Environmental science Exam #

• Where is the Mariana trench located ?

  Pacific ocean
• Photosynthesis


  Process by which organisms use sunlight to synthesize nutrients from carbon dioxide and water
• Pressure


  Force exerted on an object by the weight of the surrounding medium (e.g. water)
• Depth


  Vertical distance below the surface
• What comes to mind when we think about an Aquatic Ecosystem


  • Zooplankton
  • Dinoflagellates
  • Sea creatures
  • Organisms that need gills to breathe
  • Organisms that use oxygen to breathe like us
• Clownfish


  Have a mutualism relationship with sea anemones
• Coral reefs


  Look like a colorful bouquet
• Photosynthesis in aquatic ecosystems

  Producing energy from the algae
• Saltwater vs Freshwater


  Some living organisms only do well in the estuary
• Sea otters


  • Use hands as tools
• Beavers


  • Build dams
• Not all producers in aquatic ecosystems are photosynthetic, some use chemosynthesis
• How deep ocean animals produce food

  1. Use chemicals to synthesize organic elements

  2. They are chemosynthesis
• Pressure in the deep ocean

  The deeper you go, the more you have to deal with the pressure
• Organisms adapted to the deep ocean pressure will die if removed from that environment
• Not all non-native plants are dangerous to the environment, they are only invasive if they cause problems
• Over 98% of the US food supply comes from non-native species such as corn, wheat, rice, and livestock
• Most of the Earth is covered in water, which is mostly saltwater in the global ocean
• The global ocean is divided into 4 areas

  • Atlantic
  • Pacific
  • Arctic
  • Indian
• Freshwater sources


  • Lakes
  • Streams
  • Rivers
  • Glacial water
• Saltwater life zones


  • Oceans and estuaries
  • Coastlands and shorelines
  • Coral reefs
  • Mangrove forests
• Freshwater life zones


  • Lakes
  • Rivers and streams
  • Inland wetlands
• Abiotic factors in aquatic ecosystems

  • Salinity
  • Water temperature
  • Amount of sunlight
  • Availability of dissolved oxygen
  • Nutrients like nitrates and phosphates
  • Turbidity
• Types of life in aquatic ecosystems

  • Plankton
  • Nekton
  • Benthos
• Plankton


  Free-floating or weakly swimming organisms that can't swim against the current
• Types of plankton


  • Phytoplankton (plant-like, including algae)
  • Zooplankton (animal-like, including protozoa and jellyfish)
• Nekton


  Strong swimmers and consumers (e.g. fish, whales, sea turtles)
• Benthos


  Bottom dwellers (e.g. sea stars, lobsters, mussels)
• Decomposers


  Bacteria that break down dead organisms and wastes into nutrients
• Four types of aquatic life forms

  • Plankton
  • Jellyfish
  • Nekton
  • Benthos
• New Orleans is nested between the mouth of the Mississippi River and the brackish estuary lake of Lake Pontchartrain
• New Orleans is protected by a series of floodwalls or levees from ocean surges during large storms
• In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina, a massive category 5 hurricane, caused devastating damage to New Orleans
• At least 80% of the New Orleans metropolitan area evacuated before Hurricane Katrina made landfall
• The Mariana Trench is located in the Pacific Ocean
• Mariana Trench

  A crescent-shaped dent in the floor of the Pacific Ocean, 2,550 km long and 69 km wide, plunging down into a deep black hole
• Challenger Deep


  The deepest part of the Mariana Trench, 11,033 meters or 36,200 feet beneath the waves
• Subduction


  The process where the western edge of the Pacific plate was thrust beneath the smaller Mariana plate, creating the deep fracture of the Mariana Trench
• Hadal zone


  The deepest part of the ocean, below 6,000 meters (20,000 feet), characterized by pure darkness, acidic freezing water, scarce food, and immense pressure
• Pressure in the Hadal zone

  16,000 PSI