ENVIROTHON

MISSISSIPPI – 2001

 

AQUATICS TEST

 

1.      Relative to global warming, which of the following is (are) example(s) of essential services forests and wetlands provide to society?

1. purifying air and water, protecting soil, mitigating floods, and maintaining biodiversity
2. moderating local temperatures and winds
3. providing aesthetics and intellectual stimulations
4. sequestration of carbon stocks
5. all of the above 
   
   

2. Jackson, Mississippi is located in which of the following ecoregions of the United States?
1. Mississippi River Alluvial Plain
2. Mississippi Loess hills and plains
3. Southern coastal plain
4. Southwestern Appalachians
5. Blackland Prairie
    

3. The best terms to describe the climate of eastern United States and central Mississippi are:
1. Humid temperate and subtropical
2. Temperate subtropical and sub-humid
3. Temperate and sub-xeric
4. Warm continental and sub-humid
5. Temperate and hot continental
    

4. You are a wetland scientist in Jackson, Mississippi and have been asked by the planning commission to delineate the boundaries of all wetlands within the city limits.  Which of the following features could be used to determine the extent of the wetlands?
1. Soils
2. Plants
3. Water
4. All of the above
    

5. Grasses of the genus Spartina are characteristic of which type of wetland environment?
1. Tidal freshwater marshes
2. Mangrove wetlands
3. Inland wetlands
4. Tidal salt marshes
    

6. What percentage of the total wetland area in the lower 48 states consists of “inland wetlands”?
1. 35
2. 15
3. 80
4. 95
    

7. Which of the following choices most closely describe a vernal pool?
1. Shallow, intermittently flooded wet meadow, generally dry for most of the summer and fall
2. Peat accumulating wetland, no significant inflow or out flow, supports acidophilic mosses, particularly sphagnum
3. Continually inundated wetland, emergent herbaceous vegetation adapted to saturated soil conditions
4. Deep, coastal saltwater marsh, significant inflow at periods of high tide
    

8. According to the National Wetlands Inventory, which state harbors the largest amount of wetlands?
1. Texas
2. Alaska
3. California
4. Florida
    

9. Which of the following is not an example of allochthonous input?
1. Leaves
2. Woody debris
3. Phytoplankton
4. Pollen
5. Acorns
    

10. Lentic and lotic systems differ most on which of the following qualities?
1. Salinity
2. Dissolved oxygen content
3. Nutrient input
4. Water clarity
5. Fish life
    

11. Autochthonous means:
1. Devoid of light
2. Nutrient poor
3. Able to provide own nutrient
4. Phosphorous rich
5. Shallow
      
   

12. A dam with an outflow which takes water from the bottom layer of the lake affects the river below the dam in which way:
1. Introduces warm, high D.O. water
2. Introduces phytoplankton rich water
3. Introduces cold, low D.O. water
4. Introduces warm water
5. Doesn’t affect it at all
    

13. Dams are being removed on some rivers in the United States. Which group of animals obtains the most dramatic benefit?
1. Mussels
2. Aquatic insects
3. Fish
4. Neotropical migrant land birds
5. Reptiles and amphibians
    

14. Which group of fish in the streams of the Southeastern U.S. is the most diverse?
1. Catfish
2. Bass and sunfish
3. Eels
4. Minnows and shiners
5. Silverside 
   
   

15. Benthic most closely means:
1. Surface oriented
2. Feeding on fish only
3. Related to the shore or bank
4. Bottom-oriented
5. Current loving
    

16. Bottom disturbance and the associated silt problems cause the greatest negative impact to which aspects of stream fish life?
1. Feeding
2. Reproduction
3. Courtship ritual
4. Predator avoidance
5. Feeding and reproduction 
   
   

17. Which best describes the stream environment?
1. High stable
2. Highly variable
3. Seasonally stable
4. Seasonally variable
5. Thermally stable
    

18. Approximately what percentage of the earth’s total water supply is suitable for drinking?
1. Less than 1 percent
2. 10 percent
3. 50 percent
4. 97 percent
    

19. Of the total rain water that falls to earth as part of the water cycle, most of it:
1. Returns to the atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration
2. Runs off to rivers, lakes, streams and oceans
3. Becomes groundwater
4. Is used by humans
    

20. In a typical U.S. home, the largest use of water is:
1. Laundry and cleaning
2. Lawn and garden
3. Toilet, bath and shower
4. Drinking
    

21. Which of the following about water is true?
1. Water is a finite entity and all that will ever exist already does.
2. When it rains, this is ”new” water that has never existed before.
3. The same water we drank this morning was used by someone else hundreds or thousands of years ago.
   
4. Both A and C are correct. 
   
   

22. Which of the following about bottled water is true?
1. Bottled water comes from deep springs and is safer to drink than water from a city or other public supply.
2. Bottled water does not contain disinfectants and is therefore more likely to cause health problems than water from a public water supply.
3. Bottled water is not necessarily safer or more unsafe to drink than water from public supply.
4. Bottled water does not contain natural impurities like water from a public supply.
    

