APES Unit 7, 22, 24 Test Review

Phytoplankton

Microscopic, free-floating, autotrophic organisms that function as producers in aquatic ecosystems

Zooplankton

Microscopic animals that swim (weak = can't fight current) or drift near the surface of aquatic environments

Salinity

The amounts of various salts such as sodium chloride [NaCl] dissolved in a given volume of water

Nekton

Strongly swimming organisms found in aquatic systems

Benthos

Bottom-dwelling organisms in aquatic systems

Nanoplankton

Small, recently discovered, producers

Euphotic Zone

Upper layer of a deep body of water through which sunlight can penetrate and support photosynthesis (for both deep lakes and oceans)

Coastal Zone

Warm, nutrient rich, shallow part of the ocean that extends from the high-tide mark on land to the edge of a shelflike extension of continental land masses known as the continental shelf

Continental Shelf

The submerged part of the continents

Estuary

Partially enclosed coastal area at the mouth of a river where its fresh water, carrying fertile silt and runoff from the land, mixes with salty seawater

Coastal Wetlands

Land along a coastline, extending inland from an estuary that is covered with salt water all or part of the year. Examples are marshes, bays, lagoons, tidal flats, and mangrove swamps

Intertidal Zone

The area of shoreline between low and high tides

Barrier Islands

Long, thin, low offshore islands of sediment that generally run parallel to the shore along some coasts

Open Sea

The part of an ocean that is beyond the continental shelf

Bathyal Zone

Dimly lit layer; found only in open sea and do not contain photosynthesizing producers because of a lack of sunlight

Abyssal Zone

Dark layer; found only in open sea and do not contain photosynthesizing producers because of a lack of sunlight; very cold with little dissolved oxygen

Deposit Feeders

Take mud into their guts and extract nutrients from it; ex. worms

Filter Feeders

Pass water through or over their bodies and extract nutrients from it

Littoral Zone

The shallow area near the lake shore, to the depth at which rooted plants stop growing

Limnetic Zone

Open, sunlit water surface layer away from the lake shore that extends to the depth penetrated by sunlight

Profundal Zone

The deep, open water where it is too dark for photosynthesis in freshwater lakes

Benthic Zone

Bottom of a lake; inhabited mostly be decomposers, detritus-feeding clams, wormlike insect larvae, and catfish

Oligotrophic Lake

Lake with a low supply of plant nutrients, clear water, steep slopes, and deep bottom.

Eutrophic Lake

Lake with a large or excessive supply of plant nutrients, mostly nitrates and phosphates. Turbid water, shallow slopes, and shallow bottom.

Mesotrophic Lake

Lake with a moderate supply of plant nutrients. Intermediate slopes and depth.

Epiliminon

An upper layer of warm water with high levels of dissolved oxygen in temperate lakes

Hypoliminon

A lower layer of colder, denser water in temperate lakes, usually with a lower concentration of dissolved oxygen because it is not exposed to the atmosphere

Thermocline

Where the water temperature changes rapidly with increased depth

Fall Overturn

Mixing of the surface layer with lower layers; brings nutrients from bottom sediments to the surface and sends dissolved oxygen from the surface to the bottom; occurs in fall, when temperatures begin to drop

Runoff

Fresh water from precipitation and melting ice that flows on the earth's surface into nearby streams, lakes, wetlands, and reservoirs

Watershed/Drainage Basin

Land area that delivers water, sediment, and dissolved substances via small streams to a major stream or river

Inland Wetlands

Land away from the coast, such as a swamp, marsh, or bog, that is covered all or part of the time with fresh water

Clean Water Act

Federal Law setting a national goal of making all natural surface water fit for fishing and swimming by 1983, banned polluted discharge into surface water and required the metals be removed from waste. Also protects wetlands where any area of wetland developed must be mitigated (replaced) else where.

lentic

a slow-moving body of water where the water seems to stand still; lakes, ponds, and wetlands

lotic

flowing water: rivers, streams

spring overturn

in spring the air warms and the ice melts causing oxygen-rich water in surface moves downward while nutrient-rich water from the lake's depths moves up. top layer warms to 4 C at which water's density is the greatest and therefore sinks.

cultural eutrophication

Overnourishment of aquatic ecosystems with plant nutrients (mostly nitrates and phosphates) because of human activities such as agriculture, urbanization, and discharges from industrial plants and sewage treatment plants.

coral reef

formation produced by massive colonies containing billions of tiny coral animals, called polyps, that secrete a stony substance (calcium carbonate) around themselves for protection; when the coral dies, their empty outer skeletons form layers and cause the reef to grow; found in the coastal zones of warm tropical and subtropical oceans

commercial extinction

Depletion of a resource species to a point where it is no longer profitable to harvest the species.

