short essay on how air pollution affect wildlife
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Answer:
Animals, or wildlife, are vulnerable to harm from air pollution. Pollutant issues of concern include acid rain, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and other toxic substances.
Insects, worms, clams, fish, birds and mammals, all interact with their environment in different ways. As a result, each animal's exposure and vulnerability to the impacts of air pollution can be equally different.
Air pollution can harm wildlife in two main ways.
It affects the quality of the environment or habitat in which they live
It affects the availability and quality of the food supply
How air pollution harms habitat
Habitat is the place in which animals live, including in and on the soil, as well as in water.
Acid rain can change the chemistry and quality of soils and water. For example, water bodies can become too acidic for some animals to survive or have normal physiological functions. Alternatively, acid rain can increase the release of heavy metals, such as aluminum, from soils into water habitats. The result is higher availability of heavy metals in the water column, which are very toxic to many animals including fish.
Some heavy metals, such as mercury, can be transported in the air long distances away from emission sources.
Although not as well understood, other forms of air pollution, such as smog, particulate matter, and ground-level ozone, to mention a few, likely affect wildlife health in similar ways to human health including harming the lungs and cardiovascular systems. An animal's vulnerability to air pollution is influenced by how it breathes - whether it uses lungs, gills or some other form of gas exchange, such as passive diffusion across the surface of the skin.
Answer:
Air pollution: effects on wild animals
Animals, or wildlife, are vulnerable to harm from air pollution. Pollutant issues of concern include acid rain, heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and other toxic substances.
Insects, worms, clams, fish, birds and mammals, all interact with their environment in different ways. As a result, each animal's exposure and vulnerability to the impacts of air pollution can be equally different.
Air pollution can harm wildlife in two main ways.
- It affects the quality of the environment or habitat in which they live
- It affects the availability and quality of the food supply