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AQA Environmental science questions > Aquatic food resources > Flashcards

Aquatic food resources Flashcards

(76 cards)

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1
Q

What does demersal fishing include?

A

Fishing for species that live on the seabed eg cod, haddock, shrimp

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1
Q

2 types of demersal fishing

A

Demersal trawling
Demersal long lines

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2
Q

Demersal long lines

A

Uses a line of baited hooks to catch species such as cod and haddock

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3
Q

Shellfish traps

A

Baited traps to catch crustaceans like crabs,crayfish and lobsters

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4
Q

What is pelagic fishing?

A

It includes fishing for species that live in open water above the seabed, often near water surface

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5
Q

4 types of pelagic fishing

A

Pelagic trawling
Drift nets
Purse seining
Pelagic long lines

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6
Q

Pelagic trawling

A

Used for species that form shoals in mid water or near the surface
E.g. bass, anchovies, herrings, mackerels

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7
Q

What is the advantage of pelagic trawling?

A

Pelagic fish are often in single species shoals
Little chance of catching non-target species except predator species e.g. dolphins

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8
Q

Drift nets

A

Long curtain like nets supported by floats and catch pelagic species near the surface line tuna and herring

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9
Q

Purse seining

A

Uses a net laid round a shoal
Top is held by floats
The bottom is held by weights, then pulled tight underneath the shoal
Used for tuna, sardines,herring and anchovies

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10
Q

Pelagic long lines

A

Lines of baited hooks which can be many Km in length
Catch species like tuna and squid

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11
Q

4 main types of environmental impacts of fishing

A

Population decline due to overfishing
Bycatch
Ghost fishing
Habitat damage

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12
Q

How can overfishing cause population decline?

A

Population of any species will decline if the mortality rate exceeds the birth rate
K-selected species are most vulnerable to overfishing-fewer young at older age
Some species reach a catchable size before they reach sexual maturity, so overfishing could remove the entire breeding population

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13
Q

What species of fish recover quicker from overfishing?

A

R-selected species because they breed at a younger age and produce more young
The populations recover more rapidly after over-fishing
E.g. herring, yellow fin tuna

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14
Q

Give an example of a species that is vulnerable to overfishing

A

Greenland shark
It was fished commercially for lubricating and lamp oil until the 1960s
Main threat now is deep-sea trawling bycatch
It can live over 400 years, doesnt start breeding until 100-150 years and it produces few young

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15
Q

Impact of over-exploited local fisheries on countries like the UK

A

It will still be maintained by exploited fisheries just further away

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16
Q

What is bycatch ?

A

The catch that is not wanted
Usually non-target species included in the catch of target species, or individuals too small to be legally sold.

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17
Q

Give 3 reasons why bycatch might be unwanted

A

Immature fish- too small to sell, will affect future catches
If the catch quota for a species has already been reached- must be discarder
Species with no commercial value

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18
Q

What impact does bycatch have, on the organisms in the bycatch?

A

They are usually dead or will be injured and not survive when they are thrown back into the sea

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19
Q

Compare the bycatch from different fishing methods

A

Purse seine nets/pelagic trawling have a lower bycatch usually than demersal trawling
Demersal trawling usually exploits mixed fisheries

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20
Q

Drift net bycatch

A

They are non selective and will catch any animals swimming near the surface including whales,dolphins,turtles and sharks

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21
Q

Impacts of Pelagic long line fishing

A

Albatrosses caught by long line fishing and drown because of it
They have a low reproduction rate, and lay one egg every second year, but it takes 7-10 years before they start breeding
So populations can be seriously effected

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22
Q

Pelagic trawling bycatch

A

Pelagic pair trawls for sea bass can kill porpoises
Because the porpoises are trying to catch the bass but get trapped in the nets and drown

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23
Q

Demersal trawling bycatch

A

Seabed fish often live in mixed-species shoals so the chance of catching a mixture of species is high

