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Aquatic Ecology > Exam 2 > Flashcards

Exam 2 Flashcards

1
Q

Lentic

A

nonflowing, standing water (small pools to Great Lakes)

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2
Q

Lotic

A

running/flowing water (seeps to larger and wets)

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3
Q

Base Flow

A

not influenced by precipitation; no rain, all water in streams right now from ground water

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4
Q

Seep

A

where water starts to come out from a hillside

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5
Q

Ephemeral

A

there is a stream right after a rain storm and then it disappears

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6
Q

Intermitant

A

flows for a while, then dries up

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7
Q

Perennial

A

stays flowing throughout the year during normal rainfall

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8
Q

What shapes a river?

A
  • climate
  • geology
  • topography
  • vegetation
  • human land use
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9
Q

Climate

A

heat, precip/rainfall, drought, snowpack

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10
Q

Geology

A

chemical identity and buffering capacity; including influences based on ions and minerals leached from bedrock and surficial (topmost layer) material; limestone has lots of perculation and granite not much at all; determines pH of a river

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11
Q

Topography

A

influences stream morphology; flow velocity (how fast stream moves); whether stream is carrying or depositing sediment/ sediment erosion transfer or deposition; substrate: boulders, bedrock; habitat: step pools, meander pattern: riffles or rapid area: riffle - pool - run

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12
Q

High gradient areas

A

v-shape cross section; erosional; often find step pool, boulders, cobbles

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13
Q

Entrenched

A

measure of vertical containment in a channel; determined by bankfull width and flood prone width; FP (flood prone width):BF (bank full width)=entrenchment

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14
Q

Sinuosity

A

a bend; meander pattern

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15
Q

Moderate gradient area

A

in a valley start to see sinuosity: riffle - pool - run; smaller deposits: cobble, gravel, sand; not erosional, more depositional; water starts to slow down; slightly entrenched; larger flood prone area

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16
Q

Riparian zone

A

land along the river/ floodplain

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17
Q

Vegetation

A

best vegetation to have along a river is riparian forest

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18
Q

Instream habitat

A

instream wood, branches, etc creates important habitat and diversity for fish and other organisms

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19
Q

Bank stability

A

root systems of trees on bank holds the bank together especially during storms; just grass you would get a slumped bank when the bank falls in

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20
Q

Autumn leaves

A

major energy source of streams; in summer canopy of leaves overhanging causes “drops” (falling insects) (another energy source)

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21
Q

Trees

A

cool the stream and regulate temps; higher order streams cooling effect is not as apparent because the stream is wider so trees do not overlap

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22
Q

Pollutants

A

are absorbed through the vegetation; nutrients phosphorus and nitrogen as well as toxins get absorbed

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23
Q

Human Land Use

A

riparian forests getting replaced by impervious surfaces which causes a lot of runoff; increasing impervious surfaces 10-20% you double the amt of runoff; more flash floods; dams also changes the habitat and fragments populations

