How does pollution affect aquatic life?

Pollution significantly impacts aquatic life by deteriorating water quality and directly affecting the health of various species. Contaminants such as heavy metals, chemicals, and excessive nutrients from agricultural runoff can lead to toxic environments for fish and other organisms. These pollutants can disrupt physiological processes, leading to abnormalities and increased mortality rates among aquatic species.

Additionally, poor water quality can result in harmful algal blooms, which deplete oxygen levels in the water, creating dead zones where few organisms can survive. This creates stress on entire ecosystems, reducing biodiversity as sensitive species may decline or vanish. The interconnectedness of aquatic food webs means that the health of one species can greatly influence the others, causing cascading effects throughout the habitat.

In contrast, the other options do not accurately reflect the realities of pollution's impact on aquatic ecosystems; pollution is known to harm rather than benefit these environments or adjacent terrestrial ecosystems alone.