake into a gelatinous substance goes as follows:
1. Nickel mining resulted in acid rain, which resulted in the removal of calcium from soil in important areas for watershed.
2. Without calcium, the Daphnia plankton species could not build their exoskeleton.
3. The Holopedium plankton species started to take over the Canadian lakes, as they need less calcium from their environment to create their exoskeleton.
4. Holopedium plankton repel predators by producing a gel that repels predators. This gel thickened the water in certain areas.
So how was the environment affected?
1. Clogged filtration systems
2. Population damage to larger animals
3. A change in the balance of nutrients in the water system
What is the outcome?
It could take thousands of years for the watershed areas to get the calcium they lost naturally. Though acid rain has stopped, recovery will be long and the lakes have been “pushed into an entirely new ecological state.”