Question

How does acid rain affect aquatic life?

Answer 1

Acid rain: Acid Rain is defined as the precipitation of acid in the form of rain. When atmospheric pollutants like oxides of nitrogen and sulphur react with rainwater and come down with the rain, this results in Acid Rain. The causes of acid rain are Sulphur and Nitrogen particles which get mixed with the wet components of rain.

Affect of acid rain on aquatic life:

• The ecological effects of acid rain are most clearly seen in aquatic environments, such as streams, lakes, and marshes where it can be harmful to fish and other wildlife.
• As it flows through the soil, acidic rain water can leach aluminum from soil clay particles and then flow into streams and lakes.
• The more acid that is introduced to the ecosystem, the more aluminum is released.
• Acid rain reduces the effectiveness of aquatic animal egg production by breaking the shells of fertilised eggs, resulting in the death of the growing embryo.
• The population ratio and gene frequency are also affected.
• Some types of plants and animals are able to tolerate acidic waters and moderate amounts of aluminum. Others, however, are acid-sensitive and will be lost as the pH declines.
• Generally, the young of most species are more sensitive to environmental conditions than adults. At pH 5, most fish eggs cannot hatch.
• At lower pH levels, some adult fish die. Some acidic lakes have no fish. Even if a species of fish or animal can tolerate moderately acidic water, the animals or plants it eats might not.
• For example, frogs have a critical pH around 4, but the mayflies they eat are more sensitive and may not survive pH below 5.5.