Marine pollution is a primary cause of eutrophication of surface waters, in which excess nutrients, usually nitrates or phosphates, stimulate algae growth. Many potentially toxic chemicals adhere to tiny particles which are then taken up by plankton and benthic animals, most of which are either deposit feeders or filter feeders. In this way, the toxins are concentrated upward within ocean food chains. Many particles combine chemically in a manner highly depletive of oxygen, causing estuaries to become anoxic. When pesticides are incorporated into the marine ecosystem, they quickly become absorbed into marine food webs. Once in the food webs, these pesticides can
Forensic limnology water conducting tissues, which affects their dispersion throughout ecosystems. These microscopic organisms mainly inhabit freshwater environments because of their inability to survive with the cleaning agents present in domestic water sources. Diatoms are identifiable based on each species unique silica cell walls and vary depending on their environment. Because they have determinant properties diatoms create flora profiles for scientists. When these microscopic algae die, their frustules (silica cell walls) becomes a part of the water sediment. The presence of the frustules enables scientists to compare the cell walls of the deceased organisms with the living diatoms to determine characteristics of