8.1-8.8 APES

What is phytoremediation?

A biological way to treat hazardous wastes that involves using natural or genetically engineered plants to absorb, filter, and remove contaminant from polluted soil and water

What is commonly used to deal with the side effects of eutrophication in lakes?

All except adding nitrates

Defining characteristics of a wetland involve which of the following? 1. Hydrology2. Soil type3. Species composition

All of them

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

What is most likely to result from destruction of wetlands surrounding a river?

An increased level of flooding of the river valley

Eutrophication results in the death of trout and other fish as a result of what?

Asphyxiation from lack of oxygen

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

The graph above shows the effect of sewage on biological oxygen demand (BOD) and dissolved oxygen(DO) in a flowing stream. The smallest fish populations will most probably be found at point?

C:DO decreasing slope

Describe the action of an endocrine disruptor.

Chemicals that can interfere with the endocrine system of animals. It can lead to birth defects, developmental disorders, and gender imbalances in fish and other species

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

What is an expected consequence of runoff and sewage in an aquatic environment?

Decreased oxygen levels in surface water as a result of a decrease in photosynthetic rates by algae

List examples of point sources of pollution.

Drain pipes, ditches, sewer lines, factories, sewage treatment plants. underground mines and oil tankers.

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

The release of a large amount of sewage and other organic wastes into a river would likely result in a sharp increase in what?

Increase in the biological oxygen demand

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

What is a common characteristic of lakes undergoing cultural eutrophication?

Increased levels of plant nutrients

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 life span.

What poses a health risk to humans who eat large quantities of marine fish such as swordfish and tuna?

Mercury

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

Lakes that are characterized by high water clarity and low concentrations of dissolved nutrients are classified as what?

Oligotrophic

In August of 2014, residents of several Ohio cities that use Lake Erie as a drinking water source were warned not to drink tap water because of the presence of toxins released by blue-green algae(cyanobacteria). What is the most likely cause of recent blooms of blue-green algae in Lake Erie?

Phosphorus contained in agricultural runoff

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 fish prey.

The water used in this type of power plant is often released back into a reservoir. What effects could this released water have on the reservoir?

Thermal pollution that makes the water have decreased oxygen levels

What is a measure of the amount of suspended material in water?

Turbidity

How does mercury enter the food web?

through pollution when fossil fuels are burned and municipal waste is incinerated ??

List some common heavy metal toxins.

Lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium

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?

The use of nitrogen-based fertilizers in the Midwestern United States is a major contributing factor to what?

Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico

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

Rachel Carson's contributions to the environmental movement include what?

Increasing public awareness of the risks of using pesticides.

What is a way to potentially eliminate one of the greatest threats to the world's mangrove wetlands?

Integrate ecologically sound shrimp aqua-cultural practices with mangrove management.

What are three common methods employed in the cleanup of oil spills?

Large floating booms, skimmer boats, and genetically engineered bacteria

The use of what type of controlling agricultural insect pests is most likely to have a negative and persistent impact on an ecosystem?

Lindane?

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 United State still use DDT

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 organisms' fatty tissues.

What will result in accelerated eutrophication when introduced into streams, lakes, and bays?

Phosphates

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

List examples of nonpoint sources of pollution.

Polluted runoff from agricultural areas draining into a river, or wind-borne debris blowing out to sea

What practices would best help to protect against inland and coastal flooding in urban areas?

Preserving wetland and coastal mangrove habitats

Many synthetic chemicals, such as PCBs, act as estrogen mimics. In an ecosystem, these persistent chemicals would have the greatest effect on what?

Secondary consumers

A massive bluegill fish kill was observed in a lake near a power plant during the winter months. It was determined that the plant was releasing large amounts of hot water into the lake. Which of the following explains what likely caused the death of so many bluegills in the lake?

The influx of warmer water caused an unexpected increase in the metabolic rate of the bluegills, which led to increased physiological stress from limited resource availability.

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 warmer and therefore have lower dissolved oxygen levels.

List the supporting ecological service provided by wetlands.

Wetlands serve as a major location for cycling of carbon and nitrogen

Describe the process of bioaccumulation.

When an animal consumes food having DDT residue, the DDT accumulates in the tissue of the animal by a process called bioaccumulation.