BIOL 2650

Study Guide Chapter 12

Spring 2009

1. How much of the water in the Colorado River is allocated for use?  What is the water used for? 

What is the problem with California’s use of the river?

 

2. How much of the earth’s water is fresh?  How much of that is readily available?

 

3. What is a watershed?  What is the floodplain of a river?

 

4.Why are wetlands important ecologically?

 

5.What % of natural wetlands remain in the US?          California?

 

6. Know the terms groundwater, recharge area, water table, aquifer.

 

7. Where is the Ogallala Aquifer? Why is it important? What is happening to it?

 

8. What regions of the US are already suffering water shortages or likely to do so in the future?

 

9. What % of the world’s large rivers have been dammed?   

What is the % for N. America?

10. Globally, what % of water is used by each of the following sectors:

agriculture,

industry, 

household /municipal

12. What are the benefits provided by dams?

 

 

13. What are the environmental costs of dams? (negative impacts) 

 

 

14. Where is the Three Gorges Dam?  What are its serious environmental issues?

 

 

15. Where is the Aral Sea? What has happened to it?  What are the negative impacts? 

 

 

16. Why is groundwater even more at risk of depletion than surface water?

 

17. What are the 5 major consequences of groundwater depletion?

 

 

18. What is desalination?   Is it a practical solution to balancing water supply and demand?

 

19. What are the other potential solutions to balancing supply and demand?

In cities:

 

In agriculture:

 

20. How much of CA flowing surface water is used or diverted? What % of that is used for agriculture?

 

Where does most of CA precipitation fall?  Where is most of the population, agriculture, and water use?

 

What is "the Delta" and why is it important to CA water supply?

 

Besides its own watershed, from what 3 sources does southern CA get it's water?

 

 

21. What is the difference between point and non-point sources of pollution? Which type is harder to control?

 

 

22. Water quality is measured by assessing which:

Biological factors

 

Chemical factors

 

Physical factors

 

23. Know how the following impact water quality:

            Nutrients and OM:  the number one pollution problem for lakes and estuaries.

What does Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) measure? What wastes cause a high BOD?

 

            Pathogens: What types of diseases are water borne?

What does the coliform bacteria test measure?

            Toxic chemicals:

What two types of chemicals are of particular concern because they are toxic in small amounts, and don’t degrade readily, bioaccumulate and biomagnify?

 

            Sediments:  the number one problem for streams and rivers.

 

 

            Heat and cold:

 

24. In what way is groundwater pollution a more serious problem than surface water pollution?

 

25. Can polluted groundwater be treated? How?

 

26. What are the three specific goals of modern wastewater treatment?

 

27. What types of materials are typically NOT removed during treatment?

 

28. The water in the ocean develops layers or strata based on what two characteristics?

 

29. How are upwellings  important in ocean ecology?

 

30. Most photosynthesis occurs between the surface and what depth?

 

31. Know kelp forests, coral reefs, and mangrove swamps as important community types- provide physical structure and food (via photosynthesis) for complex and diverse food webs.  

Kelp forest- mainly temperate zone, rocky coastlines

 

Coral Reefs and Mangroves- tropical to subtropical, sandy coastlines

 

32.  What are the major threats to mangrove forests?

 

33. What are the major threats to coral reefs?

 

34. In what way is plastic debris a threat to sea life?

 

35. What are the sources of oil pollution?  How does it affect sea life?

 

36. In what ways does nutrient pollution impact ocean life?

 

37. What are “red tides”?

 

38. What evidence is there that the oceans are being over-harvested?

 

39. What factors (besides greed) have led to the modern overexploitation of fish and other marine species?

 

40. What is by-catch and why is it a problem?

 

41. Understand how drift nets and bottom-trawling contribute to the destruction of marine life.

 

42. What are the benefits of Marine Preserves for marine life?

 

For fishermen?

 

43. Describe the following socio/political solutions to overfishing.

    Boat buyouts

 

    Shared Catch or Individual transferable quotas (ITQs)

 

    Consumer awareness programs

 

    Ending government subsidies