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Aquatic ecosystems constitute freshwater and marine ecosystems. Freshwater aquatic ecosystems include lentic, lotic, swamps, and wetlands. The marine ecosystem constitutes the oceans, estuaries, coral reefs, and coastal ecosystems. Both freshwater and marine ecosystems are affected by abiotic factors, the non-living environmental components that influence how organisms and ecosystems behave.

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Water, essential for life, drives biotic and abiotic processes. It affects the physiology of fish and other aquatic organisms. Alterations in the physicochemical properties of water can adversely affect aquatic life. Optimal water quality is essential for the survival of aquatic organisms.

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Nutrient cycling in the biosphere includes steering different elements through the Earth’s biological and geological cycles. Biogeochemical cycles are sedimentary and gaseous, influenced by the inert biosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. Nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, and water constitute the gaseous cycles, whereas iron, calcium, and phosphorus are sedimentary.

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Primary production sustains and controls the production of marine and inland aquatic ecosystems. It plays a critical role in the cycling and budgeting of nutrients and depends heavily on the production and distribution of plankton. Solar radiation, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and nutrient levels are crucial for primary production.

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The benthic zone, the region close to the bottom of a sea, river, lake, or stream, is found in, or close to, sedimentary marine or freshwater surroundings. It is inhabited by benthic communities comprising macro and microbenthos. Like all ecosystems, there is an interaction between primary producers and consumers.

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Eutrophication results from a gradual increase in nutrients like phosphorus, nitrogen, and others that slowly build up in a water body. It worsens a water body and can upset aquatic ecosystems. Eutrophication can adversely affect the aquatic environment besides human health and economic activities.

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Water supports all life forms, and only 0.5% of freshwater is accessible to the world’s water supply. Introducing hazardous elements or pollutants into the aquatic environment leads to water pollution that harms the environment. Water pollution mostly results from anthropogenic activities and natural causes.

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Climate change is the ongoing shift in temperature and weather conditions. It is caused by fossil fuel use, which is bad for the environment. Overuse, pollution, eutrophication, habitat loss, and introduction of new species heighten climate change hazards. Several data support fast climate change.

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Industrial and domestic wastewater is treated before being released into rivers or reused globally. In India, around 36% of India’s wastewater is treated before disposal. Sustainable water use requires global guidance and infrastructural and technological support. Several constraints pose challenges in wastewater treatment.

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Environmental biotechnology is a long-term strategy for developing less toxic clean processes and products with a lower environmental effect than their predecessors. New environmental issues arise as environmental technologies are developed. Novel methods continue to use microorganisms and plants as strong and eco-efficient cleaners in real-world circumstances.

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Information technology includes different ways to communicate, send data, and handle information. IT-based technologies like software and sensors can automate database sharing and tracking to improve water services. Such technologies would make the water industry more accountable and open and help raise performance standards for water use.

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Aquatic toxicology determines how chemicals affect aquatic animals. Aquatic toxicology is crucial for understanding xenobiotic environmental discharge. In the 1940s, excessive DDT was used to control agricultural pests polluted freshwater bodies. Over the past 20 years, several studies have demonstrated that low-level exposure could contribute to chronic pesticide build-up.

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Coastal zone management is a powerful tool for ensuring a sustainable future. Integrated coastal zone management generally places the environment first but occasionally emphasises social and health considerations. Moreover, it also influences several other objectives of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Coastal ecosystems are often more robust than open ocean ecosystems, and their proximity to populated areas exposes them to larger concentrations of various anthropogenic stressors.

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Many regional, national, and global agreements mandate environmental protection. These agreements safeguard the environment and integrate scientific perspectives. Urbanisation and globalisation profoundly impacted human health, leading to changes in epidemiology and demographics. Epidemiologic changes have resulted in high child mortality rates due to several disorders.

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An environmental impact assessment (EIA) determines if a strategy, policy, programme, or project may harm the environment. Formal impact evaluations can be judicially reviewed and guided by administrative regulations that require public engagement and document decision making. Impact assessments may suggest technical solutions or minimising harmful consequences.

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Ecolabels improve informed customer decision making by recommending a product’s eco-friendly features or production procedures to clients. Ecolabelling, or eco-certification, is used worldwide to promote sustainable development and resource management in the fisheries and aquaculture business. It reduces negative environmental effects by raising customer awareness and stimulating a market for sustainably sourced goods.

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Environmental auditing compares the effects of various environmental activities against a set of criteria or standards. It provides a picture of the current state of an organisation. It assists the industry in reducing waste output, lowering the cost of waste processing or disposal, and ensuring compliance with existing legislation.

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The study of how the economy influences and is influenced by the environment is known as environmental economics. It is a method for evaluating environmental management systems systematically and contemplates safeguarding the economy and the environment. Environmental auditing seeks to find solutions to issues that go beyond merely following the law.