Aquatic Ecology Final Flashcards
1
Q
Westslope Cutthroat Current Situation
A
- Originally widespread in North America
- Native to Bow and Oldman Drainage
- Relocated to isolated mountain headwaters
- Low abundance in limited watersheds
2
Q
Outlook of the Prussian Carp
A
- They have become a major problem
- Prevention efforts may help slow the spread in Canada
- Likely: overtime their fast reproduction will allow them to dominate waterbodies
3
Q
What is a Potamodromous Life History Strategy?
A
- Migration, Spawning, Feeding (All life stages) in Freshwater
- All Alberta Fish
- Upstream: Reproduction and Egg Deposition
- Downstream: Fry, Juvenile, and Adult Stages (Once ripe migrate upstream)
4
Q
General Feeding in Streams
A
- Drifting Invertebrate
- Benthic invertebrate
- Detritus
- Emerging insects
5
Q
Collectors - Feeding Group
A
- Food: Fine particulate organic matter
- Method: Suspension (filterers) or deposit
6
Q
Discharge
A
- Volume of water flowing through a cross section per time
- m3/s
7
Q
Indicator Species as a Bio-monitoring Approach
A
- Species that require specific environmental conditions
- Pro: Simple to perform
- Con: Susceptible to changes
8
Q
Predator - Feeding Group
A
- Food: Tissue of living animals
- Method: Engulfing, piercing
9
Q
Stream Dimensions
A
- Longitudinal (Headwaters –> Oceans)
- Lateral (Stream –> Terrestrial Upland)
- Vertical (SW –> GW)
- Temporal (Vary over time)
10
Q
Groundwater Drainage Lake
A
- Natural lake fed by: Groundwater, Precipitation and Runoff
- Has stream outflow
- Water lost to: Evapotranspiration, Groundwater, and Streams
11
Q
Prussian Carp Current Situation
A
- Confirmed in most Albertan watersheds
- Alberta was first confirmed sighting in North America
- Likely due to illegal movement (Found in isolated stocked ponds)
12
Q
Spring Turnover in a Dimictic Lake
A
- Ice melts and the surface reaches 4C
- Wind mixes water from top to bottom
- Nutrients go to surface and DO goes to the bottom
13
Q
Swimmers - Mode of Existence
A
- Fish-Like swimming
- Cling to substrate between swimming bursts
14
Q
Marsh Classification
A
- Mineral Wetland
- Minerogenous
15
Q
Sprawlers - Mode of Existence
A
- Inhabit surface of floating leaves on vascular plants or fine sediments
16
Q
Winter in a Dimictic Lake
A
- Under ice: Temperature increases with depth
- 0C under ice, 4C at lake bottom
17
Q
Why are Freshwater Fish being Threatened and Declining?
A
- Overfishing
- Habitat Degradation and Fragmentation (Dams)
- Hybridization with Introduced species
- Outcompetes by Invasive Species
18
Q
What is the Fate of every Aquatic Organism?
A
To be carried downstream
19
Q
Allochthonous Food Source in Streams
A
Food organisms, organic matter, and nutrients transported from elsewhere
20
Q
Clingers - Mode of Existence
A
- Behavioural (pads) or morphological (claws) methods for attaching to substrate surfaces
21
Q
Scrapers - Feeding Group
A
- Food: Attached algae and biofilm
- Method: Grazing or scraping of mineral or organic surfaces
22
Q
Aphotic (Profundal) Zone
A
- No light - Prevents photosynthesis
- Deep below photic zone
23
Q
Fisheries Definition
A
An area with associated fish population that is harvested for commercial or recreational use
24
Q
Skaters - Mode of Existence
A
- Live on water surface
- Eat organisms trapped in surface film
25
What does a FSI Index Score of 1 Mean?
- Least sustainable population
- 0% Sustainable
- Less opportunity
- Higher risk
26
Autochthonous Food Source in Streams
Food organisms, organic matter, and nutrients are generated within the aquatic system
27
Photic (Euphotic) Lake Zone
- Light region that enables photosynthesis
- Contains all of littoral and upper limnetic
28
Fall Overturn in a Dimictic Lake
- Colder temperatures cool surface water
- Continuous cooling and sinking of surface water
- Stratification is lost and ice layer forms
29
Piercers - Feeding Group
- Food: Cell and Tissue Fluids of Living Organisms
- Method: Pierce and suck fluid
30
Climbers - Mode of Existence
- Living or moving on vascular or overhanging plants
31
Mesotrophic Lake
- Moderate phosphorus, nutrients, and Chlorphyll-A
- More productivity (Optimum state for aquatic life)
- Moderate clarity
- 10-35 mg/l of phosphorus
- 2.5-8mg/l Chlorophyll-A
32
Prussian Carp Scientific Name
Carassius Gibelio
33
Quality Harvest Fishery
- Provides anglers opportunities to catch and maybe keep memorable fish
- FSI = 4+
34
What is Fitness?
