Watershed Ecology

Watershed

Area that drains all rainfall, snowmelt, and smaller waterbodies into a larger waterbody

Ecology

Scientific study of the processes influencing the distribution and abundance of organisms, interactions among organisms, and the interactions between organisms and the transformations and flux of energy and matter

Lentic

Refers to waters that are characterized by their still or standing nature

Lotic

Refers to waters that are characterized by flowing water

Limnology

The study of inland waters - lakes (both freshwater and saline), reservoirs, rivers, streams, wetlands, and groundwater - as ecological systems interacting with their drainage basins and the atmosphere

Littoral

Of, related to, situated, or growing near a shore typically in estuarine or lentic systems

Riparian

Of, related to, situated or growing on or near a shore typically in lotic systems

Thermocline

Place in water column where there is the greatest rate of change in temperature

Epilimnion

Stratification layer in which the eater is warmed by the sun and mixed by wind and waves

Hypolimnion

Stratification layer in where the densest water is found which does not mix with upper layers

T/F While most of the Earth’s surface is water, less fresh surface waters make up less than 1%

True

T/F A Water molecule’s charge is both balanced and symmetrical

False, balanced but not symmetrical

T/F Water is densest at 0 degrees Celsius

False, 3.98 degrees C

T/F The specific heat of water is higher than soil, air and ice

True

T/F Rivers do not stratify

False

T/F Turnover events are more likely to occur in spring, fall and weakly stratified lakes

True

T/F Braided-river channels are more complex channel networks that form when there is a large amount of erodible bank material, coarse sediment, and high energy environments

True

T/F Discharge is calculated multiplying the area of a cross section of the channel by the velocity of the channel

True

How does increasing temperature affect density?

Decreases density

How does increasing salinity affect density?

Increases density

How does increasing pressure affect density?

Increases density

What impact do pressure and salinity have on the temperature of maximum density and freezing point of water?

Increasing salinity and pressure both lower the freezing and maximum density temperature

Glacial processes

Majority of the world’s lakes have been formed by:

River processes

Oxbow, floodplain, and deltaic lakes are all examples of lakes formed by:

Shoreline processes

The coastal dune lakes found in Walton county are examples of lakes formed by:

Tectonic Processes

Lake Okeechobee, Florida’s largest lake, was formed by:

Wind processes

Aeolian lakes are formed by:

In the more commonly used Strahler method of stream ordering, segment order is determined by:

Numbering the smallest permanent stream as 1, then adding by 1 each time there is a confluence