Estuaries & Human Impact Quiz
Urban runoff, pollution, dredging effects (10 questions).
Estuaries & Human Impact Quiz: Quick Study Notes
Estuaries are vital coastal ecosystems where freshwater rivers meet the ocean’s salty embrace. They are incredibly productive, supporting diverse marine life and offering critical services like water filtration and storm protection. However, these delicate environments are increasingly threatened by human activities, including urban runoff, various forms of pollution, and habitat destruction from dredging. Understanding these impacts is crucial for their conservation.
Key Concepts
Key Takeaways
- Estuaries are brackish water bodies formed by the mixing of fresh and saltwater.
- Urban runoff introduces a cocktail of pollutants, altering estuarine water quality.
- Nutrient pollution from agriculture and wastewater leads to harmful algal blooms and hypoxia.
- Dredging for navigation can destroy benthic habitats and release trapped toxins.
- Chemical and plastic pollution poses severe threats to estuarine flora and fauna, including the food web.
- Estuaries provide essential ecosystem services, acting as nurseries and natural filters.
- Conservation efforts must address multiple human impacts to protect these critical ecosystems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is an estuary?
A: An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water where fresh water from rivers and streams mixes with salt water from the ocean. This creates a unique brackish environment.
Q: How does urban runoff specifically harm estuaries?
A: Urban runoff collects pollutants like oil, grease, pesticides, fertilizers, and sediment from paved surfaces. When it flows into estuaries, it introduces these contaminants, degrades water quality, promotes algal blooms (from excess nutrients), and smothers habitats.
Q: What are the main types of pollution affecting estuaries?
A: Major types include nutrient pollution (leading to eutrophication), chemical pollution (pesticides, heavy metals, industrial waste), plastic pollution (macro and microplastics), and thermal pollution (from industrial discharges).
Q: Why is dredging controversial in estuarine environments?
A: While necessary for navigation, dredging physically removes or disturbs estuarine habitats like seagrass beds and oyster reefs. It also increases water turbidity, reducing light penetration, and can resuspend dormant pollutants from the sediment, impacting water quality and marine life.
Q: What makes estuaries so ecologically important?
A: Estuaries are often called “nurseries of the sea” because they provide critical sheltered habitats for the reproduction, growth, and feeding of many marine and migratory species. They also filter pollutants, protect coastlines from storms, and support economically important fisheries.
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