It goes without saying that light is absolutely essential to life on earth. This is true no matter where that life is found. From lakes hidden beneath mountains, to the jungle floor, to the depth of the ocean, light is essential. Now, you may be asking yourself exactly what I’m talking about, after all, at least two of those places don’t even see any light. What can light have to do with life in a cave, or at the bottom of the ocean? Well, in both cases, there is a good chance that any life present generates its own light. And in the case of the hidden lake, there is a good chance it would be fed with streams, bringing in a constant flow from the outside. Life at the bottom of the ocean in part depends on the leftovers that filter down from the surface.
That is where the light comes in, providing the base level of sustenance from outside what might at first seem like a closed ecosystem. If you really think about it, there is no such thing as a closed ecosystem. Even thinking of the whole earth as a single ecosystem, it isn’t really closed. It gets its primary energy source from the sun, without which everything would die. No sun equals no plants, equals no animals and therefore, no people.
That’s because the sun is at the base of the food chain, it feeds the plants on land which feed everything on and above the land. The sun also feeds the phytoplankton that forms the basis of the ocean’s ecosystem. No phytoplankton means no fish. That in turn would take away a major food source for many of our birds and other land animals that prefer seafood from time to time.
Unfortunately, some of our practices may be putting the phytoplankton at risk. Fertilizers are causing algal blooms and boats tend to kick up silt in areas near the coast, literally causing the ocean to get darker. Natural factors contribute to this as well, such as rain washing loose soil and plant matter into the oceans, however that is something the ecosystem has developed to deal with. The fertilizers and boats could be adding more strain than the system can sustain.
Researchers at the University of Germany have been conducting experiments to determine what the effects of this darkening might be on the ecosystem. Higher concentrations of material obviously reduce the level of sunlight that can penetrate the water. What is interesting is that the experiments indicated that the phytoplankton didn’t become significantly affected until there was a 62% decrease in sunlight. This shows that the little critters might be more resilient than thought. However, that is not a good reason for complacency. The darkening could continue if unabated, or stay at a lower level but one that still has a detrimental effect.
There are other potential disruptions that could occur regardless of the condition of the phytoplankton. Some marine life that relies on sight would have a harder time finding food. As those species die-off it would make room for species that don’t rely on sight, such as jellyfish. The introduction of a new predator into an ecosystem is sure to further upset the apple cart.
We have to start looking at these things and figuring out how to deal with them. Many of those fertilizers may be getting used to grow food for people. We obviously don’t want to just stop that. However, we should try to find ways to grow more crops without so much fertilizer and we could definitely discourage people from using fertilizers on their lawns.
Finding lasting solutions to these problems is going to take a lot of data. You can help by signing up with TARTLE and sharing your data with environmental researchers. It will help them determine the causes of various problems as well as helping them figure out solutions.
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