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24
Shrimp bycatch
Shrimp use trawling nets with very small mesh size so few bycatch animals can escape E.g. crabs,molluscs,sea urchins,starfish Can make up to 99% of shrimp trawling
25
What is ghost fishing?
When discarded or lost fishing gear can continue to trap and kill marine organisms Dead organisms that are trapped often act as bait so more organisms get caught and die
26
5 ways habitats can be damaged by fishing
1) Seabed damage 2) Coral reef impact 3) Seagrass beds 4) Dynamite fishing 5) Food web impacts
27
What type of fishing causes the most damage to the seabed?
Demersal trawling
28
Impact of seabed damage
Loss of marine habitat
29
Coral reef impact
coral is highly sensitive to physical damage. Nets, traps, ropes and discarded gear can all cause physical damage.
30
Impact of dynamite fishing
Explosives used in blast fishing not only kill fish but also destroy coral skeletons, creating unbalanced coral rubble
31
When might dynamite fishing be used?
It aims to stun and kill a school of fish or other commercial species by blasting dynamite and collecting them easily. It is mosty used in in developing or undeveloped areas of the world.
32
4 ways the environmental impacts of fishing can be reduced
Catch quotas Fishing equipment design and use Restricting fishing Effort Restricting fishing methods
33
What is the purpose of a catch quota?
To set a limit of the total weight of fish that can be landed It might be divided up between all fishing boats in a fleet
34
When do catch Quito’s not work/are less effective?
In mixed fisheries when different fish are caught in the same net If the catch quota for one species has been reached, surplus may be returned to the ocean whilst fishing for the other species continues The surplus are likely o be returned dead or injured
35
Give 9 ways fishing equipment designs and uses can be changed to reduce the environmental impacts of fishing
Mesh size Mesh design Escape panels acoustic deterrent devices Hook shape Decoys Sinkers Night fishing Biodegradable/radiotracked equipment
36
How can mesh size be altered to reduce the environmental impacts of fishing?
They can be set so that fish below a certain size can escape
37
How can hook shape be altered to reduce the environmental impacts of fishing?
Longline hooks have curved points Still catch tuna but less likely to catch albatrosses
38
Escape panels
Turtle exclusion devices Large spring loaded escape panels in the nets that allow turtles to escape
39
Acoustic deterrent devices
Also known as ‘dolphin pingers’ Produce high frequency sounds that warn dolphins about the presents of the net
40
Decoys
They attract and distract birds so they dont get caught on longline hooks
41
Sinkers
Weights attached to pelagic longlines They hold hooks down in the water so they still catch fish but not albatrosses
42
Night fishing
Using longlines at night when birds aren’t feeding
43
Biodegradable and radio tracked equipment
Reduces ghost fishing Traps for crabs and lobsters, if they are held together by biodegradable rope, will fall apart if lost so wont continue to catch organisms In the USA traps have radio-transmitters that activate if the traps are lost so they can be recovered
44
How might the fishing effort be restricted in order to reduce the environmental impacts of fishing?
In some areas of the UK there are limits of the size and power of fishing boats, and no of days they can spend fishing Where the number of fishing boats is so large that overfishing is unavoidable, boat owners may receive compensation for their boats to be decommissioned
45
9 ways fishing methods are/can be restricted
Ban drifts nets Bans on demersal trawling No take zones Turtle bycatch Closed-seasons Minimum and maximum catchable size Protected individuals Captive rearing and release
46
Where might demersal trawling be banned?
in areas where the seabed ecosystem is particularly sensitive or important.
47
No take zones
areas where fishing and other activities that exploit wildlife or damage the habitat are not permitted. Protecting the breeding populations of breeding adults so a population can recover.
48
How can turtle bycatch be reduced?
- reducing the time that the net is towed can reduce bycatch mortality
49
Closed seasons
a ban on fishing for part of the year allows the fish to grow to a larger size
50
Minimum catchable size Maximum catchable size
allows large numbers of small fish to grow to a larger size and live long enough to breed. Protecting large individuals may ensure there is a surving population
51
Captive rearing and release, or ‘population seeding’
increasing the wild populations of some species by releasing individuals that have been raised in captivity.
52
the natural breeding rate exceeds the necessary to sustain the population. why will a breeding surplus not increase the long term adult population?
surplus individulas will die because the carrying capacity of the environment has been exceeded
53
what will increase in a population where the carrying capacity of an environment has been exceeded?
density dependent factors which will increase mortality rate e.g. intraspecific competition for food
54
what is the MSY for a fish population?
the greatest biomass that can be removed from the population each year without the population suffering long term decline
55
Why are Freshwater areas so productive?
Water bodies on land are very productive as they receive nutrient run off from the land and receive high light levels because they are relatively shallow
56
Trawling often results in high by-catch. Describe how one change in net design and one change in fishing method can reduce by-catch. (2 marks)
Net Design: increased mesh size allows smaller fish to escape Fishing method: fishing at night so seabirds cannot see catch OR longline uses specific hook shapes/bait
57
Describe two other environmental impacts of trawling. (2 marks)
habitat damage/ named eg (from direct contact with nets) ghost fishing (from discarded equipment)
58
Suggest reasons for the changes in the catch of lobsters shown in Figure 2 (Dramatic decrease)