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24
Q

Colluvial

A

sediment and organic matter accumulates at base of the hill

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25
Alluvial
sediment and organic matter has been carried down from upstream
26
Power of water
determined by slope and volume of water
27
Longitudinal Dimension
downstream; can see erosion, deposition and connectivity; dams disrupt connectivity; riverine (lotic) -> impoundment (lentic); transport of nutrients and sediments is disrupted; disrupts exchange downstream
28
Latitudinal Dimension
lateral connectivity involves the riparian zone; material exchange between river and riparian zone; sediments/ soil accumulates; lots of agriculture along rivers because that's where soils are good for farming
29
Vertical Dimension
- groundwater seeps down from water table into river; you get chemicals and ions and dissolved organic carbon - hyporheic zone: diversity of species; nutrient spiraling; nutrients in sediments then water column; fish eggs sweep their tail to remove fine sediments to make nests
30
Stream segment
between 2 tributaries; within it you can have a stream reach
31
Stream reach
riffle, pool, run; more homogeneous part of the segment
32
Stenotherm
narrow temp range (ie. slimy sculpin)
33
Eurytherm
wide temp range (ie. sunfish and bass)
34
Stream Gains
precip (P) and ground water seepage inflow (Gin)
35
Stream Losses
stream outflow (Q), evapotranspiration (ET), ground water seepage outflow (Gout)
36
Discharge (flow)
amount/volume of water flowing through a cross-sectional area of a stream per unit time (seconds); area*velocity= volume discharge
37
Thalweg
deepest point in channel
38
Hydrograph
discharge over time
39
Factors influencing flow
- slope (force of gravity) - cross-sectional area of a stream - roughness of bottom and banks which can cause friction and decrease flow - wetted perimeter: boundary on bottom between streamwater and sediment; the smaller the wetted perimeter the less friction there is and increase flow
40
Laminar flow
slow, smooth flow
41
Turbulent flow
rough, fast; most always see turbulent flow
42
Intermediate/ transitional flow
in the middle of laminar and turbulent
43
Straight channel
fasted flow in center b/c less friction from along banks; flow faster the farther you are from the bottom
44
Meandering channel
slip off bank, sand point bar, thalweg
45
Abiotic Factors
- current - sediment - temperature - chemistry
46
Current
flow meandering discharge; transports material/ resources; removes waste; high flows can displace organisms downstream/ downstream displacement; organisms have opportunity for dispersal
47
Entrainment
picked up by current and moved
48
Disturbance
event that effects the fitness of an organism
49
Microhabitat flow refuges
behind rocks where flow is slowed down
50
Inertia
Resistance to change in motion; big/heavy object has greater inertia
51
Viscosity
resistance to change in form (internal friction) due to mutual attraction of water molecules; viscosity changes over temperature
52
Reynolds Number
the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces
53
Froude Number
how bulk fluids are moving; velocity based on gravitational forces; Fr=(gravitational forces)/(inertial forces)
54
Hydraulic Jump
- entrains air - serves as a launch pad for fish moving upstream - makes sound of water as air bubbles burst - serves as habitat for aquatic organisms
55
Stream temperature
solar radiation is the primary heat source for aquatic ecosystems
56
Ice dam
sudden melting of ice in the spring mixed with wood/branches
57
Plunge pool
trout hangout; important in geomorphology
58
Sources of bed material
colluvial and alluvial; erosion of banks; stream acts as a sediment "sorting machine"
59
Wentworth scale of grain sizes
sediments classified by their size; boulders, gravel, cobble
60
Stream armoring
a stream with larger sediment overlaying finer sediment; stream less susceptible to changing
61
Stream transport
sand is the most easily entrained (carried and moved); silt and clay more cohesive so harder to pull those off the bottom
62
Contents of stream bed
dissolved load (ions), suspended load (what is picked up off the bottom and carried), and bed load (moved by velocity of water, tumbled down and rolled)
63
Erosion
- can cut new channels, banks and streambeds - greater without riparian vegetation - greater if you have impervious surfaces; causes flash flooding and rapid runoff
64
Competence
moving grains downstream; largest particle that can be moved at a particular flow
65
Critical erosion velocity
velocity needed to transport a particular grain size
66
Sheer stress
force of the water on the substrate/ stream bed; good way to analyze flow and velocity and its effect on organisms and stream bed
67
Bernoulli Principle
where velocity is high the pressure is low; where velocity is low the pressure is higher; air or fluids/water; relates to birds and their wings/flying when they aren't moving as fast pressure is high
68
Pool tailout
lots of gravel coming out of the pool; lots of sorting
69
Downdwelling
area where water is drawn down through pool tailout; important spawning sigh because oxygenated water flowing through gravel bringing oxygen to eggs and waste products drawn away
70
Flood plains can change overtime due to
- climatic conditions: glaciers - flow changes: not flowing as far or becoming incized/ cut deeper - what was once a flood plain can become a terrace - when you slow water silt can accumulate behind a dam
71
Avulsion
sudden divergence of a stream causing a new channel formation and dewatering of former channel
72
Glacial tilt
a lot of unsorted sediment left behind by a glacier; very heterogeneous
73
Headcut
sudden vertical drop in the stream bed that can form a 'knickpoint' which can migrate upstream b/c water is flowing and sediments get washed out (erosion going upstream)
74
Incision
scouring out of a channel making it deeper and the sides/banks are higher and less stable and more likely to fall in and sediments get washed downstream
75
Species abundance and richness are correlated with
- amt of detritus - algal biomass - substrate stability and complexity (roughness and crevices) - depth (deeper water, less diversity) - velocity
76
Suncook River Avulsion
- moved lots of sediment downstream - banks slumping - headcutting: knick point where there is a sudden drop and erosion - out of balance, trying to get back to equilibrium; excavated a lot of material and sent it downstream - bridge upstream threatened

Aquatic Ecology (2 decks)

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