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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
Q

Alluvial

A

sediment and organic matter has been carried down from upstream

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26
Q

Power of water

A

determined by slope and volume of water

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27
Q

Longitudinal Dimension

A

downstream; can see erosion, deposition and connectivity; dams disrupt connectivity; riverine (lotic) -> impoundment (lentic); transport of nutrients and sediments is disrupted; disrupts exchange downstream

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28
Q

Latitudinal Dimension

A

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

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29
Q

Vertical Dimension

A
  • 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
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30
Q

Stream segment

A

between 2 tributaries; within it you can have a stream reach

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31
Q

Stream reach

A

riffle, pool, run; more homogeneous part of the segment

32
Q

Stenotherm

A

narrow temp range (ie. slimy sculpin)

33
Q

Eurytherm

A

wide temp range (ie. sunfish and bass)

34
Q

Stream Gains

A

precip (P) and ground water seepage inflow (Gin)

35
Q

Stream Losses

A

stream outflow (Q), evapotranspiration (ET), ground water seepage outflow (Gout)

36
Q

Discharge (flow)

A

amount/volume of water flowing through a cross-sectional area of a stream per unit time (seconds); area*velocity= volume discharge

37
Q

Thalweg

A

deepest point in channel

38
Q

Hydrograph

A

discharge over time

39
Q

Factors influencing flow

A
  • 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
Q

Laminar flow

A

slow, smooth flow

41
Q

Turbulent flow

A

rough, fast; most always see turbulent flow

42
Q

Intermediate/ transitional flow

A

in the middle of laminar and turbulent

43
Q

Straight channel

A

fasted flow in center b/c less friction from along banks; flow faster the farther you are from the bottom

44
Q

Meandering channel

A

slip off bank, sand point bar, thalweg

45
Q

Abiotic Factors

A
  • current
  • sediment
  • temperature
  • chemistry
46
Q

Current

A

flow meandering discharge; transports material/ resources; removes waste; high flows can displace organisms downstream/ downstream displacement; organisms have opportunity for dispersal

47
Q

Entrainment

A

picked up by current and moved

48
Q

Disturbance

A

event that effects the fitness of an organism

49
Q

Microhabitat flow refuges

A

behind rocks where flow is slowed down

50
Q

Inertia

A

Resistance to change in motion; big/heavy object has greater inertia

51
Q

Viscosity

A

resistance to change in form (internal friction) due to mutual attraction of water molecules; viscosity changes over temperature

52
Q

Reynolds Number

A

the ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces

53
Q

Froude Number

A

how bulk fluids are moving; velocity based on gravitational forces; Fr=(gravitational forces)/(inertial forces)

54
Q

Hydraulic Jump

A
  • 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
Q

Stream temperature

A

solar radiation is the primary heat source for aquatic ecosystems

56
Q

Ice dam

A

sudden melting of ice in the spring mixed with wood/branches

57
Q

Plunge pool

A

trout hangout; important in geomorphology

58
Q

Sources of bed material

A

colluvial and alluvial; erosion of banks; stream acts as a sediment “sorting machine”

59
Q

Wentworth scale of grain sizes

A

sediments classified by their size; boulders, gravel, cobble

60
Q

Stream armoring

A

a stream with larger sediment overlaying finer sediment; stream less susceptible to changing

61
Q

Stream transport

A

sand is the most easily entrained (carried and moved); silt and clay more cohesive so harder to pull those off the bottom

62
Q

Contents of stream bed

A

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
Q

Erosion

A
  • can cut new channels, banks and streambeds
  • greater without riparian vegetation
  • greater if you have impervious surfaces; causes flash flooding and rapid runoff
64
Q

Competence

A

moving grains downstream; largest particle that can be moved at a particular flow

65
Q

Critical erosion velocity

A

velocity needed to transport a particular grain size

66
Q

Sheer stress

A

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
Q

Bernoulli Principle

A

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
Q

Pool tailout

A

lots of gravel coming out of the pool; lots of sorting

69
Q

Downdwelling

A

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
Q

Flood plains can change overtime due to

A
  • 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
Q

Avulsion

A

sudden divergence of a stream causing a new channel formation and dewatering of former channel

72
Q

Glacial tilt

A

a lot of unsorted sediment left behind by a glacier; very heterogeneous

73
Q

Headcut

A

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
Q

Incision

A

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
Q

Species abundance and richness are correlated with

A
  • amt of detritus
  • algal biomass
  • substrate stability and complexity (roughness and crevices)
  • depth (deeper water, less diversity)
  • velocity
76
Q

Suncook River Avulsion

A
  • 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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