Up to two marks for explanation before 1997: fishing below MSY/appropriate quotas set increased fishing effort/technology Up to three marks for cause of population decline after 1997: overfishing/fishing above MSY quotas set too high net mesh too small
59
Describe how scientists could collect data to estimate the lobster population without the use of trawling.
shellfish/lobster trap Three from: * captured individuals are marked and released * second set of traps placed/recapture * leave for a length of time to allow
60
name one abiotic factor and one biotic factor that would need to be controlled in this investigation to find the relationship between the temperature of water and the growth rate of fish.
Abiotic: PH of water, extreme acidity/alkalinity leads to slower growth rate due to impact on enzyme and activity Biotic: Age of fish, younger fish have a much faster growth rate than older individuals
61
Explain why primary productivity varies between open oceans and continental shelves.
* nutrients at surface on continental shelf due to disturbance of seabed/ runoff from land * less nutrients near surface in open oceans because DOM sinks
62
Discuss how the environmental impacts of aquaculture may be reduced. [25 marks]
impacts of predator control/culling methods to reduce predator control/culling e.g. better cage design sterile fish avoid non-indigenous species with potential to be invasive impacts of using pesticides to kill lice/ antibiotics methods to reduce the use of pesticides to kill lice/ antibiotics e.g. using cleaner fish e.g. wrasse/ lumpsuckers removing excessive growth of weed and crustaceans by mechanical cleaning of cages reduce stocking density vaccinations/ breed in disease resistance tanks with single age group overfishing/fish impacts of feed production methods to reduce overfishing/fish impacts of feed production e.g. farming herbivorous fish plant based protein feed pellets control feed waste by CCTV/ laser shut off
63
Suggest why fish farmers use polyculture instead of monoculture. (2 marks)
Higher productivity/higher yield per unit area some species provide faeces/food for others/common carp
64
Suggest why fish farmers add manure to polyculture lakes. (2 marks)
to replace nutrients removed by fishing cheaper/more easily available than inorganic fertiliser
65
Describe two ways that wastes from aquaculture may reduce local water quality. [4 marks]
faeces hormones
66
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the methods used to reduce the environmental impacts of fishing. [25 marks]
- Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) help to replenish fish populations and protect critical habitats by restricting or banning fishing activities. - The use of more selective fishing gears, such as nets with larger mesh sizes or escape panels in pots, as well as technique modifications like circle hooks in line fishing, can greatly reduce bycatch. -Implementing catch quotas and size limits aims to prevent overfishing by limiting the number or size of a particular species that can be caught, ensuring that population levels can be maintained or recovered.
67
Compare Intensive and extensive aquaculture
1) Extensive aquaculture requires minimal inputs. Intensive requires food inputs like fishmeal which can cause deoxygenation while in extensive naturally feed on phytoplankton. 2) Productivity- intensive has much higher productivity per unit area due to optimized conditions for growth as high stocking density. 3) Environmental impacts-They both can cause introduced species if they escape. Intensive requires fuel / energy for heating, aeration, which can realise co2, it uses antibiotics which can cause antibiotic resistant bacteria. Both cause clearance of habitats like mangroves. 4) New methods- IMTA can help mitigate intensive aquaculture issues by recycling waste into food etc.
68
How are pests and diseases controlled with aquaculture?
- flow from tanks with younger fish to tanks with older fish - lowers stocking densities to reduce collisions -pesticides may be used to get rid of lice -circulating water currents to encourage all the fish to swim in the same direction
69
What needs to be controlled in aquaculture?
1) Pests and disease 2) Competition and predation- fencing/netting 3) Nutrition- artifical feeding 4) Abiotic factors such as temperature, water flow, oxygen levels, water flow
70
What is Polyculture?
Increasing productivity by rearing species together that are not competitors
71
What is Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture? (IMTA)
A system where species in different trophic levels benefit from each other
72
What is Aquaponics?
Combines hydroponic crop production with aquaculture. Water from the aquaculture system is used in the hydroponic system- supplies inorganic nutrients and organic matter
73
To what extent can aquaculture replace fishing?
-Some species such as Atlantic Blue fin Tuna do not breed well in captivity, so young fish are caught in the sea and then raised in large cages therefore Tuna aquaculture cannot continue without a wild population. -Food supply impacts- overfishing of wild fish to make food pellets -Habitat destruction during constructions especially in lagoons -pesticide pollution -spreading of lice -organic waste pollution -introduction of non-indigenous species
74
Discuss how changes in aquaculture systems, other than using IMTA, may reduce the environmental impacts of aquaculture (9 marks)
-Food supply impacts- use of more plant products in food pellets -Habitat loss- careful site selection -Spreading of lice- biological control with wrasse (fish) that eat lice -Organic waste pollution- feeding monitored to prevent overfeeding or located where currents remove waste - introduction of non-indigenous species- cultivation of species that cannot breed in the wild - changing of water flow direction- avoid collisions to stop spread of disease. -don't use hormones/pesticides -waste water treatment eg sedimentation.
75
Explain why primary productivity varies between open oceans and continental shelves (3 marks)
- nutrients as limiting factor - nutrients at surface on continental shelf due to surface run off - less nutrients at surface in open ocean because DOM sinks

AQA Environmental science questions (15 decks)

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