CITES

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of 1975 it is a step toward worldwide protection of endangered flora and fauna.

integrated coastal management

A community-based effort to develop and use coastal resources more sustainably.

groin

A short, artificial projection of durable material placed at a right angle to shore in an attempt to slow longshore transport of sand from a beach; usually deployed in repeating units.

seawall

a barrier constructed to prevent waves from reaching the area behind the wall. Its purpose is to defend property from the force of breaking waves.

beach renourishment

Process by which sediment (usually sand) lost through longshore drift or erosion is replaced from sources outside of the eroding beach. Typically a repetitive process, since nourished beaches tend to erode faster than natural beaches unless nourishment is complemented with measures to reduce erosion rates.

beach saver module

made of concrete and microsilica additive that resists erosion. Placed offshore, they channel water upward to create a curtain that blocks sand loss.

maximum sustained yield

The level of harvest that produces a consistent yield without forcing a population into decline

optimum sustained yield

The level of harvest that produces a consistent yield without forcing a population into decline. However, this approach attempts to take into account interactions with other species and to provide more room for error.

Individual Transfer Quotas

The government gives each fishing vessel owner a specified percentage of the total allowable catch for a fishery in a given year. Owners are permitted to buy, sell, or lease them like private property.

exclusive economic zones

area in which resources found up to 370 km or 200 nautical miles offshore belong exclusively to the geographically bordering country. Foreign fishing vessels can take certain quotas within those zones but with a government's permission

bycatch

unwanted marine creatures that are caught in the nets while fishing for another species

National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

protects rivers with due to aesthetic, recreational, wildlife, historical, or cultural reasons.

mitigation banking

current policy in which wetlands must have zero "net loss," which means some wetlands can be destroyed as long as equal amount is created or restored

Global Treaty on Migratory Species

Aimed to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range. It is an intergovernmental treaty, concluded under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme, concerned with the conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale. Since the Convention's entry into force, its membership has grown steadily to include over 100 Parties from Africa, Central and South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

Marine Mammal Protection Act

enacted in 1972, prohibits the taking of marine mammals, and enacts a moratorium on the import, export, and sale of any marine mammal, along with any marine mammal part or product within the United States.

Intrinsic value

The ethical stance based on the view that each species as worth unrelated to its usefulness to humans.

Background/natural rate of extinction

Natural extinction at a small rate of a small amount of species

Mass extinction

Abrupt rise in extinction rates above the background level. Catastrophic, widespread, in which large groups of existing species are wiped out.

Adaptive radiations

When the diversity of life increases and spreads for 10 million years or more.

Local extinction

Occurs when a species is no longer found in an area it once inhabited but is still found elsewhere in the world

Ecological extinction

When there are so few members of a species left that it can no longer play its ecological roles in the biological communities where it is found

Biological extinction

When a species is no longer found anywhere on earth.

Endangered species

Has so few individual survivors that the species could soon become extinct over all or most of its natural range

Threatened species

still abundant in its natural range but is declining in numbers and is likely to become endangered

Endemic Species

species found no where else on Earth

Habitat islands

Areas of suitable habitat surrounded by larger areas of unsuitable habitat. Example a park in a urban area.

Ecosystem approach

aims to preserve balanced populations of species in their native habitat, establish legally protected wilderness areas and eliminate the populations of nonnative species

Species approach

protecting endangered species by identifying them, giving protection and preserving them in their crucial habitats

Wildlife Management Approach

manages game species for sustained yield by using laws to regulate, hunting, harvest quotas, developing population management plans, and international treaties.

Bioinformatics

the applied science of managing, analyzing, and communicating biological information; involves building computer databases, providing computer tools to find, visualize, and analyze the information, and providing means for communicating the information

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)

treaty signed by 136 countries; lists almost 700 species that cannot be commercially traded as live specimens or wildlife products because they are endangered or threatened

Lacey Act of 1900

prohibits transporting live or dead wild animals or their parts across state borders without a federal permit

Endangered Species Act of 1973

makes it illegal for Americans to import or trade in any product made from an endangered or threatened species unless it is used for an approved scientific purpose or to enhance the survival of the species

Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP)

long-term endangered species management plans

Egg Pulling

involves collecting wild eggs laid by critically endangered bird species and then hatching them in zoos or research centers

Captive Breeding

some or all wild individuals of a critically endangered species captured for breeding in captivity, with the aim of reintroducing the offspring into the wild

Embryo Transfer

surgical implantation of eggs of one species into a surrogate mother of another species

Cross-Fostering

having the young of a rare species raised by parents of a similar species

Population Viability Analysis (PVA)

A method of predicting whether or not a population will persist for a certain number of generations. Based on current and projected habitat conditions and resource needs, genetic variability, interactions with other species, reproductive rates and population dynamics.

Minimum Viable Population (MVP)

The smallest population size at which a species is able to sustain its numbers and survive

Minimum Dynamic Area (MDA)

Minimum area of suitable habitat needed to maintain the minimum viable population.

Safe Harbor Agreements

Landowners voluntarily agree to take specified steps to restore, improve, or maintain habitat for threatened or endangered species located on their land. In return, land owners get technical help, assurances that the land or resources will not face future restrictions once agreement ends, and assurances that after the agreement expires land owners can return the property to its original condition without penalty.

Candidate Conservation Agreements

Agree to help conserve species population that is declining but not yet endangered or threatened in exchange for technical help and assurances that no additional resource use restrictions will be imposed on the land covered by the agreement if the species is listed as endangered or threatened in the future.