8.1-8.8 APES Quiz
An ecologist examining several different ponds discovers that in one pond all the frogs are female. What is most likely going to lead to the all-female population of frogs?
An endocrine disruptor
Describe the action of an endocrine disruptor.
An endocrine disruptor blocks the receptor protein binding site of a hormone so that the cell cannot receive a signal.
Alligators in a Florida lake polluted by high levels of dioxins (chlorinated hydrocarbons) had low testosterone levels and failed to reproduce. Scientists came to the conclusion that the dioxins were acting as what?
Endocrine disruptors.
If wastewater treatment plant effluent that contains nitrates and phosphates is allowed to flow into a body of water, what may result?
Eutrophication
Endocrine disruptors directly affect what in an organism?
Hormones
Mercury concentrations were measured in freshwater shrimp populations in two different ponds, one polluted with mercury and one unpolluted, with a similar food web in each pond. What scientific question would guide this investigation?
How much mercury accumulates in the tissues of freshwater shrimp living in a polluted pond?
What is most likely to result from destruction of wetlands surrounding a river?
Increased flooding of a river valley.
What is the most likely consequence of runoff transporting chemicals that are endocrine disruptors to a pond?
Increased frequency of birth defects in fish populations in the pond
Define Turbidity.
Measure of suspended solids in water.
What will result in accelerated eutrophication when introduced into streams, lakes, and bays?
Nitrogen or phosphorus.
Describe a way that persistent organic pollutants (POP's ) cause harm in the environment.
Persistent organic pollutants are soluble in fat, so they accumulate in an organism's fatty tissues.
A beach community was recently negatively affected by a hurricane. Community leaders are looking for a potential solution to prevent damage from future hurricanes.What solutions would best address the issues of greatest concern in the community?
Planting mangrove forests
A factory smokestack
Point source
Drainage from an abandoned mine
Point source
Dumping at a food processing plant
Point source
Factory effluent
Point source
Industrial Effluent
Point source
Scientists are interested in determining if selenium, from a nearby mine, magnifies in the tissues of fish living in a lake. Describe a testable hypothesis for the study.
Selenium will be at a higher concentration in fish tissue than in the tissue of prey.
Rachel Carson's contributions to the environmental movement include what?
Spreading awareness to the public of the risks of using pesticides.
The water used in a nuclear power plant is often released back into a reservoir. What effects could this released water have on the reservoir?
Temperature of the released water causes a decrease in the amount of dissolved oxygen in the reservoir.
The use of nitrogen-based fertilizers in the Midwestern United States is a major contributing factor to what?
The dead zones and hypoxia.
Many synthetic chemicals, such as PCBs, act as estrogen mimics and biomagnify. In an ecosystem, these persistent chemicals would have the greatest effect on what trophic level?
The highest one
What is phytoremediation?
The use of plants to absorb and accumulate toxic materials from the soil.
What is a measure of the amount of suspended material in water?
Turbidity
A local citizen science group is monitoring the water quality of a nearby lake. They gather water samples once a week on Wednesday between the hours of 7 A.M. and 9 A.M. from the same location. One day in August they were unable to sample within that time frame and collected the sample at 3 P.M. How might this modification to the sampling procedure affect the results?
Water sampled later in the day may be warmed and therefore have lower dissolved oxygen levels.
Describe the process of bioaccumulation.
absorption of a substance by an organism at a rate greater than the rate of elimination
Defining characteristics of a wetland involve which of the following? 1. Hydrology 2. Soil type 3. Species composition
all three.
What are three common methods employed in the cleanup of oil spills?
large booms and skimmer boats collect the floating oil, genetically engineered bacteria, and low temperature burning of the oil.
Sediment from large construction sites
non-Point source
What happens when oil spills meet massive islands of seaweed?
smother the seaweeds and the micro-algae, making it impossible for them to photosynthesize and thus leading to mass die-offs of our ocean's primary source.
