Chapter 5: Concepts

Question 1

Major causes of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico:

Answer 1

Fertilizer from Midwestern farms, urban runoff, industrial discharge, fossil fuel combustion, and sewage

Question 2

Systems:

Answer 2

System is rarely has well-defined boundaries, so deciding where one system and another begins can be difficult. Systems makes exchange energy, information with other system, or may contain or be contained with in another system.

Question 3

Excess nutrients sources:

Answer 3

Excess nutrients are present in a run off for fertilized agricultural fields, animal manure, crop residues, sewage, industrial and automobile emissions

Question 4

Energy flow:

Answer 4

Energy flows in one direction through ecosystems mostly from the sun

Question 5

The creation of dead zones:

Answer 5

Human factors such as farming, urbanization and industry increase the nutrition load

Question 6

The makeup of a landscape:

Answer 6

A landscape is made up of a spatial array of patches spread over the landscape in ah mosaic and connected at ecotones

Question 7

Nutrient circulation:

Answer 7

Most nutrients travels through the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere and from one organism to another, moving between reservoir or pool, remaining in the reservoir for a residence time.