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.
How do POPs travel long distances to far away ecosystems?
They travel through the wind and through water sources (such as rivers and streams)
Negative effects of PCBs
-toxic to fish, causing spawning failure and endocrine disruption
-Cause reproductive failure and cancer in humans
Perchlorates
given off by rockets, missiles, and fireworks.
-remain in soil and can leach into ground water/ run off into surface water.
Bioaccumulation
absorption and concentration of compounds in the cells and fat tissue of AN organism
Biomagnification
Increasing concentration of compounds in each level UP the trophic pyramid
Effect of biomagnification of DDT
Predatory birds (such as eagles) shells thinned, resulting in reproductive failure.
How is Mercury Biomagnified?
Fly ash from coal plants is carried through the wind and deposited in water, where bacteria convert it to methylmercury.
Methylmercury is taken in by phytoplankton and biomagnifies up the food chain to large predatory fish such as tuna
Humans ingest the large predatory fish.
Effect of ingesting POPs & Mercury:
Neurotoxicant: damages central nervous system
Accumulates in brain of developing fetus
What is the purpose of a Clay/Plastic landfill liner?
prevent pollutants/leachate from leaking into the soil and groundwater.
Leachate Collection System
tubes/pipes at the bottom of a landfill to collect leachate and prevent it from leaking into soil and groundwater.
Methane recovery system
tubes/pipes to collect methane produced by the anaerobic decomposition of garbage in a landfill.
-methane can then be used for heating buildings or generating electricity
Clay Cap
a clay and soil mixture used to cover a landfill once it is full to keep animals out and allow vegetation to regrow.
Why may waste be incinerated?
-to reduce the volume of the waste (by 90%)
-to generate electricity
Primary Treatment
physical removal of large debris (leaves, sediment, sticks, toilet paper)
Secondary Treatment
Biological break down of organic matter by bacteria
-aerobic process
Tertiary treatment
Chemical treatment to reduce pollutant levels (N,P, Ammonia)
-expensive and not always used
Disinfecting
Using UV-light, Ozone, or chlorine to kill bacteria or other pathogens (such as E.coli)
Effluent
Liquid waste discharged into surface bodies of water from waste treatment plants.
Sludge
inorganic solid waste that collects at the bottom of the tanks in primary and secondary treatment.
-it is dried then deposited in landfills
What is the downside of combined sewage and stormwater runoff systems?
During heavy rainfall wastewater treatment plants can flood and release sewage into surface waters.
Dose Response Study
Studies that expose an organism to different doses of a chemical in order to measure the response.
LD50
the dose of a chemical that kills 50% of the organisms tested
ED50
the dose of a chemical that causes a non-lethal effect in 50% of the population tested.
To determine the safe dosage of a medication for human you would:
divide the LD50 by a concentration of 1000
Route of exposure for Arsenic:
rice, ground water
Synergism
the interaction of two or more substances to cause an effect greater than that of each one individually.
Dysentery
A bacterial infection caused by ingesting food or water contaminated by fecal matter.
-causes dehydration due to severe diarrhea
-Can be treated with antibiotics
Mesothelioma
A cancerous tumor caused by exposure to asbestos.
Tropospheric Ozone
Worsens respiratory conditions (asthma, COPD), limiting overall lung function..
Pathogen
living organisms that cause infectious diseases
vectors
organisms that transmit disease
Plague
a bacterial infection transmitted by fleas that travel by rat
Tuberculosis (TB)
A bacterial infection that targets the lungs
-transmitted by breathing in bodily fluids of an infected person
-leading cause of death by disease in developing countries
Malaria
Infection caused by parasitic protists transmitted by infected mosquitos.
-especially bad in Sub Saharan African in children under 5
West Nile Virus
Viral infection caused by a bite from an infected mosquito.
-BIRDS are the main host, but it is transmitted to humans through mosquitos
-Causes fatal brain inflammation
Zika Virus
Viral infection causes by a bite from infected mosquitos OR bodily fluids from an infected person
-causes babies to be born with small heads
-no known cure
SARS
Corona virus infection caused by respiratory droplets from an infected person.
-causes a severe form of pneumonia
MERS
Viral respiratory infection transmitted from camels to humans.
Cholera
Bacterial infection causes by drinking water contaminated with feces
-causes severe dehydration because of diarrhea
