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The notion of "biological pollution" and "biological pollutants" described by Elliott (2003) [2] is generally accepted in invasion biology; it was used to develop the concept of biopollution level assessment (Olenin et al., 2007 [3]) and criteria for a Good Ecological Status descriptor in the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (Olenin ...
A pollutant or novel entity [1] is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effect, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oil) or anthropogenic in origin (i.e. manufactured materials or byproducts).
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. [1] Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants.
Air pollution can cause diseases, allergies, and even death; it can also cause harm to animals and crops and damage the natural environment (for example, climate change, ozone depletion or habitat degradation) or built environment (for example, acid rain). [3] Air pollution can occur naturally or be caused by human activities. [4]
Within the sciences, the word "contamination" can take on a variety of subtle differences in meaning, whether the contaminant is a solid or a liquid, [3] as well as the variance of environment the contaminant is found to be in. [2] A contaminant may even be more abstract, as in the case of an unwanted energy source that may interfere with a process. [2]
They are found on rocks and tree trunks, and they respond to environmental changes in forests, including changes in forest structure – conservation biology, air quality, and climate. The disappearance of lichens in a forest may indicate environmental stresses, such as high levels of sulfur dioxide, sulfur-based pollutants, and nitrogen oxides.
Biodilution is also a process that occurs to all trophic levels in an aquatic environment; it is the opposite of biomagnification, thus when a pollutant gets smaller in concentration as it progresses up a food web. [3] Many chemicals that bioaccumulate are highly soluble in fats and insoluble in water (hydrophobic). [4]
Although there are ongoing studies of bioaccumulation in turtles, factors like pollution, climate change, and shifting landscape can affect the amounts of these toxins in the ecosystem. [17] The most common elements studied in turtles are mercury, cadmium, argon [dubious – discuss], and selenium. Heavy metals are released into rivers, streams ...