Natural stress plant growth. When there is no water in the soil there are not very many nutrients to support plant growth. Drought also enhances the effects of wind. When drought occurs the soil becomes very dry and light. The wind picks up this dry dirt and carries it away. This action severely degrades the soil and creates a poor condition for growing plants. Plants have been exposed to the elements for thousands of years. During this time they have evolved in order to lessen the effects of abiotic stress. Signal transduction is the mechanism in plants that is responsible for the
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