Pollution has had a major effect on animals. One form of pollution is acid rain. Acid rain is precipitation, as rain, snow, or sleet, containing relatively high concentrations of acid-forming chemicals, as the pollutants from coal smoke, chemical manufacturing, and smelting, that have been released into the atmosphere and combined with water vapor: harmful to the environment. (dictionary.com) Acid rain effects plant life by stunting its growth, killing natural nutrients in the soil, and it kills the plants natural ability to withstand natural weather conditions. When the plant life is destroyed it makes it harder for animals to live. Also if the animals eat any plant affected by acid rain it will enter the animal’s body. Acid rain causes mercury and aluminum to leak from soil and rocks and then it can enter into lakes. This will greatly affect the fish living in the lakes. The mercury can poison fish, and could cause death. Acid rain can also affect a fish’s ability to reproduce. If the level of acid rain in a body of water reaches a certain level it causes the pH levels to decrease. If the pH level gets low enough it can kill everything living in the lake or body of water. When acid rain starts to affect aquatic life in a body of water it will also start to affect other species like birds, deers, or beavers. Birds who feed off of the fish or other organisms in the body of water would no longer have a food supply and either have to relocate or die. Beavers and deer who also could depend on the body of water for food, or water. In the deer’s case, could be poisoned by the contaminated water. When one animal is killed off it will then affect another animal, which will affect another and so on. This would go on and on through the food chain.
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