- How well the organism is adapted to its environment and its reproductive success
- If there are no difference among species then their is no natural selection
35
Indication by Absence as a Bio-monitoring Approach
- Absence of sensitive species indicates abnormal conditions
36
Brood Fish Stocking
- Restoration Stocking
- Stock genetically pure fish raised in contain facilities
- Ex. Westslope Cutthroat
37
Approach to Investigating a Fish Kill
1. Notify Government Agencies
2. Define Area Involved
3. Conduct Water Quality Sampling
4. Document extent, witnesses, and clean up
38
What does a FSI Index Score of 5 Mean?
- Most sustainable population
- 100% sustainable
- More opportunity
- Lower Risk
39
Drainage Lake
- Natural Lake fed by: Streams, Precipitation, Groundwater, and Runoff
- Water lost to: Evapotranspiration, Groundwater, and Streams
40
Outlook for the Westslope Cutthroat
In order to protect Cutthroat Trout, we must address the root of their problems. If we can achieve this when we can preserve this crucial native species.
41
Community Structure as a Bio-monitoring Approach
- Using a wide range of species to measure abundance and diversity of a community
- Pro: Minimal biological expertise required
- Con: Susceptible to natural or seasonal changes
42
How to Determine the Relationship Between Stage and Discharge with Time
1. Record/Monitor how stages vary with time
2. Observe discharge at a variety of stages and times
3. Develop model to predict discharge from stage (Rating curve)
43
Boreal Forest Lakes
- High precipitation and low evaporation
- Vast acidic peatlands
- Dark brown colour
44
Volcanic Lakes
- Caldera basin that form within an active cone
- Low Nutrients
- Crater Lake
45
Importance of Time in a Fish Kill Investigation
- Diagnosis requires freshly dead organisms
- Longer delay makes it hard to determine source, more deaths, and less accurate death count
46
What is Alberta Government's Plan Against Invasive Species
- Monitoring
- Rapid Response Planning
- Education and Outreach
- Watercraft Inspections
- Policies
47
What does the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada do?
- Manages and protects fish habitat from alteration
- Partially responsible with issues in pollution prevention
- Collabs with Environment and Climate Change Canada under Fisheries Act
- Takes Alberta Management objectives into account
- Works with Species At Risk Act to identify and recover threatened populations in Alberta
48
What is Triploidization
- Fertilized eggs are put under immense pressure (Pressure Shock)
- Creates triple chromosomal condition
- Causes infertility
- After: Fish may only be stocked in completely isolated waterbodies (In case Triploiding process failed)
49
What is a Anadromous Life History Strategy?
- Migration from freshwater to saltwater
- Ex. Pacific Salmon
- Freshwater: Reproduction and Egg Deposition
- Estuary: Juvenile and Fry Migration
- Saltwater: Rearing and Adult Stages (Once ripe migrate back to Freshwater)
50
Seepage Lake
- Natural lake fed by: Precipitation, Runoff, and Groundwater
- No stream outlet
- Water lost to: Evapotranspiration and Groundwater
51
Do Erosional or Depositional Zones have more Invertebrate Diversity
Erosional
52
Why are Freshwater Fish Susceptible to Climate Change?
They have adapted to very specific conditions (Ex. Bull Trout and Hyporheic Upwellings) and have a hard time adapting to rapidly changing conditions.
