Terms (chapter 1-18) Flashcards
Limnology
Study of inland waters: lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams, wetlands and estuaries
Aphotic or Tropholytic Zone
The volume of water or the area of sediments where the photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) is < 1% of that entering the water and where plant respiration is larger than plant photosynthesis
–> little to no sunlight
Benthos
The community associated with the bottom– refers most community to the animal community
Catchment, drainage basin or watershed
The area of land that land drains towards on aquatic system
Ecosystem
The unit of organization in which all living organisms collectively interact with the physical/ chemical enviro as an integrated system
Epilimnion
The surface-mixed (turbulent) layer in those lakes that exhibit a vertical temp stratification, with the lower boundary in content with the metalimnion
Hypolimnion
The deep, cooler layer of a stratified lake lying below the metalimnion, characterized by a greatly reduced turbulence and usually insufficient light to allow algal growth
Lentic System
Standing water system (ponds, lakes) in which the flow is primarily imposed by wind and heat is not primarily unidirectional
Littoral Zone
The near-shore region of lakes and lowland rivers where the sediments lie within the photic zone and where the shallower water flora is frequently dominated physically by macrophytes
Lotic System
Primarily unidirectional flowing water systems imposed by gravity (e.g.. rivers and streams)
Macrophytes
Community of multicellular emergent and submerged large plants dominating the shallow portions of littoral zones, lakes, slow-flowing rivers and wetlands
Metalimnion
The transition layer of water, between the epilimnion and hypolimnion, in which the temp declines with increasing depth
Mixed Layer
The upper water layer recently mixed by wind or temp induced currents (e.g.. surface area). = Epilimnion stratified lakes
Pelagic, Lacustrine or Limnetic Zone
The open water region beyond the littoral zone
Photic, Euphotic or Trophogenic Zone
The volume of water in which algal photosynthesis is on a diurnal basis, greater than algal respiration (PAR is > 1% of that entering the water
Plankton
The microscopic and small macroscopic community of the open water adapted to suspension and subject to passive movements imposed by wind and current
(eg. phytoplankton –> plant plankton and bacterioplankton and zooplankton –> animal plankton
Profundal Zone
The deep region (hypolimnion) of stratifying lakes, but mostly used with reference to deep-water sediments and their biota
Wetlands
Transition zones between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the soil are waterlogged for at least part of the year or covered by shallow waters, and which are typically occupied by rooted aquatic vegetation
- -> land consisting of marshes or swamps
- -> saturated lands
Name 3 challenges about measuring water
- Scale
- Amount of detail
- How to interpret the info
Name 5 different processes
- Production and Respiration
- Species interaction
- Growth and Loss Rates
- Physiology
- Biochemistry
What is the hierarchy order of organisms (largest to smallest)
Ecosystems > Communities > Population > Cells > Organisms
Keystone Species
Species that exert a major import on the behaviour on the system as a whole
Eg) Daphnia, zebra mussels
What can be define with using distinct boundaries
Structure and Function
What year was the Secchi disc developed?
1865
When was limnology first studied?
1901
When were lakes recognized to be an open system?
1915
Spatial Scale
Linkages between organism size and related processes
Is water a liquid crystal or true liquid? Why?
Water is liquid crystal because of its weak covalent bonds
- Liquid crystal: a substance that flows like a liquid but has some degree of ordering in the arrangement of its molecules
What are 5 properties of water
- High surface tension
- Moderate Viscosity
- Excellent solvent
- Dense at lower temps
- Essential for life
Specific Heat Capacity
Is the amount of heat need to raise or lower the temp of 1g of a substance by 1 deg C
–> takes 4.187 J to heat 1g of water to 1 deg C
Why is water important?
Without water there would be no photosynthesis resulting in no life on earth
How much of the worlds total water is fresh? And how much of that is accessible for human usage?
2.6% and 0.3%
Where does the fresh water not used by humans go?
Glaciers, ice caps, ground water
What is the most limiting resource on earth?
Freshwater
Water Residence Time (WRT)
Is the amount of water in a reservoir divided by either the rate of addition of water to the reservoir or the rate of loss from it
Groundwater = Long WRT
Lakes = Medium
Wetlands/rivers = Short
What are the top 3 counties supplied with water per capita?
