Freshwater Ecology and Resources AP/IBESS

Marsh

An area of soft, wet, low-lying land, characterized by grassy vegetation (more grasses and reeds) and often forming a transition zone between water and land.

Swamp

A forested (has trees) wetland, partially covered with water.

Estuary

(type of wetland) A coastal body of water that connects to the ocean in which fresh water from a river mixes with saltwater from the ocean

Delta

a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river, where the river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, or reservoir

Headwaters

the furthest spot in a river or stream from its estuary or confuence with another river, as measured aong the course of the river

Nekton

Organisms that can swim freely and are independent of currents, they can be microscopic organisms or even as large as whales.

Benthos

aquatic organisms that live on the bottom of the ocean floor, or lake

Pelagic

Inhabiting the upper layers of the open sea.

Phytoplankton

The single organism, plant group of plankton which drift in the ocean. (photosynthetic)

Zooplankton

"Plankton consisting of small animals and the immature stages of larger animals.

Littoral

A shallow-water area along the shore of a lake or pond whre light reaches the bottom. (The most productive zone due to the large amounts of photosynthesizing vegetation. Also recieves nutrients from the surrounding land.)

Limnetic

open surface waters in a lake, away from the shore

riparian zone

land next to the stream, starting at the top of the bank, with heavy plant cover on either side

inorganic nutrients

examples include Nitrogen and Phosphorus in runoff

Hypoxia

lack of oxygen in a stream

Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

the concentration of free (not chemically-bound) molecular oxygen (a gas) dissolved in water

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)

The amount of oxygen needed by microorganisms to decompose biological wastes into carbon dioxide, water, and minerals.

impervious surfaces

surfaces like pavement and rooftops that allow less ground water infiltration. Creates more surface runoff which can cause flooding

Channelization

An engineering technique to straighten, widen, deepen, or otherwise modify a natural stream channel.

dead zone

In a body of water, an area with extremely low oxygen concentration and very little life

Algae Bloom

rapid increase in the population of algae in an aquatic system

Turbidity

A measure of water clarity

benthic macroinvertebrates

animals that lack backbones, are large enough to be seen unaided, and live in or on top of substrate

Indirect Water Chemical Testing

Examples include: stream quality assessments with macroinvertebrates, BOD

Direct Water Chemical Testing

Examples inlcude: chemical testing levels of DO, NO3, PO4

point pollution

Pollutants discharged from a single identifiable location (e.g., pipes, ditches, channels, sewers, tunnels, containers of various types).

non-point pollution

water pollution that does not have a specific point of origin

Eutrophication

A process by which nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, become highly concentrated in a body of water, leading to increased growth of organisms such as algae or cyanobacteria.