Aquaculture | AQA A-Level Environmental Science Revision | Primrose Kitten

The cultivation of a single species.

Monoculture

The cultivation of multiple species together to increase productivity.

Polyculture

A specific type of polyculture system where species are chosen from different trophic levels in a food chain to be cultivated together.

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA)

An aquaculture system that combines fish farming with growing crops in a solution that contains fish.

Aquaponics

The cultivation of crops in a liquid medium instead of soil.

Hydroponics

The process triggered by a large concentration of inorganic nutrients in the water, leading to algal blooms and subsequent oxygen depletion.

Eutrophication

Pollution caused by faeces and uneaten food material in aquaculture systems.

Organic Waste Pollution

The destruction of ecosystems such as mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs due to aquaculture practices.

Habitat Destruction

The reduction of oxygen levels in water bodies due to the decomposition of organic waste by aerobic bacteria.

Deoxygenation

Species that require oxygen to survive and can be negatively impacted by deoxygenation.

Aerobic Species

Aquaculture systems characterized by high stocking density and high food inputs.

Intensive Systems

Aquaculture systems that tend to have larger areas with lower stocking densities.

Extensive Systems

The unintentional capture of marine animals by lost or abandoned fishing gear.

Ghost Fishing

The capture of unintended species while fishing.

Bycatch

The ability of bacteria to resist the effects of antibiotics, often due to overuse in aquaculture.

Antibiotic Resistance

The use of natural predators or parasites to control pest populations in aquaculture.

Biological Control

Chemicals used to kill pests that can have harmful effects on non-target species in the ecosystem.

Pesticides

The measure of how effectively energy is converted from one trophic level to another in a food chain.

Energy Efficiency

The different levels in a food chain, representing the flow of energy from producers to consumers.

Trophic Levels

Fish that primarily eat other fish and are higher up the food chain.

Carnivorous Fish

Species that primarily consume plants and are lower in the food chain.

Herbivores

Species of fish that are used to produce fishmeal, often used as feed in aquaculture.

Fishmeal Species

Nutrients that are not derived from living matter, often leading to eutrophication when present in high concentrations.

Inorganic Nutrients

A rapid increase in the population of algae in water bodies, often due to excess nutrients.

Algal Bloom

The number of organisms raised in a given volume of water in aquaculture.

Stocking Density

The role and position a species has in its environment, including all interactions with biotic and abiotic factors.

Ecological Niches

Non-native species that, when introduced to a new habitat, can cause harm to the ecosystem.

Invasive Species