Within todays society everything that we do always has some impact upon the environment. The technology today and all the factories we have all produce some sort of waste which ultimately ends up reaching the ocean in some quantity. Yet how much do our actions truly effect the marine ecosystem?

There are things that effect the ocean more than just the obvious oil spills which we all know cause more damage than most things. Yet for marine life to flourish there must be a surplus of oxygen to provide life. Marine life consists of fish, coral, vegetation and anything that dwells under the surface of the ocean. As more of our trash is being pumped into the ocean it all acts as a fertilizer for the plankton blooms which are toxic to all other marine life as it causes for detoxification  which is the process of removing oxygen from the body of water. Not only is our waste which is dumped into the problem, but out runoff is also a huge issue. the runoff from streams and rivers act as the same type of catalyst for the plankton bloom.

Our presence in the ocean also causes for a disturbance in the marine life. For example our anchors for years have been dragged across coral reefs destroying everything in its way until it is caught. Coral is not only a delicate organism but it is also extremely slow growing, making it very difficult to regenerate the damaged coral before another anchor is back. Fishing whether it be for sport or commercial obviously has a huge impact on the fish populations. It is not all from the fish being taken out of the ocean, but it also has to do with the lures and bait or attractants anglers use to catch the fish. these may be harmful to the ecosystem do to the fact that different metals are used to make the substance or plastic/rubber being used. The human population is rapidly increasing, thus meaning our affect on the marine ecosystem will only increasing along with it.

work cited

http://people.chem.duke.edu/~jds/cruise_chem/oceans/human.html

http://people.chem.duke.edu/~jds/cruise_chem/oceans/deoxification.html