The Hudson River An Ecosystem of Aquatic Life

The Hudson River An Ecosystem of Aquatic Life By: William Larkin

The Hudson River Table of Contents w Hudson Facts w Hudson Ecosystem w Threats to the Hudson Ecosystem w Cleaning up the Hudson w Preserving the Hudson

Hudson Facts w Flows North to South through the State of New York w Begins at Lake Tear of the Clouds on Mount Marcy, New York State’s highest point and ends at the New York Harbor w Flows 315 miles long

Hudson Facts w While the upper half of the Hudson river, from Adirondack mountains down to Troy, is technically considered a river, the lower half of the river, from Troy to the New York Harbor, is an estuary, which is where a river connects to an ocean

The Hudson Ecosystem w The Hudson river has a complex ecosystem of plants and animals. w This ecosystem faces threats of human interaction, including pollution, humanmade constructions, and the introduction of foreign species.

Plants w The Hudson river has an extensive population of flora. w The most populous of the flora is phytoplankton, which is the microscopic staple of most aquatic animals’ diets. w The Hudson has both submerged plant species, which provide food for fish and waterfowl, and emergent (above water) plants that provide shelter and food for birds, fish, and invertebrates. Patamogeton crispus, or curly pondweed, pictured above, is a common invasive plant in the Hudson river

Invasive Plant Species w Invasive species, such as the Trapa natans pictured above, rapidly take over ecosystems and are often harmful to the native plant and animal species w In the specific case of the Trapa natans, this foreign invader significantly lowers the Dissolved Oxygen (DO) levels in the water, which can be harmful to fish and any other aquatic animals that get their oxygen from the water

Invasive Invertebrates w Foreign invertebrates can also be harmful to native ecosystems in the Hudson River w The Dreissena polymorpha, or Zebra Mussels (pictured on the left), invaded the Hudson river and dramatically decreased the population of phytoplankton, an important part of the Hudson ecosystem

Fish of the Hudson w The Hudson river has benthic fish species, or bottom-dwellars, such as the Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus) pictured top left w There also nektonic fish species, or active swimmers, such as the Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) pictured bottom left

Invasive Fish w Many of the fish, plants, and invertebrates previously mentioned have been affected by introduced foreign species of fish w The European carp, or Cyprinus carpio, pictured to the right, has had detrimental effects to the native ecosystems of the Hudson river ever since its introduction

Unnatural Ecosystem Destruction w The Hudson river has also been affected by manmade constructions and pollution that have contributed to species loss, habitat loss, and food loss for many Hudson plants and animals. w Piers, like the one located top left, have contributed to significant habitat destruction for many species of fish, including the Microgadus tomcod, or Tommy cod, pictured on the right

Unnatural Habitat Destruction: Pollution Manufacturing plant on Upper Hudson River w The Hudson river has been polluted over the years by large corporations dumping wastes as well as seepages and spillovers from roadways and constructions along the river w One of the most infamous incidents of pollution occurred when General Electric spilled 1. 3 million pounds of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the Hudson between 1947 and 1977

Unnatural Habitat Destruction: Pollution w General Electric ended the dumpings of PCBs, mentioned previously, in 1977 but sediments can still be found in the waters w PCB buildup can have high concentrations in some fish and other animals that humans consume w Consumption of PCBs can be very dangerous to human health, and parts of the Hudson are still not suitable for fishing Signs from the Upper Hudson river indicate catch and release fishing only

Cleaning up the Hudson w The United States Environmental Protection Agency is overlooking a clean up of the PCBs in the Hudson river that is scheduled to begin in 2009 w The Federal Clean Water Act helped clean the Hudson water dramatically by building and upgrading sewage plants

Cleaning up the Hudson w The North River Sewage Treatment Plant, pictured above, is located on the West Side of Manhattan w Facilities like this remove large amounts of organic matter from entering the Hudson river

Preserving the Hudson w There is still much to be done to preserve the Hudson river and its immense ecosystem w After the successes in environmental clean-up of the Hudson, Bald Eagles, which have been absent from the estuary for quite some time, have reappeared w After the appearance of 1 Bald Eagle nest in 1997, there are currently 18 Bald Eagle located along Hudson river

Hudson river sunset

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