53
Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches to Sampling Macroinvertebrate
- Qualitative: Number of taxon at each family level (Ratio of feeding groups)
- Quantitative: Estimate of absolute numbers - Statistically evaluated
54
Metamorphosis of Ephemeroptera - Baetidae
- Hemimetabolous
- Two Winged Stages: Subimago (First), Imago (Adult)
- Adult stage has little feeding and poor flying
55
How does the Alberta Conservation Association Contribute to Fisheries
- Uses licensing fees for fisheries programs
- Determines stock and population status
- Develops and implements management programs
- Fisheries program (Inventory and monitoring of fish and habitats)
56
Old Growth Fishery
- Provides anglers opportunities to catch (not keep) memorable sized or rare native fish
- FSI = 4+
57
Westslope Cutthroat Trout Scientific Name
Oncorhynchus Clarkii Lewisi
58
Westslope Cutthroat Provincial and Federal Status
- Provincial: Alberta Wildlife Act = Threatened
- Federal: COSEWIC and SARA = Threatened and Special Concern
59
Threats to the Westslope Cutthroat
- Habitat alteration and degradation (Dams)
- Non-Native Species
- Hybridization with Rainbow Trout (Few pure populations left)
- Sportfishing
60
Marsh Form
- Based on Vegetation
- Graminoid
61
Liberal Harvest Fishery
- Provides anglers fish for harvest with few restrictions
62
Mode of Existence of Ephemeroptera - Baetidae
- Swimmers (Adapted with mechanisms to maintain position in the stream)
- Clingers (Take breaks in between swimming to cling onto substrate)
63
What is Compensatory Mortality
Harvest deaths theoretically substitute for deaths that would occur naturally
64
Divers - Mode of Existence
- Swim in slow-flowing pools with hind legs
- Go to surface for oxygen
- Cling to submerged objects
65
What are the Advantages of using Macroinvertebrate as a Bioindicator
- High Abundance
- Found Everywhere
- Get around animal welfare regulations
- Range of responses to environmental stressors
- Determines spatial extent (Always moving downstream)
- Relatively Long life cycle
66
Oligotrophic Lake
- Low phosphorus, nutrients, and chlorophyll-A
- Low Productivity
- Clear water and sufficient oxygen
- <10 mg/l of Phosphorus
- <2.5 mg/l of Chlorophyll-A
67
Use vs Preference in Fish Habitats
Use and Preference are not interchangeable. Habitats used by fish may be the only one available at the time
68
Functional Feeding Group of Ephemeroptera - Baetidae
-Scrapers (Scrape food off surfaces)
- Collectors (Feed on suspended matter)
- Detritivores (Algae, Detritus, Fine OM)
69
What Factors Influence Habitat Selection
- Temperature
- Food Variability
- Sedimentation
- Erosional vs Depositional Areas
70
What is Cyanobacteria's Affect on an Ecosystem
- Public health issues: Create algae blooms that kill livestock when they drink the water (Produce toxins so they don't get eaten)
- Die and decay to consume dissolved oxygen
- Block sunlight and slow down primary production
- Bloom in late summer-early fall
71
Put-Take Fisheries
- Where fish cannot survive winter (inadequate oxygen)
- Larger fish are stocked
72
What are RMFO Fisheries
- Regional Fisheries Management Organizations
- Based on public and FSI to assess fish populations
- Manage, conserve and protect fish stocks within their respective mandates
73
Planktonic - Mode of Existence
- Inhabit open water in slow flows
74
Landslide Lakes
- Landslides impound river to pool and then lake
- Short Lives
- Chilcotin River
75
Fish Habitat Definition
All waters frequented by fish and other areas that fish depend directly of indirectly to carry out life processes.
76
Hypereutrophic Lake
- Very high Phosphorus and Chlorophyll-A
- Algae blooms
- Oxygen depletion leads to fish death
- >100 mg/l of phosphorus
- >25 mg/l of Chlorophyll-A
77
Fisheries Management Tools
- Seasonal and area closures and restrictions (protects spawning fish)
- Catch limits (Distribute available fish)
- Size limits (Ensure adequate number of spawning size)
- Gear restrictions
- Bait restrictions (Reduce hook mortality)
78
What is Harvestable Surplus
Amount of fish harvested without affecting long term stability
79
Habitat of Ephemeroptera - Baetidae
- Flowing water (Streams or Rivers)
- Also found in Lentic-Littoral areas (ponds)
80
What are Alberta's Priorities (In order) in terms of Fisheries
1. Conservation
2. Indigenous
3. Recreational
4. Competititve
81
What is the New Alberta Wetland Policy
1. Avoid (Primary and Preferred)
2. Minimize (If Avoidance if not possible)
3. Replace (As a last resort if other methods are ineffective)
82
What is a Diadromous Life History Strategy?
