Chesapeake Bay Test

Algae

marine and freshwater organisms with Chlorophyll but NO roots leaves flowers or seeds

Brackish Water

mixture of freshwater and saltwater

Copepods

small shrimp like member of the zooplankton, common in estuaries

Decomposer

breaks down nonliving organisms

Detritus

loose material, especially decomposed broken, and dead organic material

Dissolved Oxygen (DO)

free oxygen in water from photosynthesis or surface Diffusion, necessary for animals

Ebb tide

falling tide

Ecosystem

all the organisms in a community and the nonliving environment

Erosion

wearing away of land surfaces by wind or water

Eutrophication

excessive nutrient loading in a body of water which often results in depletion of DO

Flood tide

rising tide

Food web

complex interaction of food chains in a community

Habitat

where a plant or animal species lives

Intertidal (littoral) zone

are between high tide and low tide

Marsh

low, wet, grassland without trees, periodically covered in water

Nitrogen

an inorganic nutrient necessary for plant growth, an excess can lead to eutrophication

Nutrients

chemicals necessary for organism to live, in ocean primarily nitrogen and phosphorus

Organic matter

compounds containing the element carbon, made by organisms

pH

a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution which determine the acidity or alkalinity. 1-14 and 7 is neutral

Phosphorus

an inorganic nutrient necessary for plant growth and reproduction

Photosynthesis

process in which plats and phytoplankton produce carbs and release oxygen in the presence of sunlight

Plant zonation

the distribution of plant species into zones in response to habitat conditions like salinity or H2O

Pollution

the addition of substances to an environment in greather than natural concentrations as a result of human activity, produces a net detrimental effect

Primary producer

organisms that use photosynthesis to manufacture food energy for the entire food web

Salinity

the measurement of dissolved salt in water. measured in pt (parts per thousand)

Secchi disk

a white, or white and black, plate sized disk on a rope, measures turbidity of water

Sediment

Particulate matter that accumulates in loose form

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV)

rooted vegetation which grows beneath the water surface

Tides

periodic rising and falling of the sea surface based on gravitational attraction to sun and moon as earth rotates

Tributary

streams or rivers that supply a larger body of water

Trophic level

the position an organism feeds in the food web, or trophic pyramid

Turbidity

the loss of water clarity or transparency, due to suspended sediments or plankton

Watershed

the area of land that is drained by a specified river or other body of water

(CB Stats) rank in US for $ of fishery

3

(CB Stats) rank in US for size of estuary

1

(CB Stats) # of ports in top 5 largest US ports

2

(CB Stats) square miles of watershed

64,000

(CB Stats) # of States in watershed

6

(CB Stats) average depth

21 feet

Primary

screening or settling large solids out of sewage

Secondary

removal of organic matter by aeration and bacterial action

Tertiary

removal of nutrients and toxic organic matter

Anadromous

goes from ocean to rivers to spawn eggs (ex. salmon fish)

Catadromous

goes from river to ocean to spawn (ex. eels)

Plankton

float or swim weekly (ex. krill)

Nekton

actively swim (ex. fish)

Benthos

live on bottom (ex. oysters)

Phytoplankton

plant plankton (ex. green algae)

Zooplankton

animal plankton (ex. copepod)

Point source pollution

specific point / location (ex. sewage pipe)

Non-point source pollution

pollutants entering the water from agricultural area (ex. from land or suburbs)

Rivers salinity

0 ppt

Bay zone 1 salinity

0-0.5 ppt

Bay zone 2 salinity

0.5-25 ppt

Bay zone 3 salinity

25-30 ppt

Ocean salinity

35 ppt

Thermocline

boundary between warmer and cooler water

Pycnocline

boundary between less dense and more dense waters

Halocline

boundary between less saline and more saline waters

Sand beach

harshest environment, home of ghost crabs/horseshoe crabs

Salt marsh

coastal wetlands flooded by tides, a breeding nursery for ocean

Piers/Rocks

provides firm substrate for sessile animals like barnacles / sea squirts

Oyster bar

filters bay water, home to mollusks, crabs, anemones

SAV is declining due to what?

light reduction

SAV is important for what?

food, protection, erosion prevention

River at source of Bay

susquehana

2 states that border the Bay

virginia and maryland

Peninsula on eastern side of bay (ESVA)

delmarva

River entering Bay flowing from Richmond to Norfolk

james river

River flowing from Washington DC to the Bay

potomac

Bridge between VB and ESVA

CBBT

Bridge between Hampton and norfolk

HRBT

What did the word Chesapeake come from?

algonquin meaning “great shellfish bay”

The bay was formed from what?

drowned river vally

meteor

Most polluted runoff goes from street drains to where?

rivers and bays

Current largest fishery in the Bay is?

menhaden

Previous largest fishery in the Bay (down 99%)

oysters

Also important fishers sold

blue crab and striped bass

Estuary

semi-isolated, tidal, portion of the ocean that is diluted by freshwater by land

Flushing time

time it takes to exchange estuary water in ocean

Ecology

study of interactions between organisms and their environment

# of high tides per day

2

# of low tides per day

2

What causes tides

gravity of the moon

Eastern/Western

High - eastern

Lower - western

Northern/mouth

Higher - mouth

Lower - northern

Fall/spring

higher - fall

lower - spring

Surface/bottom

higher - bottom

lower - surface