GENERAL HISTOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Studies in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed have documented the exposure of fish to toxic contaminants including endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs)-compounds which can alter normal hormonal function in organisms.

Detailed explanation-2: -Unfortunately, the Chesapeake Bay faces serious problems due to human activities, including polluted stormwater runoff, over-fertilization and pollution from animal wastes, deforestation, wetland destruction from agricultural, urban, and suburban development, and sea level rise caused by global climate change.

Detailed explanation-3: -There are three major contributors to the poor health of our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay-nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment. High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus fuel unnaturally high levels of algae growth in the water, blocking sunlight from reaching underwater grasses that serve as food and habitat.

Detailed explanation-4: -Nitrogen. Airborne nitrogen is one of the largest sources of pollution affecting the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Excess nitrogen can fuel the growth of algae blooms, which can block sunlight from reaching underwater grasses and create low-oxygen “dead zones” that suffocate marine life.

Detailed explanation-5: -Polluted runoff not only causes low oxygen “dead zones” in the Chesapeake, which suffocate marine life such as crabs, oysters, and fish, it can also contaminate private drinking wells.