23. If you had to drink water from an unproven source (for example, a stream), which of the following would be the best choice to kill harmful organisms that might be in the water?
1. Boil it at least a minute
2. Add chlorine
3. Add an antiseptic
4. All of the above are equally effective
    

24. Why does water freeze at the top of a lake and not the bottom?
1. The temperature at the top of a lake is always lower than at the bottom.
2. Water molecules are less dense near the freezing point and therefore rise to the surface.
3. Ice is a normal solid and is more dense than liquid water.
4. Less energy is required to break the surface tension which allows ice to form on the surface.
    

25. Which of the following best describes “groundwater”?
1. Water that flows across the top of the ground directly into lakes and streams.
2. Water that is trapped in the underground sand formations and is the primary source of drinking water in Mississippi.
3. Water that is insignificant as a water source compared to lakes and streams.
4. A large underground source of water not suited for drinking because of high mineral content.
    

26. Which of the following accounts for the largest use of water in Mississippi?
1. Industrial uses
2. Agricultural uses
3. Public supply (drinking)
4. Electrical power generation 
   
   

27. Which of the following is the most common method by which water is made available to homes and businesses in Mississippi.
1. Water is pumped from lakes and reservoirs, tested and “treated” for contaminants at a water treatment facility, and distributed underground to homes and businesses.
2. Water is pumped from natural springs, tested and treated for contaminants, and distributed underground to homes and businesses.
3. Water is pumped from underground wells, tested and treated for contaminants, and distributed underground to homes and businesses.
4. Rainwater is collected at a water treatment facility, tested and treated for contaminants, and distributed underground to homes and businesses. 
   
   

28. Which statement best reflects the quality of Mississippi’s drinking water?
1. Mississippi has the highest reported number of drinking water-related illnesses.
2. Mississippi has had no known outbreaks of major drinking water related illnesses.
3. Mississippi has generally good drinking water quality with relatively few reported serious water quality illnesses compared to some parts of the United States.
 

29. When conducting the Biological Assessment to determine stream water quality, which of the following organisms are surveyed?
1. Fish
2. Macro invertebrates
3. Plankton
4. Plants
5. All of the above
 

30. The main impact of water temperature on stream water quality is:
1. Heat will decrease the capability of water to hold dissolved oxygen.
2. Spawning rates increase as water temperatures decrease (more reproduction).
3. Water has a low heat capacity, which makes it susceptible to changes in temperature.
4. Most aquatic organisms cannot tolerate slow, gradual changes in temperature.
5. Temperature has no impact on stream water quality or health.
    

31. Which pH range is optimal for most organisms?
1. A pH between 5.5 and 8.0
2. A pH between 6.0 and 8.5
3. A pH between 6.5 and 9.0
4. A pH between 7.0 and 9.5
5. A pH between 6.0 and 9.0
    

32. What is a watershed?
1. Amount of surface water within a given unit of land.
2. Amount of ground water within a given unit of land.
3. Amount of surface water and ground water within a given unit of land.
4. An area of land from which water, sediments, and dissolved materials drain to a common outlet, usually a larger body of water.
5. Place where settlers in the 1800’s would store fresh water collected from rainfall. 
   
   

33. pH measurements run on a scale from0 to 14, with 7.0 considered neutral.  How many times is pH 4.0 more acidic than pH 6.0?
1. two
2. ten
3. twenty
4. one hundred
5. one thousand
    

34. Where is the greatest amount of freshwater found on earth?
1. Underground water
2. Rivers and streams
3. Oceans
4. Polar ice caps
5. Amazon River 
   
   

35. What percentage of Earth’s freshwater supply is available for human consumption?
1. 1%
2. 2%
3. 3%
4. 4%
5. 5%
    

36. America’s groundwater resources are far greater than the total capacity of all our lakes and reservoirs, including the Great Lakes.
1. True
2. False
    

37. Most of the freshwater used in Mississippi is supplied from groundwater.
1. True
2. False
 

38. Water which comes from a well in the desert is usually associated with:
1. Water tables well below the desert floor
2. Natural springs
3. Flash floods
4. Reservoirs
    

39. A body of water that is murky and rich in organic matter is said to be:
1. Eutrophic
2. Oligotrophic
3. Heterotrophic
4. Autotrophic
    

40. As the amount of plant life in a body of water increases,
1. The amount of dissolved oxygen goes down
2. The amount of dissolved oxygen goes up.
3. The amount of dissolved oxygen stays the same
4. None of the above

 

SITE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

 1.                  Using the three pans of macro-invertebrates, answer the following question…….

a.      Which stream sample, A, B, or C represents the best water quality?

 2.                  The organism in the petri dish changes into which of the adult forms seen in the box?

 3.                  Identify this organism:

 4.                  Identify this stream section or reach (head, mouth, etc.)?

 5.                  Identify this fish to family.

 6.                  Which dish contains representatives of the three groups of organisms generally regarded as most sensitive to pollution?

 7.                  Which of the following insects would you expect to find in a stream polluted with sewage?

 8.                  Using the map provided, locate a lacustrine wetland; give description by section, township, and range.

 9.                  Match the hydrology indicators with the picture.

 10.              Identify the vegetation and tell if it is a wetland plant.