miscellaneous

Question 1

What is ocean acidification?

Answer 1

Ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth’s ocean

Question 2

What causes ocean acidification?

Answer 2

When carbon dioxide dissolves in the ocean (dissolution)

Question 3

What is habitat fragmentation?

Answer 3

When parts of a habitat are destroyed, leaving behind smaller unconnected areas

Question 4

What are environmental estrogens?

Answer 4

More endocrine destructing materials in the environment

Question 5

What causes stratification in lakes?

Answer 5

The warming of the surface of the water by the sun causes water density variations and initiates thermal stratification

Question 6

What are the main characteristics of wetlands?

Answer 6

Water, plants, soil, animals, borders where land and water meet, can be easily harmed by human activities

Question 7

What happened to the Kissimmee River and Florida Everglades to degrade those ecosystems?

Answer 7

Most of the floodplain was drained

Question 8

Is channelization or floodplain reconnection better for restoring stream ecosystems?

Answer 8

Floodplain reconnection

Question 9

Why can lakes develop low oxygen conditions in their bottom waters (hypolimnion)?

Answer 9

Stratification, when lake water separates into distinct layers based on temperature and density
The top layer is warmer while the bottom layer is colder
dead things sink to the bottom which leads to the growth of harmful bacteria and a lack of oxygen

Question 10

Which nutrients cause the growth of nuisance algal blooms in lakes?

Answer 10

Nitrogen and phosphorus

Question 11

What is organic matter, where does it come from, and why is it important in stream ecosystems?

Answer 11

• Matter composed of organic compounds that have come from the feces and remains of organisms such as plants and animals
• Influences food-web dynamics through the mineralization of carbon