Pollution and Eutrophication of Lake Winnipeg

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Eutrophication in Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg has supported an important ecological system for millennia. However, the lake is grappling with a new threat that threatens to destabilize its ecological balance. Eutrophication in the lake has been increasing in recent years owing to nutrients, pesticides, and animal manure collected from farmlands in its watershed. There have been decreasing wetlands in the watershed which has further exacerbated the eutrophication in the lake. Wetlands filter and absorb some of the nutrients from the watershed but the increase in farmlands CITATION Lan16 \l 1033 (Land, Granéli and Grimvall). The use of fertilizers coupled with reduced wetlands has ballooned the problem in the recent past. This is a problem in dire need of fast steps to stop and reverse the process before it threatens the stability of the ecological balance of the animals and plants that depend on the lake.
Lake Winnipeg has shown signs of high eutrophication in the last few years. In recent years, there have been large algae blooms on the lake that threatens the ecosystem of one of the largest lakes in the world. the lake has a vast watershed that is about 40 times its size CITATION Cli15 \l 1033 (Climate Change Connection Organization). The watershed has many agricultural activities which are the main source of the high nutrients entering the lake and causing eutrophication. Over the centuries, more land has been cleared for agriculture in Manitoba. Farmers continue to clear virgin lands for agriculture which has reduced the wetlands that are used to filter the nutrients getting into the lake. Additionally, farming is increasingly becoming dependent on fertilizers which find their way into the lake when it rains.
Eutrophication on lake Winnipeg has several implications on Manitoba. First, it threatens the thousands of species that depend on the lake. The algae blooms reduce the amount of dissolved oxygen when they decompose and as they increase, the oxygen level in the water may reduce threatening the fish population in the lake CITATION Fra16 \l 1033 (Scannone). Secondly, as the algae decompose it releases carbon dioxide gas which dissolves in water to form carbonic acid. All these factors cumulatively affect the species living in the lake. Ecosystems are very fragile and they can be easily destabilized if one or more species increase or reduce in population. Therefore, eutrophication is going to destroy the delicate balance amongst the species. The ecosystem spans to the nearby land where it has become an important source of food for several fish-eating birds and other wild animals like black bears. Thus if the ecosystem is destroyed, it would have a ripple effect on other species and threaten ecosystems beyond those in...