miscellaneous Flashcards
What is ocean acidification?
Ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth’s ocean
What causes ocean acidification?
When carbon dioxide dissolves in the ocean (dissolution)
What is habitat fragmentation?
When parts of a habitat are destroyed, leaving behind smaller unconnected areas
What are environmental estrogens?
More endocrine destructing materials in the environment
What causes stratification in lakes?
The warming of the surface of the water by the sun causes water density variations and initiates thermal stratification
What are the main characteristics of wetlands?
Water, plants, soil, animals, borders where land and water meet, can be easily harmed by human activities
What happened to the Kissimmee River and Florida Everglades to degrade those ecosystems?
Most of the floodplain was drained
Is channelization or floodplain reconnection better for restoring stream ecosystems?
Floodplain reconnection
Why can lakes develop low oxygen conditions in their bottom waters (hypolimnion)?
Stratification, when lake water separates into distinct layers based on temperature and density
The top layer is warmer while the bottom layer is colder
dead things sink to the bottom which leads to the growth of harmful bacteria and a lack of oxygen
Which nutrients cause the growth of nuisance algal blooms in lakes?
Nitrogen and phosphorus
What is organic matter, where does it come from, and why is it important in stream ecosystems?
- Matter composed of organic compounds that have come from the feces and remains of organisms such as plants and animals
- Influences food-web dynamics through the mineralization of carbon
