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6143352

The document explains how organisms, particularly lichens and certain invertebrates, can serve as pollution indicators in both air and water environments. It details the relationship between the presence of these organisms and pollution levels, illustrating how different species thrive under varying conditions of pollution. Additionally, it discusses the impact of sewage pollution on invertebrate populations and presents data on the distribution of lichens in relation to sulfur dioxide levels in urban areas.

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Salwa Eljamay
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4 views13 pages

6143352

The document explains how organisms, particularly lichens and certain invertebrates, can serve as pollution indicators in both air and water environments. It details the relationship between the presence of these organisms and pollution levels, illustrating how different species thrive under varying conditions of pollution. Additionally, it discusses the impact of sewage pollution on invertebrate populations and presents data on the distribution of lichens in relation to sulfur dioxide levels in urban areas.

Uploaded by

Salwa Eljamay
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Pollution Indicators

WALT – Explain how we can


use organisms to monitor
pollution levels
What are pollution indicators?
 The organisms in polluted water tell
you that there is something wrong.
Examples of pollution indicators
 Lichens are plants that grow in exposed places such as
rocks or tree bark.
 Air pollutants dissolved in rainwater, especially sulfur
dioxide, can damage lichens, and prevent them from
growing.
 This makes lichens natural indicators of air pollution. For
example:
bushy lichens need leafy lichens can crusty lichens can no lichens air is
really clean air survive a small survive in more heavily polluted
amount of air polluted air with sulfur dioxide.
pollution
Examples of pollution indicators

 Some invertebrates like


mayfly nymphs and rat-
tailed maggots, are
able to survive in
polluted waters
This is what happens when a
stream or river becomes polluted

1. Pollutant is added, which kills some living


things.
2. Micro-organisms decompose them, they
respire and use up the oxygen
3. Lack of oxygen kills other organisms, but a
few species stay alive
4. As the water flows, oxygen levels gradually
increase
5. Other living things recover too.
Sewage pollution and invertebrates
Distance What Invertebrates found (not drawn to scale) Oxygen
downstream
from where
the levels
sewage enters water is
the river (m) like
Sewage Dark and Chironomous larva rat-tailed maggot Falling
enters here 0- cloudy v. quickly
10 smelly

10-100 Cloudy Tubiflex worm mosquito larva Very low


bad
smell
Sewage pollution and invertebrates

100-200 Slight smell Flatworm caddis fly larva Gradually


beginning to rising
clear

200+ Clear Stonefly larva mayfly larva Back to


normal

Freshwater shrimp
Sulphur dioxide, cities and
lichens
A scientist surveyed the distribution of lichens. She
counted the number of different species that grew on
tree trunks at various distances from the centre of a
polluted city. She also measured how much sulfur
dioxide there was in the air.
Distance to the
town centre 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(Km)
Number of
different
species of 0 1 2 6 8 10 30 44 51 56 56
lichen
SO2
levels/(arbitrar 18 16 14 11
93 71 49 35 11 5 0
y units) 0 0 5 9
Sulfur dioxide, cities and lichens
Think :
Is the data continuous or discreet?
What are you :
changing? (x-axis) Measuring? (y-axis)
Distance to the
town centre 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(Km)
Number of
different
species of 0 1 2 6 8 10 30 44 51 56 56
lichen
SO2
levels/(arbitrar 18 16 14 11
93 71 49 35 11 5 0
y units) 0 0 5 9
Graph Questions

1. What is the relationship between the


number of species of lichen and the
distance from the centre of the city.
2. Name one invertebrate that can
survive where there is little oxygen
and another one that needs normal
clear water to live in
How you will be graded
 Graph : 4 marks

 1 for scale
 1 for well labelled axes
 1 for plotting
 1 for line of best fit
 Question 1 = 2 marks
 Question 2 = 2 marks
Pollution in the Thames
Pollution in the Thames

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