Calcium Significance in Environment

Water moves Calcium in the environment via the Water Cycle.

Calcium ions in the aquatic environment profoundly impact the growth and survival of aquatic animals via modulating their neural activities and behaviors. Calcium also is a nutrient for aquatic plants.

Calcium is an essential component of freshwater because it keeps fish and other species strong and healthy. Fish crave calcium for bone growth and egg development.

Various investigators have indicated that calcium chloride and nitrate in soft water could be toxic to fish at concentrations between 300 and 1000 mg/L as calcium. In higher concentrations of calcium chloride (2,500 to 4,000 mg/L of calcium) in various waters, fish have been shown to survive three days.

The application of lime to soft water lakes has increased their productivity. Presumably, productivity rose by raising the alkalinity and providing larger reservoirs of available bicarbonates. The hypolimneon concentration can be on the order of twice that at the surface and is rather uniform throughout the lake stratum. Biologically, low calcium concentration lakes usually contain less living matter per unit area than high calcium concentration lakes.

The total estimated biomass of plant substances in certain medium calcium concentration lakes were found to be three to five times that of low calcium concentration lakes. The animal mass, not counting fish, was as much as triple that of the low calcium concentration lakes. The total mass of organisms may be greatest in rich lakes. Medium lakes often harbor a greater variety of kinds of plants and animals.

Additionally, low concentration lakes generally support a unique assemblage of species even though they are a quantitatively meager mass of organisms.

End of Calcium Significance in Environment

More about Calcium in Water…
Calcium Significance Humans

More about specific cations and anions…
Magnesium in Water
Iron in Water
Sodium in Water
Potassium in Water
Manganese in Water
Aluminum in Water

Carbonate and Bicarbonate in Water
Sulfate in Water
Chloride in Water
Fluoride in Water

Chemical Water Quality Parameters  <<<...return
Dissolved Gasses in Water
Primary Nutrients in Water and Eutrophication
Toxic Constituents in Water
Pesticides in Water
Oil in Water

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Biological Water Quality
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