What are the two types of Plankton?
Zooplankton and Phytoplankton
Define and give an example of Benthos.
Benthos are bottom dwelling organisms such as worms and barnacles.
What is the littoral zone?
The nutrient rich area by the shore of a lake or pond.
What is the benthic zone?
The bottom of a lake or pond where the decaying organisms are and is inhabited by decomposers.
What is Eutrophication?
An increase in the amount of nutrients in an aquatic system.
What is Eutrophication caused by?
Runoff bringing fertilizers into the lake or pond.
What is an Eutrophication lake?
A lake that has a large amount of plant growth.
What happens to the amount of oxygen during Eutrophication?
The amount of oxygen in the lake goes down.
Define wetland
An area of land that is periodically underwater.
What is the difference between a marsh and a swamp?
Marshes contain non-woody plants such as cattails and swamps are dominated by shrubs and trees.
Why were wet lands drained, filled and cleared for farms or development?
Wetlands were previously considered to be wastelands.
What is an estuary?
An area where fresh water from a river mixes with salt water from an ocean.
Which state was extensively dumping waste in estuaries and is now planning on restoring some of them?
California
What do barrier islands help do?
The help protect the main land and the coastal wetlands.
What are coral reefs?
Coral reefs are limestone ridges that are built by tiny coral animals called coral polyps.
How far down can sunlight penetrate into the ocean?
100 M or 330 ft
What is photosynthesis?
When plants or bacteria use solar energy to make their own food.
List the various environmental functions of the wetlands.
-Filter out pollutants -Reduce the likely hood of flooding -Buffers shorelines against erosion -Provide good habitats for commercially used fish and shellfish -Providing a habitat for threatened and endangered species. -Provide recreational areas for fishing, hiking, boating etc…
Why do grebs and ducks have flat beaks?
To sift through the water for fish and insects.
What kind of water does a brackish marsh have?
Slightly salty
Where do swamps occur?
Flat, poorly drained land, often near streams.
Where do many rivers originate from?
From snow melt in the mountains.
What is a rhizoid?
Root like structure that mosses use in the waters of a river.
Which part of a river is oxygen rich and likely to have trout?
Upstream by the head waters.
Which part of a river is likely to have less oxygen and have fish like catfish and carp?
Down stream where it is calm.
Why are rivers in danger?
Industries use rivers as receptacles for waste.
Why is there a limit on how much fish a pregnant woman should eat (if any)?
Because fish absorb the toxins of the water they live in.
What is a coastal wetland?
Coastal land that is covered by salt water for all or part of the time.
Why do birds depend on the horse shoe crab?
They eat the eggs that the horse shoe crabs lay each spring.
Why were 6 of the 10 largest urban areas in the world built on estuaries?
They offer a protected harbor and access to the ocean.
What are threats to estuaries?
Dumping of waste in order to fill it in and develop on it.
Where do salt marshes develop?
In estuaries where rivers deposit their load of mineral rich mud.
Approximately what percent of coral reefs are in danger of destruction from human activities?
27%
What are the types of pollutants that kill coral reefs?
-Oil spills -Sewage -Pesticide -Silt runoff
What other things kill off coral?
-Changes in water temperature -Changes in salinity -Water becomes too muddy -Too many nutrients (causing algae to grow) -Tourists or fisheries breaking off the coral
Where is most of the oceans life concentrated?
In the shallow coastal waters.
How do phytoplankton prevent themselves from sinking?
They have whip like flagella which act as buoyancy devices.
What are the seas smallest herbivores and give some examples?
Zoo plankton such as jellyfish, and tiny shrimp.
Where does most of the food at the bottom of the ocean come from?
Dead organisms that fall from the surface.
What are some threats to the ocean?
Pollution Over fishing
Where do polar bears live?
In the artic (Greek for bear)
Do penguins and polar bears live in the same area?
No, penguins live in the Antarctic which is Greek for No-bear.
How many colonies live in the Antarctic?
Zero, there are just some research scientists.