Baseline

Exercises

Exercise 1. Explain in detail how the presence of the five species listed below impacts the ecological balance of the Great Lakes in the U.S. (Cite your references.)

1. Asian Carp

2. Zebra Mussel

3. Lamprey

4. Lake Trout

5. Purple loose strife

Answer:

Asian Carp has entered Mississippi River basin and other large rivers due to floods and escaping. They are destroying the ecological balance and are on the edge to enter the Great Lakes in the US. They have already destroyed ecology and food web in many areas and if they enter Great Lakes, they might destroy the seven billion fishing industry.

Zebra Mussels are another problem to the ecological balance. They get easily interconnected with waterways in the U.S. and can even be spread to non-connected waterways through boat hulls and fishing equipment. They have spread all over the Great Lakes within three years of their discovery.

Sea Lampreys are originally found in Atlantic Ocean. Their spread has cause decline in the population of native fish in Great Lakes and has allowed other non-native species to flourish.

Lake Trout has been eliminated by the Sea Lamprey invasion in the Great Lakes. Various efforts are being made to control the Sea Lamprey population by trapping or by other means. These efforts give trout a chance to recover. Certain areas of the lakes have been restricted for fishing to give trout affair chance to recover.

Purple Loosestrife is an extremely invasive plant species native to Eurasia. This plan has entered many wetlands around Great Lakes in US and chokes out native plant species. Its roots are strong that it cannot be plucked and left for natural predators to pluck it like floods. Getting rid from this plant is difficult because it produce up to 2.7 million seeds per year.

Exercise 2. If you were going to build a water purification plant in Lake Michigan, explain how this would be done. Compare and contrast this plant with the building...