Unit 2: Eutriphication

Question 1

What is eutrophication?

Answer 1

A body of water becomes rich in nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphates.

Question 2

How does an increase in nutrients lead to large die-offs of fish and other aquatic organisms?

Answer 2

Increased nutrients cause algae blooms, then the algae is decomposed by microbes which consume most of the oxygen, causing other organisms to suffocate.

Question 3

Wastewater is water produced by what?

Answer 3

Livestock operations and human activities.

Question 4

Waste water can carry _______ ________ organisms, another way of decreased population.

Answer 4

Disease causing organisms.

Question 5

Nutrients that are released from wastewater decomposition can make the water more what?

Answer 5

Fertile

Question 6

What is cultural eutrophication?

Answer 6

Eutrophication caused by anthropogenic inputs.

Question 7

Eutrophic

Answer 7

Water rich in nutrients, algal blooms, and low dissolved oxygen.

Question 8

Oligotrophic

Answer 8

Water low in nutrients, stable population of algae, high dissolved oxygen.

Question 9

Hypoxic

Answer 9

Not enough oxygen, dead zone.

Question 10

Examples of anthropogenic pollution

Answer 10

Fertilizers from farm fields, sewage from wastewater treatment plants, nitrogen from animal waste, and phosphates from detergents.

Question 11

Solutions to eutrophication

Answer 11

Dredge lakes, herbicides, insects that eat algae/plants, oxygen pumps.