on Coastal Areas

Do humans affect coastal ecology? o-gallery.htm

Local Harbors and Bays are impacted! Green Harbor Cohasset Harbor Boston Harbor Buzzard’s Bay Waquoit Bay

Name some ways in which humans affect coastal areas.

Developments Along the Coast

How Trash Effects Wildlife

What is Marine Debris? Marine debris is the solid human made rubbish that is discarded at sea or ends up in the sea after being disposed of on land. ris%20in%20GOM.pdf Click Below for a Slideshow:

There are many ways that rubbish can enter the sea, including: dumping of garbage at sea by ships, fishing boats and pleasure craft. deliberate discarding and accidental loss of fishing nets at sea. ris%20in%20GOM.pdf Click Below for a Slideshow:

Also:  Litter left on beaches by picnickers.  Escape of litter from coastal rubbish dumps.  Drains and sewage systems that empty into the sea. ris%20in%20GOM.pdf Click Below for a Slideshow:

Pathogens are found in raw sewage, its a disease- causing viruses and bacteria. It can cause serious health threats to people and animals, that’s why its unsafe to go swimming, boating, and shell fishing. Sewage- The waste matter that passes through sewers.

 Effluent- Flowing out or forth; refers to liquid waste which comes from sewage treatment plants.

Boston Harbor Data Bacteria Nutrients & AlgaePhysical Measurements Water Clarity -Fecal coliform -E. coli -Enterococcus -Chlorophyll -Phaeophytin -Dissolved inorganic nutrients -Temperature -Salinity -pH -Dissolved oxygen -Total suspended solids -Secchi disk depth

 Eutrophication - Caused by the increase in an ecosystem of chemical nutrients, typically compounds containing nitrogen or phosphorus.

Activities   Algae Bloom- A relatively rapid increase in the population of (usually) phytoplankton algae in an aquatic system.

Red Tide - caused by a population explosion of dinoflagellates.

Some dinoflagellates give off a poison as a waste product.

Shellfish beds closed

 Bycatch- Unwanted marine creatures that are caught in the nets while fishing for another species. Shrimping Bycatch

Ghost fishing is the term used for lost or abandoned fishing gear that continues to catch fish or anything else that goes into the net. It is environmentally deleterious and the fish caught is wasted.

Entanglement and Ingestion Ingestion Marine species confuse plastic bags, rubber, balloons and confectionery wrappers with prey and ingest them. The debris usually causes a physical blockage in the digestive system, leading to painful internal injuries.

Entanglement Entanglement in marine debris can cause restricted mobility, starvation, infection, amputation, drowning and smothering. tened/ktp/marine-debris.html

Entanglement and Ingestion X-ray of turtles being treated at a clinic in Florida yielded contents in just one turtle that were found to be balloons and a fast- food latex glove. tened/ktp/marine-debris.html

 Invasive Species- A species is regarded as invasive if it has been introduced by human action to a location, area, or region where it did not previously occur naturally.

Hemigrapsus sanguineus – Asian Shore Crab

Sustainability refers to the potential longevity of vital human ecological support systems.

Sustainable means that something can continue indefinitely without running out of materials or energy.

Why do we care about having sustainable ecosystems?

People use submersibles to study underwater environments

YOU can make a difference! Protect Massachusetts waterways. Get involved. Every little bit helps!!