Editing Tikal (section)

==== Water quality maintenance ====
Human manipulation of the natural environment can result in unintended consequences. For instance, storing water not only can result in decreased [[water quality]] but also enable endemic diseases and pests, such as parasite-ridden flies and [[Malaria|malaria-bearing mosquitoes]], to flourish.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miksic |first=John N. |title=Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association 9.1 |year=1999 |pages=167–184}}</ref> Additionally, fungal species can proliferate in improperly stored or stressed maize which can produce chemicals like [[aflatoxin]], a deadly liver [[carcinogen]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Normile |first=Dennis |date=2010-02-12 |title=Spoiling for a Fight With Mold |journal=Science |language=en |volume=327 |issue=5967 |pages=807 |doi=10.1126/science.327.5967.807 |pmid=20150484 |bibcode=2010Sci...327..807N |issn=0036-8075|doi-access=free }}</ref> However, the Maya were adept in constructing reservoirs that could guarantee high water quality. The Maya applied their knowledge of wetland biosphere ecology and ensured a balance of hydrophytic and macrophytic plants and other organisms. For example, the Maya widely adopted the dotleaf waterlily, ''[[Nymphaea ampla]],'' in their reservoirs' bodies of water. Dotleaf waterlilies, have bluish undersides that prevent passage of light and thus minimizes [[algae]] growth, inhibits evaporation, provides shade for predators of pests, removes nitrogen through their roots, and serves as an indicator of acidic conditions as water lilies cannot tolerate low pH levels;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaminsky |first=Amy K |url=https://experts.umn.edu/en/publications/water-liliesflores-del-agua-anthology-of-spanish-women-writers-fr |title=Water Lilies/Flores del agua: Anthology of Spanish Women Writers from the Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Century |date=1995 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pearce |first=Jill J. |title=A Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of Water Hyacinth on Algal Growth and Water Quality. |publisher=Water Research Commission (Suid-Afrika) |year=1987}}</ref> low pH levels have been linked to tooth corrosion and disruption of gut homeostasis.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hansen |first1=Tue H. |last2=Thomassen |first2=Mette T. |last3=Madsen |first3=Mia L. |last4=Kern |first4=Timo |last5=Bak |first5=Emilie G. |last6=Kashani |first6=Alireza |last7=Allin |first7=Kristine H. |last8=Hansen |first8=Torben |last9=Pedersen |first9=Oluf |date=2018-11-09 |title=The effect of drinking water pH on the human gut microbiota and glucose regulation: results of a randomized controlled cross-over intervention |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=16626 |doi=10.1038/s41598-018-34761-5 |pmid=30413727 |pmc=6226457 |bibcode=2018NatSR...816626H |issn=2045-2322}}</ref> Lastly, lining the reservoir with clay was also intelligently applied to help stabilize water pH.<ref name="Lucero-2011" />