- Fishes that migrate between freshwater and saltwater
- Occurs when organisms migrate twice in their lifetime
- Includes: Anadromous and Potamodromous
83
Tectonic Lakes
- Uplift of Earths surface or drop of Earth's crust
- Displacement of crust on either side of fault
- Lake Baikal: Largest, Deepest, Oldest, Most Voluminous
84
Glacial Lakes
- Formed from glacial melt and erosion
- Cirque, Scour, Kettle, Paternoster
85
Components of a Hydrograph
- Direct Runoff or quick flow
- Baseflow
- Discharge over time
86
Holometabolous Metamorphosis
- Complete metamorphosis
- Larvae + Resting (Pupa) stage
- No wing pads, compound eyes, or segmented legs
- Moults do not add external structures (Pupa created winged adult features)
- Do not change in appearance - only size
87
Trout Feeding Sequence
1. Detection
2. Approach
3. Fixation
4. Inspection
5. Attack
6. Ingestion
7. Poop
- Dependent on: Energy expenditure, Profitability, Dominance
88
Causes of Summer Fish Kills
- Depletion of oxygen usually in shallow environments
- High temperatures cannot hold a lot of oxygen
- Less mixing (no wind) and low rainfall
- Respiration
- Algae bloom collapse takes up oxygen through decomposition and releases ammonia (toxin)
- Disease carrying micro-organisms
- Heat stress
89
What Does a 0 on the FBI Index Indicate
- Excellent Water Quality
- Low FBI score
- Very Intolerant Species Present
90
What Impacts a Hydrograph
- Precipitation
- Riparian Biological Life
- Basin Shape
- Evapotranspiration
91
What are the Four Brown Trout Life History Strategies
1. Downstream -> Upstream (Potamodromous)
- Fluvial -> Adfluvial
2. To and From a Lake (Potamadromous)
- Lacustrine -> Adfluvial
3. To and from the Sea (Anadromous)
4. To and From Estuary (Semi-Anadromous)
92
Prussian Carp Management Options
- Preventing the spread through education on responsible angling "Catch it, Kill it)
- Pesticides can be used as a last resort
93
Why Stock Fish?
- Provide angling and harvest opportunities
- Maintain or enhance fish populations
- Meet conservation goals
94
Food Web in Streams vs Lakes
- Streams: Detritus shredded by invertebrate, algae creates biomass
- Lakes: More complex (Depth and spatial dimension) - Zooplankton are more important
95
Threats of the Prussian Carp
- High rate of spread
- Can reproduce asexually using gynogenesis and don't need a male of the same species to reproduce
- Aggressively colonize new habitats and outcompete native species
- Can withstand low oxygen, eutrophication, and high turbidity
- Destructive feeding habits disturb sediment and create turbidity
96
Hemimetabolous Metamorphosis
- Incomplete metamorphosis
- Shedding of exoskeleton (Moults)
- No resting or pupa stage
- Gradual development through larvae stages
- Final moults = winged adult
- Wing pads, compound eyes, long antennae, segmented legs
97
Canadian Shield Lakes
- Influenced by underlying rock (granite - not easily dissolved)
- Low in nutrients - supports little life
98
Impoundment Lake
- Man-made (Dams)
- Fed By: Streams, groundwater, and runoff
- Needs to be managed
99
Hypolimnion Zonation
- Deepest and coldest portion of the lake (4C)
100
Epilimnion Zonation
- Upper warmer water
- Mixed by wind
101
Sustainable Harvest Fishery
- Provides anglers opportunities while maintaining a sustainable and resilient population
- FSI = 3+
102
Parasite - Feeding Group
- Food: Tissue and fluids of living animals
- Method: Internal and external parasitism (Not fully kill)
103
General Feeding in Lakes
- Pelagic
- Open water
- Zooplankton, fish or surface insects
- Littoral and Benthic are generalized (Detritivores, benthic invertebrates)
104
Marsh Type: Salinity
Freshwater to Brackish
105
What are the Three Aquatic Plant Growing Zones
1. Emergent
2. Floating
3. Submerged
106
EPT% Index
- Ephemeropter-Plecoptera-Trichoptera
- Orders sensitive to pollution - Group abundance increases means a increase in water quality
- Used as a relative comparison in same water body before and after a disturbance
107
What is Overwintering
Some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season
108
Burrowers - Mode of Existence
- Inhabit fine sediment and construct burrows
109
Put-Grow-Take Fisheries
- Where there is a good chance fish will survive the winters
- Small fish are stocked and allowed to grow to catchable size
110
What is Frazil Ice
Where riffle areas have turbulent water that is thrown into the air and freezes into a slush
111
Limnetic Zone of a Lake
- Open water
- No contact with bottom or shore
- Organisms swim or float
112
Rocky Mountain Lakes
- Lake of rich soils (nutrient poor)
- Clear water, low temperature, and little life
113
What are Periphyton
- A photosynthetic biofilm covering substrate
- Important stream food source
- Sampled because they can absorb/bioaccumulate contaminants in the water
114
Marsh Type: Nutrients
- Nutrient Rich (Fed from many sources)
115
Invertebrate Emergence
- Move from Aquatic to Terrestrial System as a winged adult
- Crawl, swim, or float
- Timed to match appropriate environmental conditions (Avoid unfavourable conditions and predation)
- Typically synchronous - Swarms emerge together
116
Parkland Lakes
- Numerous, shallow, warm
- Fertile, nutrient rich land
- Algae blooms and Aquatic Plants
- Levels Fluctuate
117
Why do Freshwater Fish have a Declining Biodiversity?
