Ground Water Habitats Flashcards
What is an ecotone?
a transitional zone between two ecosystems that displays characteristics of both
What is a hyporheic zone?
area where groundwater and surface water meet
Why is connectedness important in groundwater habitats?
it drives the trends in abiotic characteristics
What are abiotic characteristics of downwelling stream water?
high dissolved oxygen, organic matter, nutrients, and subsurface fauna
What are the abiotic characteristics of upwelling hyporheic water?
low dissolved oxygen, organic matter, nutrients, and subsurface fauna
What kind of soil favors the mixing of ground water with the downwelling water from streams?
porous soil encourages greater nutrient exchange like gravel and rocks
What kind of barrier between groundwater and downwelling stream water does not encourage mixing?
sandstone
What is the biodiversity of groundwater like?
rich with stygofauna
What are stygoxen?
stygofauna that live just below the surface
What are are stygophile?
stygofauna that spend portion of their life under groundwater and a portion above
What are stygobites?
stygofauna that spend their entire live in groundwater and completely adapted to live underground
How does increased segmentation benefit stygobites?
benefits their mobility and burrowing ability
What traits do stygobites have to help them survive in groundwater?
lack pigmentation, reduced/no eyes, enhanced non-optic sensory organs, slow metabolisms, low DO requirement, and have many endemic species
What are threats to ground water habitats?
surface activity, species diversity, and economic gain
How does surface activity threaten ground water habitats?
changes the volume or structure of aquifers and declines the water quality