Eutrophication results in the death of trout and other fish as a result of what?
Asphyxiation from lack of oxygen.
What practices would best help to protect against inland and coastal flooding in urban areas?
Preserving wetland and coastal mangrove habitats
What is commonly used to deal with the side effects of eutrophication in lakes?
Apply herbicides, dredging, pumping oxygen, and introducing insects.
Some toxic compounds are ingested and retained in the tissues. These pollutants pose special risks to humans and other organisms high on the food chain because of which process?
Biomagnification.
How does mercury enter the food web?
Burning of coal. Coal → ocean → phytoplankton → fish
List the most common heavy metals.
Cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury.
What best explains why DDT has been found in penguin eggs in the Antarctic?
Chemicals used in one region of Earth can circulate in the biosphere and affect organisms in a distant region.
Which law mandates the restoration and maintenance of the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters?
Clean Water Act.
Why is coral bleaching happening?
Coral bleaching is occurring because the oceans are getting warmer.
What is an expected consequence of runoff and sewage in an aquatic environment?
Decreased oxygen production by seaweed on the seafloor by increased turbidity.
What is a common characteristic of lakes undergoing cultural eutrophication?
Increased levels of plant nutrients (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus)
In a river ecosystem, dissolved oxygen concentrations drop quickly downstream from a point-source input of organic matter into the river. This effect is due to what?
Increasing bacterial activity as organic matter decays.
What is a way to potentially eliminate one of the greatest threats to the world's mangrove wetlands?
Integrate ecologically sound shrimp aquaculture practices with mangrove management.
The use of what type of controlling agricultural insect pests is most likely to have a negative and persistent impact on an ecosystem?
Lindane (chlorinated hydrocarbon)
Scientists are interested in measuring the effect of pollution on the water quality of a stream. They will use observations of various bottom-dwelling insects, or macroinvertebrates, collected in the stream as indicators of the physical, chemical, and biological conditions within the stream. Why can macroinvertebrate sampling be used to assess the overall health of a stream?
Macroinvertebrates live in an aquatic ecosystem for a long enough time to show the chronic effects of pollutants, and many tend to remain in the same area throughout their lifespan.
A state highway was constructed over wetlands. The state obtained a permit to fill the existing wetlands in accordance with the provisions of the Clean Water Act in 1972, and agreed to create another wetland. This trade-off approach to addressing an environmental issue is known as what?
Mitigation
Acid precipitation
Non-Point source
Agricultural runoff
Non-Point source
Fertilizer from suburban lawns
Non-Point source
Pesticides from agricultural fields
Non-Point source
Residential pesticide runoff
Non-Point source
Runoff from agricultural fields
Non-Point source
Runoff from city streets
Non-Point source
Storm water
Non-Point source
Waste from animal feedlots
Non-Point source
Erosion from agricultural land
NonPoint source
Excess nutrients introduced by fertilization of farmland
NonPoint source
Increase in NOx in a traffic clogged city
NonPoint source
Runoff of oil from nearby urban highway systems
NonPoint source
Toxic sediments in the delta of a major river
NonPoint source
Lakes that are characterized by high water clarity and low concentrations of dissolved nutrients are classified as what?
Oligotrophic.
Although the use of DDT was banned in the United States in 1972, a test of the body tissue of an average United States resident today would most likely reveal the presence of DDT. Why?
Other countries that export produce to the US still use DDT.
Oil released from the broken hull of a shipwrecked tanker
Point source
Outgassing from a municipal landfill
Point source
Overflow from a sewage treatment plant
Point source
Seepage from landfill
Point source
Sewage overflow
Point source
Testing of nuclear weapons
Point source
List the supporting ecological service provided by wetlands.
Provides habitat for animals.
Small pieces of plastic washed in by local currents
nonPoint source
Why would a US citizen test positive for DDT if it's banned in our country?
other countries that export produce to the United States still use DDT