- New Zealand
- Canada
- Norway
What are 3 critical roles wetlands and lakes play in?
- Organic chemical degradation
- Storage
- Water Purification
Name 5 things nourishment is greatly effected by
- Deforestation
- Pollution of freshwater
- Dam construction
- Increase catchment nutrient release
- With-drawl for human/ agricultural use
What can and can’t saline water be use for?
Can = extraction of salts (eg. NaCl) Cant = Drink or use for irrigation
River Discharge
is the volume of water flowing through a river channel
–> discharge from a drainage basin depends on precipitation, evapotranspiration and storage factors
Subsurface Runoff
Water that infiltrates in the unsaturated zone, from rain, snow melt, or other sources and moves laterally throwers the streams
Groundwater
Water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rocks
Aquifer
A body of permeable rock that can contain or transmit groundwater
Water table
The level below which the ground water is saturated with water
What does runoff carry?
Dissolved materials to streams
eg) plant nutrients, organic matter, pesticides and other contaminants
What are 4 things that clear cutting cause?
- Nutrient update diminish
- Transpiration markedly reduced
- UV radiation reduced
- Growth inhibiting
What are 3 effects of clear cutting?
- Increase in stream discharge
- Increase in sediment erosion
- Accelerated loss of dissolved and particulate nutrient and organic matter
What are 3 advantages of forest vegetation?
- Stabilizes soil
- Reduces erosion
- Provides high transpiration that reduces runoff
Proglacial Lakes
Small lakes formed by ice barriers when glaciers retreated and blocked natural outflows
Kettle or Pothole Lakes
When drift covered charge blocks of ice that had been broken off the glacier, once melted formed relatively deep small lakes
Ice-Scour Lakes
Most abundant of all the glacial lakes, produced by retreating glacier scaring and gouging the jointed and fractured bedrock, creating a vast number of shallow basins now occupied by lakes, ponds and wetlands
Erosion Lakes
Glaciers scoured deep, often large basins where advancing ice sheets moved through existing valleys with relatively soft or highly fractured rocks
Tectonic Lakes
The forces that bring about warping of the earths surface, resulting in contain formation or lowering of an area
- -> most common in areas with low rain fall
- -> continues to deep and widen
Coastal Lakes
They are recent lakes because sea level only stabilized 6,000 years ago, after glacial melting ended. They are usually formed when a spit or bar builds up between headlands of marine and vert large freshwater bays
–> most remain slightly salted
Riverine Lakes
Wide variety of riverine lakes and this lake type dominates low latitude
–> most common are formed in floodplains and river deltas
Volcanic Lakes
Located in creators formed after an eruption and those resulting for flowing lava damming river allies
Solution of Karst Lakes
Are typically small, lying in basins of highly soluble rock (mostly limestone)
–> caves are also formed during similar processes
3 kinds of volcanic lakes
- formed after directly ejected through volcanic cone of underlying materials
- Those (often small and deep) produced following underground explosions brought about by hot lave (magma) coming on contact with groundwater or by degassing of magma
- Much larger craters resulting from collapse of the earths surface overlying an area (magma)
Limestone
is a rock soluble union contact with slightly acidic waters, created when CO2 released with water from precipitation yielding carbonic acid
Morphometry
Process of measuring the external shape and dimensions of landforms, living organisms or other objects
Bathymetric Map
Standard way of recording the morphometry of lakes
Fetch
Distance over which wind can blow and bring about turbulence
Stratify
Form layers
What 2 things help determine if a lake will stratify?
- Surface Area
2. Max Depth
What 3 things increase with increasing surface area?
- Number or plants
- Number of fish
- Number of invertebrate species
What are 3 effects of relatively deep lakes?
- Small fraction of likes surface area
- Decrease in light (and O2)
- Unproductive
What are 2 effects of transparent lakes?
- Disproportionally large surface area
2. Increase in growth and productivity
What does nutrient loading do with increasing means depth?
Decrease
–> in both saline and freshwater lakes
What are 5 things the underwater slope effects?
- Steepness and extend of the lateral zone
- Sediment stability and structure
- Sediment accumulation
- Angle by which waves and current impact the lake bottom