Q9: DESCRIBE BRIEFLY ABOUT POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS?

ANSWER: Environmental stressors are stimuli in our environment that cause stress. Some
common environmental stressors are war, temperature, noise and crowds. Everyday life is full
of environmental stressors that cause irritations. Environmental stressors may occur as an
intense, short-lived event of destruction, also known as a disturbance. Alternatively, stressors
may exert their influence over an extended period of time – that is, in a chronic manner. The
interaction of organisms with a stressor at a particular place and time is called exposure.
Exposure can be instantaneous or it may accumulate over time. If an exposure is intense enough,
it will cause some sort of biological or ecological change, called a response. Damage occurs
when one or more stressors elicit responses that can be interpreted as a degradation of
environmental quality.

The diverse kinds of environmental stressors are grouped into different classes, although they are
not entirely exclusive.

 Physical stress is a disturbance in which there is an intense exposure to kinetic energy,

which causes damage to habitats and ecosystems. Examples include such disruptive
events as a hurricane or tornado, a seismic sea wave (tsunami), the blast of a volcanic
eruption, an explosion, or trampling by heavy machinery or hikers.

 Wildfire is another disturbance, which involves the uncontrolled combustion of the

biomass of an ecosystem. A wildfire can be ignited by people, or naturally by lightning.
A severe fire consumes much of the biomass of an ecosystem, but even a less-severe
wildfire may kill many organisms by scorching and poisoning by toxic gases.

 Chemical pollution occurs when one or more substances occur in a concentration high
enough to elicit physiological responses in organisms, potentially causing toxicity and
ecological change. Chemical stressors include pesticides, gases such as ozone and
sulphur dioxide, and toxic elements such as arsenic and mercury. Pollution may also be
caused by excessive nutrients, which can distort productivity and other ecological
functions.
 Thermal pollution is caused by the release of heat (thermal energy) into the environment,
which results in ecological stress because species vary in their tolerance of temperature
extremes. Thermal stress may occur at natural springs and submarine vents where
geologically heated water is emitted. It is also associated with discharges of hot water
from power plants.

 Radiation stress is caused by excessive exposure to ionizing energy. The radiation may be
emitted by nuclear waste or explosions, or it can be diagnostic X-rays or solar ultraviolet
energy.

 Climatic stress is associated with insufficient or excessive regimes of temperature,

moisture, solar radiation, wind, or combinations of these.

 Biological stressors are associated with interactions occurring among organisms, such as
competition, herbivory, predation, parasitism, and disease. For example, individuals of
the same or different species may compete for essential resources that are limited in
supply. Herbivory, predation, parasitism, and disease are trophic interactions, in which
one species exploits another. Exploitation can be anthropogenic, as when humans harvest
wild animals or trees, or it can be natural, perhaps associated with defoliating insects or
disease-causing pathogens.

 Biological pollution occurs when people release organisms beyond their natural range.
This might involve the introduction of alien species that invade and alter natural habitats,
or it may be the release of pathogens into the environment through discharges of raw
sewage.