Groundwater Ecosystems L5 Flashcards
What is groundwater an essential resource for (from a human perspective)?
1) Drinking water
2) Irrigation in agriculture
3) Solvent and cooling agent
4) Source for heat and cold
Groundwater makes up water percentage of Earth’s total LIQUID freshwater?
94%
Where is groundwater found?
Present in all rock formations
Why is groundwater particularly Karstic and fissured/course clastic rocks (e.g. limestones, chalk and sandstone)?
They are fractured/porous and provide habitat opportunities.
Define aquifer
a body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater.
Many groundwater organisms are only found in what? What is special about these organisms?
Aquifers.
The organisms are blind and colourless.
What kind of organisms might you find in aquifers?
1) Microbial biofilms
2) microfauna
3) macroscopic invertebrates
How do the assemblages impact the chemical quality of water in the aquifer?
They mediate the biogeochemical processes such as nitrogen recycling and so affect the chemical quality of the water in aquifers.
What are stygobites?
Organisms that live in groundwater. They belong to the subphylum Crustacea.
How are stygobites tailored to fit their ecological niche?
1) Loss of eyes/pigmentation
2) Lower metabolic rates/reduced locomotor activity/ longer life cycles/ low numbers
3) Development of sensory setae
Globally there are a large number of stygobite species. As of 2000 how many stygobite species are there?
7,700
Name a species of stygobite
/Niphargus aquilex/
Name a biodiversity hotspot for stygobites.
the Dinaric (West Balkan) region
There are a large number of endemic and rare species of stygobite. Give an example (statistic).
78% of the stygobitic taxa in the Dinaric region are endemic.
Stygobites disperse __________ and are very slow to _______________ areas where populations have been wiped out.
Stygobites disperse SLOWLY and are very slow to RECOLONISE areas where populations have been wiped out.
