Unit 8 Flashcards
What are some example of Point Source Pollution?
Oil Spills
Animal Waste Runoff From CAFOS
Smokestacks
What are some examples of Non-Point Source Pollution?
Urban Runoff
Pesticides Sprayed on Agricultural Fields
Indicator Species
Species that can be surveyed and used to determine the health of an ecosystem.
How do humans disrupt coral reef ecosystems?
Emission of GHG: heats the oceans and causes coral bleaching when the algae on coral are not able to handle the temperature change.
Sediment Pollution: increases turbidity of reefs, decreasing photosynthesis.
Toxicants: chemicals from urban runoff and pesticides from agriculture
How do oil spills effect marine life?
-Hydrocarbon in crude oil are toxic to many marine organisms
-Oil sinking to the bottom of the ocean and suffocating bottom dwellers
-decreases visibility and photosynthesis of marine plants
How do oil spills effect wetland ecosystems?
oil can seep deep into the root structures of estuary habitats and can be toxic to the root structures, killing them.
-leads to coastline erosion
What happened in the BP gulf spill?
and underwater oil well exploded and blew out
What happened in the Exxon Valdez spill?
a tanker ran into an iceberg and leaked.
Name 3 methods of oil spill clean up?
-Placing booms on the surface of the water to contain the spread and allow ships to vacuum up oil
-Physical removal of oil from beaches using towels
-Chemical dispersants sprayed on oil slicks to break up oil and have it sink to the bottom of the ocean.
Endocrine Disruptors
chemicals that interfere with the hormonal systems of animals
What is Atrazine?
Atrazine is a broad-spectrum herbicide used to control weeds.
-can run off of fields into waterways
What is DDT?
Broad Spectrum insecticide that was banned, but still persists in natural environments.
What are Phthalates?
Compounds used in plastic and cosmetic manufacturing.
-enter surface and ground water through dumping of trash or chemical waste from factories
What are the negative health affects associated with ingesting Mercury?
Endocrine Disruption: Inhibits estrogen and insulin production.
Teratogen: Can accumulate in the brains of developing fetuses.
Causes and effects of ingesting Arsenic:
Causes: arsenic can dissolve into drinking water (Can be worsened by mining)
Effect: Carcinogenic (Lungs, bladder, kidney), Endocrine disruption
Causes and effects of ingesting Lead:
Causes: found in paint, water pipes, and soil contaminated by car exhaust
Effects: neurotoxin (especially in children), Endocrine disruption
Coal Ash can be a source of what 3 pollutants?
Mercury, Arsenic, Lead
Wetland
an area with soil that is submerged in water for at least part of the year, but shallow enough for emerging plants.
Cultural Eutrophication
anthropogenic nutrient pollution that leads to eutrophication
Oligotrophic Waterways
waterways with low nutrient levels, stable algae population, and high dissolved oxygen
There is a ________ relationship between water temperature and dissolved oxygen.
inverse
Heat _________ the respiration rate of marine organisms.
increases
Cooling Towers
towers/ponds used to cool steam back into water and hold warm water before returning it to local surface waters.
POPs
synthetic compounds that do not easily break down in the environment and accumulate and build up in water & soil.
What are 2 sources of POPs?
Medications: medicines people take that are excreted through urine which may end up in ecosystems if sewage is improperly treated.
Dioxins: a byproduct of fertilizer production & burning medical waste
What are PCBs?
Additives in paints and plastics which are released into aquatic ecosystems by industrial wastewater.