Industrial pollution turning Canadian lakes into ‘jelly’

The Canadian lakes are slowly but steadily turning into jelly since the industrial pollution has given jelly-clad organisms an edge over their calcium-protected competitors, researchers say, warning about potential impact on drinking water systems.

A battle between competing planktons in the delicate Ontario Lakes ecosystems is being won by “jelly-clad organism” called Holopedium that’s got an advantage over the planktonic Daphnia – all thanks to industrial pollution and acid rain – says new research by Cambridge University scientists PUBLISHED in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The population of Holopedium – which has a “jelly” coat that gives them more protection from water predators – have doubled since the 1980s in many of the lakes, scientists behind the study say.

The dramatic decline in the water calcium levels has left Daphnia without crucial component to develop their exoskeleton defending them from predators. Thus Daphnia populations are declining, leaving more algae for other organisms to feed on, such as jelly-protected Holopedium.

Scientists warn that the “jellification” of Canada’s lakes will further prevent vital nutrients in the food chain flow and may eventually clog filtration and drinking water systems, as in Ontario, some 20 percent of drinking water comes from lakes with depleted calcium concentrations.

it seems mother nature always has a way of working things out , minor evolution ?

maybe ..

from what i understand they are saying "jelly Plankton" will reduce nutrient transfers through food webs thus casing long-term problems for water users .
the only logical solution i can think of in this case to restore the (Ca.) levels back in the lakes is to A. try and cut down on the pollution causing the calcium levels to drop. or B. add (Ca.) to the lakes .... that might be a long shot ..

What are your thoughts ATS ?

Walsh


LINK

While very sad that this is allowed to happen, it will not "clog filtration and drinking water systems" anymore than other organisms would. Plus, all water treatment plants have the ability to clean their ways of filtering water as it happens. Where I work, iron and manganese plug up the filter before it is run through an RO system.

Not as dire as they make it seem unless of course the whole lake turns into gelatin!

a reply to: Walsh

Our stupid and deceptive government is to blame for this.

A few years ago in one of their sneaky mega bills, they changed the number of protected lakes & waterways in Canada from over 40,000 to 92.

Harper is anti-environment and pro-pollution

This could be a big boon to the biscuit industry.
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

Is this happening outside of Ontario? Canada is a big place with more lakes than most people understand.

originally posted by: DumpMaster
a reply to: Walsh

Our stupid and deceptive government is to blame for this.

A few years ago in one of their sneaky mega bills, they changed the number of protected lakes & waterways in Canada from over 40,000 to 92.

Harper is anti-environment and pro-pollution

Nearly all politicians are or can be paid to become so. The pollutant producers show up with suitcases full of cash. The fish, moose, birds and plankton show up with nothing. Guess who always wins.

a reply to: Walsh

Does anyone recall the school videos from the 70's?

This subject isn't new, just ignored by most:

originally posted by: DumpMaster
a reply to: Walsh

Our stupid and deceptive government is to blame for this.

A few years ago in one of their sneaky mega bills, they changed the number of protected lakes & waterways in Canada from over 40,000 to 92.

Harper is anti-environment and pro-pollution

yeah buddy , sorry to hear about that , i hope that this does not really damage the lakes , and let up hope if so it can be a fixable problem

Unless Harper is way older than anybody realized:

The team also investigated how far back the jellification of these lakes began. By analyzing sediment cores and fossil records, they show that Holopedium have been steadily increasing ever since around 1850 — a time of early industrialization and consequent acid deposit increases. But the process really gathered pace from the 1980s onwards.

“It may take thousands of years to return to historic lake water calcium concentrations solely from natural weathering of surrounding watersheds,” said Tanentzap.

Source

This is not a new problem, nor a newly documented problem.

Somebody just decided that today was a good day to rehash old news.

The same thing is happening in my area of Connecticut in more than a few creeks, streams and reservoirs.

I remember the "Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes" film. It is hilarious.
I looked this up a couple of years ago and have the NFB.CA website bookmarked. They have so many excellent films available for viewing.