- Hybridization (Ex. Westslope Cutthroat and Rainbow) is diluting the gene pool
- Outcompeted by invasive species that can tolerate change
118
Why do Freshwater Fish have a High Extinction Rate?
- Overharvesting and Overfishing
- Hybridization
- Habitat Degradation
- Climate Change
- Native species have trouble adapting to environmental changes
119
Benefits of Alberta's Fish Resources
1. Indicators of ecosystem health and diversity
2. Cultural and natural history
3. Recreational opportunities (Angling)
4. Source of food
5. Economic Benefits
120
Metalimnion Zonation
- Middle cooler portion
- Rapid temperature decline with depth decline
- Thermocline
121
Relative Amounts of Fish in Alberta
- 65 species
- 51 native
- 4 introduced by government agencies
- 10 illegally or accidentally introduced
122
Purpose of Fisheries Management
- Conservation of fish stocks and habitats
- Control of catches and allocation among fishers
- Monitoring of harvests
- Regulations and enforcement
123
Marsh Type: pH
- Neutral to Slightly Alkaline
124
What is the Hyporheic Zone?
- Transition zone between groundwater and surface water
- Provides oxygen and nutrients through upwellings
- Important for Benthic invertebrates and spawning fish
125
Grassland Lakes
- Few natural (mostly constructed)
- Warm and nutrient rich from agricultural runoff
- Water levels are stable
126
Nearest Neighbour Fish Stocking
- Restoration Stocking
- Moved to new habitat from nearest population
127
Shredder - Feeding Group
- Food: Detritus, wood, living plants
- Method: Chew, mine, and gouge
128
Management Options for the Westlslope Cutthroat
- Angling Restrictions (Catch and Release)
- Relocation to isolated systems
- Restoration to natural habitats
- Invasive fish removal programs
129
Salmonid Behaviour in the Winter
- Prefer sheltered, low velocity habitats
- Mainly Nocturnal
- Interact very little with each other or other species
- Low levels of activity and Movement
130
What does a 10 on the FBI Index Indicate
- Poor Water Quality
- High FBI score
- Only Tolerant Species Present
131
General Whirling Disease Life Cycle
1. Spores found in waterbody soil
2. Tubifex worms intake spores
3. Tubifex worms release TAM's into water
4. TAM's enter fish through the skin to infect
5. Infected fish show symptoms (Black tail, spinal deformity)
6. Fish death re-releases myxospores into mud bottom to restart the cycle
132
Littoral Zone of a Lake
- Shallow Shore area
- Light penetration with rooted macrophytes
- Organisms have to withstand turbulence from waves
133
What is the Fisheries Act
- Inhibits possession and import of invasive organisms
- Regulates management, conservation, and sustainable use of aquatic resources and fisheries
- Controls licensing for: Fishing, Transport, Stocking, Handling, and Marketing
134
Why are Freshwater Fish Important?
Alberta only has freshwater fish, making them important to the province's aquatic community structure. They also provide recreational opportunities for anglers.
135
What are the Disadvantages of using Macroinvertebrate as a Bioindicator
- Do not respond to all disturbances
- Factors other than water quality can impact distribution (Ex. Predators)
- Seasonal and Normal Variation
136
What is the FBI used for
- To Examine Organic Pollution
- Based on the presence and abundance of aquatic macroinvertebrates
137
Summer in a Dimictic Lake
- Heat increases surface water temperature (gets lighter)
- Results in stratification
138
Eutrophic Lake
- High phosphorus, nutrients, and chlorophyll-A
- High productivity leads to algae blooms
- Low Clarity and Oxygen
- 35-100 mg/l of Phosphorus
- 8-25 mg/l of Chlorophyll-A
139
Causes of Winter Fish Kills
- Depletion of Oxygen
- Quick freezing prevents oxygen from entering through cracks and streams
- No atmospheric exchange, mixing, or photosynthesis
- Respiration and decomposition take up oxygen
140
Why are Freshwater Fish Often Forgotten About?
We are biased towards salmonids (Salmocentric) and sportfish, while forgetting the "less important" species
141
Exotic vs Invasive Species
- Exotic: Harmless non-native species
- Invasive: Exotic species that becomes harmful and spreads without human mediation
142
Marsh Type: Water Permanence
- Shallow Surface Water with Fluctuating Water Levels
- Temporary to Semi-Permanent Flooding
143
Tolerance of Ephemeroptera - Baetidae
- Low - moderate tolerance
- Belong to EPT% Index
- Good indicators of water quality
