DirtySecrets-Group2

“Something is amiss in our global world water supply: Striped bass are succumbing to flesh-eating bacteria in Chesapeake Bay; seabird chicks are starving in Hawai‘i; coral reefs are weakening under a growing assault of invisible contaminants and an increasing variety of aquatic animals are showing signs of developmental disorders. Experts and citizens are racing to find clues to the causes—and the solutions. Find out how we all can make a difference.”
 * __Dirty Secrets (Pd 7)__** **//Group 2: Monsters in Our Waters//**

· What is happening to the Atlantic Striped Bass (Rockfish) in Chesapeake Bay? · Where do the fish like to spend their summers? · Why are the fish weakened or stressed making them more susceptible to infection? · What is causing the dead zones in Chesapeake Bay? · How many seasonal or persistent dead zones are there around the world? · What are 3 actions shown in the video that can be taken to prevent these dead zones?



__ANSWERS:__  1) The Atlantic Striped Bass in Chesapeake Bay are getting infected. There are red regions that are on fish which are getting infecting by micro bacteria. People who love to eat fish and like them as their favorite animals should be careful and stop littering, because it will kill them. They all could die from this disease caused by micro bacteria and all the people, in the Chesapeake Bay, who use these fish for food and different things won't be very happy about that.

2) The fish like to spend most of their summers in the middle of the ocean. They probably like to spend summers in the middle of the ocean because it’s not too hot and it’s not too cold. They love perfect water. Fish love in between water temperatures because if it’s too warm it provides less oxygen, and in cold water the striped bass will get too chilly. So in between temperature is perfect for fish and that’s why they spend their summers in the middle of the ocean.

3) Fish are weakened and stressed because of heat. They love cold water and don’t like being in heated parts of the ocean because it makes their body work faster than it should. Making their body work faster stresses them and weakens their immune system making their body more vulnerable to infection.

4) Dead zones are being caused by algae bloom. The algae bloom kills the fish because fertilizers and other substances with many nutrients cause the algae in the water to have too many nutrients and the algae dies and falls to the bottom of the ocean where it is eaten by a bacterium that uses up a lot of oxygen. This can kill the fish because lack of oxygen causes warmer water that makes the fish more vulnerable to the micro bacteria disease.

5) There are nearly 300 seasonal and persistent dead zones that are around the world. That is really bad for fish because they can die from dead zones. Dead zones means areas of low oxygen due to the process explained above. In the video we saw that when algae called phytoplankton absorbs too many nutrients it can create an algae bloom which takes away a lot of oxygen from the water. If we don’t watch how we dispose of fertilizers and other substances which cause algae bloom then the Atlantic Striped Bass will die and all the fish lovers out there, like our group, wouldn’t like that.

6) The three actions we can do to reduce dead zones are: decrease the amount of fertilizers you use on your plants in your home, volunteer to help clean up wetlands and restore them, support or vote on things that make farms limit their use of fertilizer and manure near streams and lakes.

__SUMMARY:__

 This video is about how we are polluting our waters and killing fish and how we can prevent this from happening. It shows an example of this, the Atlantic Striped Bass, which is getting killed by a mysterious disease. It is revealed later in the video that these fish are being killed by micro bacteria called //Mycobacterium, which are the “monsters” in the waters. The disease causes red regions on the Atlantic Striped Bass’s skin. The video also shows that the fish are more vulnerable to this disease from lack of oxygen caused by algae blooms. They are caused by nutrient filled substances like phosphates getting into the water. The blooms take away oxygen from the water and can make the fish get the disease. Ways we can stop this from happening any further are: limit the use of fertilizers you use, volunteer to restore wetlands and clean them up because they filter ground water, and vote on or support things that make farms limit their fertilizer/manure usage. //

Good Job showing how a bad situation like a bacterial infection in the rockfish is getting worse because of other factors like an algal bloom happening to stress the already weakened fish. 75/75 points