Quiz #2 Terms

Pollution

Harmful substances in the environment.

Point source pollution

Pollution from one clear source, like a factory pipe.

Non-point source pollution

Pollution from many places, like runoff from farms.

Limiting factor

Something that controls how much life can grow.

Law of the minimum

Growth is limited by the scarcest resource.

Top-down food web regulation

When predators control the food chain.

Bottom-up food web regulation

When food availability controls the food chain.

Nitrogen fixation

Turning nitrogen from the air into a form plants can use.

Bioavailable

A nutrient that living things can use.

Internal phosphorus loading/nutrient regeneration

When nutrients stored in a lake’s bottom return to the water.

Haber-Bosch process

A method to make fertilizer from nitrogen in the air.

Natural eutrophication

A slow increase in nutrients in a lake over time.

Cultural eutrophication

A rapid increase in lake nutrients due to human activity.

Oligotrophic lake

A lake with few nutrients and clear water.

Eutrophic lake

A lake with lots of nutrients and algae.

Mesotrophic lake

A lake with a moderate amount of nutrients.

Algae

Small water plants that grow in lakes and oceans.

Algal bloom

A sudden increase in algae growth.

Harmful algal bloom (HAB)

An algae outbreak that releases toxins.

Cyanobacteria

Bacteria that act like algae and can make toxins.

Cyanobacteria HAB

A toxic outbreak of cyanobacteria.

Acute exposure

Short-term contact with a harmful substance.

Chronic exposure

Long-term contact with a harmful substance.

Lethal response

A reaction that causes death.

Non-lethal response

A reaction that causes harm but not death.

Instantaneous response

A quick reaction to something harmful.

Cumulative response

Damage that builds up over time.

Carcinogenic

Can cause cancer.

Mutagenic

Can change DNA.

Teratogenic

Can harm an unborn baby.

Lethal dose 50 (LD50)

The amount of a substance that kills 50% of a test group.

Effective concentration 50 (EC50)

The amount of a substance that affects 50% of a test group.

Bioconcentration

compounds move into organisms from the water

Bioaccumulation

bioconcentration plus the amount acquired from food.

Biomagnification

increase in concentration from the bottom to the top of the foodweb

Native species

A species that naturally lives in an area.

Exotic species

A species brought to a new place by humans.

Invasive species

A species that spreads and harms its new environment.

Establishment

When a species successfully lives and reproduces in a new area.

Environmental filters

Natural conditions that control which species survive.

Biotic filters

Living things that control which species survive.

Spread

When a species moves to new areas.

Biodiversity

The variety of life in an area.

Invasional meltdown

When multiple invasive species help each other spread.

Propagule pressure

How many individuals of a species arrive in a new area.

Propagule size

The number of individuals in one arrival.

Propagule number

How often new individuals arrive.

Suspension feeder

An animal that eats tiny food floating in the water.

Piscivores

Animals that eat fish.

Planktivores

Animals that eat plankton.

Ecosystem engineers/engineering

Species that change their environment.

Biotic resistance

When native species stop invaders from spreading.

Ballast water

Water carried in ships that can move species to new places.