Freshwater Ecosystems, Water Cycle, and Pollution: Key Concepts for Biology

Only __% of the Earth's water is freshwater.

97.5

Most of Earth's freshwater are in ___, ___, and ___

glaciers, icecaps, and groundwater

Wetlands

Areas that combine water with dryland

ecosystem service of surface water

redistributes heat, erodes mountains, builds river delta

Rivers

water from precipitation or springs that runs downhill

tributary

smaller river flowing into larger one

watershed

area of land drained by the river

oxbow

a bend in a river that becomes an extreme loop.

floodplain

areas near rivers that are periodically flooded

marshlands

wetlands with grass

swamps

wetlands with trees

bogs

Wetlands with acidic waters and sphagnum moss.

ecosystem services of wetlands

1)slow runoff

2)reduce flooding

3) recharge aquifers (groundwaters)

4) filter pollutants

filtration in wetlands

sediments, nutrients, and pollutants are separated from water through uptake

Increases biological productivity

nutrient-rich soil allows plant growth and diverse habitats

Mangroves

trees in coastal wetlands

estuary

where river meets saltwater and has high biodiversity

ecosystem service

1) prevents erosion

2) absorb more CO2

3) creates habitats and high biodiversity

human impact on mangroves

1) development of commercial properties

2)dams

3) overfishing

4) agricultural and industrial

development of commercial properties

sedimentation, habitat alteration, fills in wetlands, and redirect waterflow

dams impact on wetlands

restrict water flow, sediment capture, and fish migration

overfishing

harvesting more than replenished impacts food web

riparian zones

places nearby river

pollution types

1) toxic chemical

2) nutrient

3) pathogen

4)sediment

5) thermal

point source

singular source

nonpoint source

coming from a bunch of activity

Groundwater makes up about ______% of the Earth's freshwater supply, and is contained within reservoirs known as __________________.

20, aquifiers

signs of groundwater depletion

water tables drop, saltwater intrusion, wetlands dry up, sinkholes

solution to groundwater depletion

desalination, drip irrigation, level fields, decrease meat consumption, low flow plumbing, and xeriscaping

dams benefits

provide water access, facilitate irrigation, prevent floods, generate electricity

dams harm

flooding, decline fish, habitat alteration, sediment capture

causes of toxic chemical

pesticides and acids

causes of nutrient

phosphorus, nitrate, and ammonia leads

baby blue syndrome

bluish discoloration of the skin due to a lack of oxygen in the blood

effects of nutrient

baby blue syndrome and eutrophication

causes of pathogen

animal waste contamination from feedlots

causes of sediment

mining and erosion (solved through planting)

oligotrophic

low nutrient and high oxygen

eutrophic

high nutrient and low oxygen

infiltration/percolation

surface water to groundwater

pumping and springs

groundwater to surface water

dikes and levees

mounds of Earth for flood control

nutrient solution

treat wastewater, decrease fertilizing, plants for nutrient uptake, and phosphate free detergent

pathogen solution

treat sewage, disinfect drinking water

sediment solution

manage farm and forest and protect vegetation

septic system

wastewater undergoes septic take and separates solids from water and microbes decompose them

water parameters

pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, ammonia, phosphate, temperature, total dissolved solid, fecal coliform bacteria

clean water ac

regulates discharge of wastes into rivers, streams, and wetlands

safe drinking water act

regulates 80+ contaminants in drinking water

ocean straification from highest to lowest

intertidal, neridic, photic, and benthic

lake and pond straification from highest to lowest

littoral, limnetic, profundal, benthic