Answers:CW2

From Environmental Technology

Revision as of 03:14, 13 February 2006

1. Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem: (20 points total) Read about the Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem from their website. Read the “Forest” link, the “Wetlands” link, the “Food Production and Consumption” link, and the “phytoplankton and microzooplankton” section.
2. Answer the following questions:

a) What are wetlands? How are wetlands characterized? What are some types of wetlands?

transitional link between water and land which are marshes, swamps, and bogs

characterized by water type--salt or fresh, by vegetation, by hydrology, climate, soil, etc

some types are Estuarine, palustrine, emergent, shrub, and forested wetlands

see [1]

b) What are the functions of wetlands?

some functions are protect and improve water quality, control flooding and erosion, provide habitat for terestrial and aquatic life, and recreation

see [2]

c) What is percentage loss of Forest in the Bay area? How many tree and plant species are in the Bay area?

from 95% to 60%, making a 35% loss

at least 50 tree species and at least 2700 plant species, so at least 2750 total

see [3]

d) What are the functions of the Forest?

forests protect water quality, create habitat for fish and wildlife, improve air quality, encourage rescreation, and contribute to economy

see [4]

e) From the “Food Production & Consumption” section, list the types of trophs it discusses and categorize them.

types of trophs:

saprotrophs

bacteria

autotrophs

blue-green algae, phytoplankton

heterotrophs

consumers, none specifically listed

see [5]

f) What would happen to the entire system if the plankton were removed? Discuss the losses and problems that this could cause. Also, discuss what would happen if an unnatural overabundance of plankton were to occur in this region.

If the phytoplankton were removed, there would be a loss of food source and animals that rely on it would die off or move away. It would be a fundamental hazard to the entire food chain.

An overabundance would slowly cause an increase in other animal populations, possibly causing an imbalance somewhere else.

g) Wetlands are disappearing from our coastlines at an alarming rate, does this sort of thing occur inland, or is it mainly a coastal problem? Is this really a problem, or should something be done about this? Have there been any other areas where deteriorating wetlands have caused other massive problems or do you think this is just a Chesapeake Bay problem?

Wetlands are disappearing due to human actions such as levies, dams, canals, urban sprawl, etc.

See Mississippi delta, for example.