Aquatic Ecology (EEES 47/57/7730)
Bridgeman/Gottgens/Mayer –Fall 2011
List of terms and concepts – 1st midterm
This list includes terms and concepts contributed by Dr. Bridgeman and Dr. Gottgens.
The list may not be comprehensive; in other words there may be other concepts you
should understand! Please, use this list only as a guideline!
Introduction to Limnology (Ch. 1)
Aquatic ecology (limnology)
Catchment (watershed, drainage basin), lentic, lotic
Common names of water bodies (Table 1.1)
Descriptive models, predictive models
Mesocosms and whole lake experiments
Duration of experiments vs. experimental unit area
Water as an Environment (Ch. 2)
Unique chemical and physical properties of water
Metric conversions between units based on water
Changing density with temperature
Absorption of Light
Seasonal cycles of stratification and mixing and the associated changes in: temperature,
light, oxygen, and nutrients.
Fetch and thermal bars
Effect of zebra mussels on thermocline depth
Light extinction calculations (k)
PAR
Secchi disk, Secchi depth
Zones of a lake: littoral, limnetic (pelagic), benthic, pelagic,
euphotic, tropholytic
compensation depth
Seasonal patterns of phytoplankton production related to physical seasonal factor (above)
Surface waves
Seiches and internal waves
Laminar flow vs. turbulent flow
Diversity of Organism (Ch. 3 and 4)
Metabolic categories of bacteria
Microbial food web
Phytoplankton: taxonomic divisions, pigments, types of nutrition
Special cell and structures
Adaptations to decrease sinking rates
Resource competition between phytoplankton species
Major taxonomic groups of zooplankton
Modes of reproduction (parthenogenesis, sexual, resting eggs)
Types of feeding (filter feeding, raptorial, feeding structures)
Avoidance of predation (cyclomorphosis, DVM)
Brooks and Dodson, Science, 1965 (see later chapter in text and Brooks and Dodson
paper posted on myUT)