Question 1

What are aquatic biomes?

Accepted Answer

Biomes that exist in water or have water as a key component

Question 2

What is salinity?

Accepted Answer

The concentration of dissolved salt in water

(higher salinity = saltier = more dense)

Question 3

What is turbidity?

Accepted Answer

How cloudy water is; influenced by soil runoff

(high turbidity = very cloudy)

Question 4

Wetlands

Accepted Answer

Biomes whose soil is either permanently or periodically saturated with water

Different from lakes, as wetlands are shallow and may dry out

(marshes, swamps, bogs, mudflats, salt marshes)

Question 5

Why are wetlands important?

Accepted Answer

Store excess water from floods

Remove excess nutrients from runoff

Provide a unique, lush habitat that is filled with biodiversity

Question 6

What is emergent vegetation?

Accepted Answer

Wetland plants that have roots underwater in the soil but extend out of the water

(grown in wetlands because wetlands are shallow)

Question 7

Lakes and Ponds

Accepted Answer

BIomes naturally filled with standing freshwater

(ponds = smaller; lakes = bigger)

Question 8

What is the difference between oligotrophic lakes and eutrophic lakes?

Accepted Answer

Oligotrophic lakes have low productivity (low nitrogen and phosphorus)

Eutrophic lakes have high productivity (also higher turbidity from nutrients)

(mesotrophic lakes are in between)

Question 9

Streams and Rivers

Accepted Answer

An aquatic biome with flowing freshwater

Freshwater fish exist here

Question 10

Mangrove Swamps

Accepted Answer

Coastal wetlands in tropical/subtropical regions with trees whose roots are constantly submerged in water

Important for having high biodiversity and preventing erosion by breaking waves

Question 11

The Open Ocean

Accepted Answer

Water in the ocean beyond what is near the shore; contains deep water that the sun cannot penetrate

Question 12

Intertidal Zones

Accepted Answer

Narrow bands along the coast that experience a range of environmental conditions due to the rising/receding tide

(including daily changes in sunlight, temperature, and water; barnacles, sea stars, crustaceans, etc.)

Question 13

Coral Reefs

Accepted Answer

Vast ecosystems built on the exoskeletons of coral polyps; contain many biodiverse plants and animals

Found in warm, shallow, sunlit waters

Question 14

What are polyps?

Accepted Answer

Tiny animals that form massive colonies and build coral reefs by secreting a protective limestone exoskeleton

The exoskeleton remains after polyps die, providing a platform for other organisms in the reef

Question 15

How do polyps and algae interact?

Accepted Answer

Algae provide the polyps with food and oxygen via photosynthesis

Polyps provide the algae with carbon dioxide via cellular respiration

Question 16

Why are coral reefs important?

Accepted Answer

Remove CO2 from the atmosphere to moderate temperatures

Act as natural barriers against erosion

Provide habitats for many species

Question 17

What is coral bleaching?

Accepted Answer

When increased stress causes algae in coral reefs to die off, leaving only a "bleached" skeleton remaining

(increased temperature, acidity, etc.)

Question 18

Estuary

Accepted Answer

An area where a freshwater river/stream meets the ocean

Water is brackish (slightly salty)

1.3 Aquatic Biomes, AP Environmental Science Flashcards