Name:_____________________
CSS 573 LESSON 1 QUIZ
I. True/False. Indicate whether each of the following is true (T) or false (F).
1) _______ Base flow is the level of flow of a stream when it is composed entirely of
groundwater from springs.
2) _______ Riparian vegetation is hydrophytic vegetation close enough to a lake or river that its
annual evapotranspiration represents a factor in the lake or river regime.
3) _______ Biotic refers to the assemblage of organisms inhabiting the bottoms of streams,
lakes, and ocean.
4) _______ The ability of water to resist change in its chemical property when receiving a
toxicant is termed its buffering capacity.
5) _______ Succession in aquatic ecology refers to the sequential changes in vegetation,
invertebrates, and fish downstream through the course of stream.
6) _______ Silt is material of fine particles between sand and clay in size, while sediment is
inorganic particles deposited on the streambed that can range in size from clay to boulders.
7) _______ A recharge area is where precipitation filters into the ground.
8) _______ Hydrologic cycle refers to cyclic changes in weather patterns in a geographical area
over time.
9) _______ The functional position of an organism in a community is its life history.
10) _______ An ecoregion is a geographic area that has broad similarities with respect to soil,
relief, and dominant vegetation.
11) _______ Rivers and streams are classified by order, such as the smallest unbranched tributary
in a watershed is designated order 1; and the higher the order number, the larger the
watershed, and the greater the channel dimensions and discharge.
12) _______ Denitrifying bacteria are organisms responsible for creating atmospheric nitrogen
from nitrates in streams.
13) _______ The concept of habitat refers to the sum total of environmental conditions of a
specific place occupied by a plant or animal, or a population of them.
14) _______ Groundwater is water that runs across the land’s surface.
15) _______ Biodiversity refers to the property of a community of organisms that varies in the
number of species, their relative abundance, and life histories.
II. Multiple Choice. Circle the letter of the correct response.
16) The river continuum concept includes the following:
A. A continuous gradient of physical conditions exists from headwaters to mouths of rivers.
B. Structural and functional characteristics of biological communities are adapted to conform to
the mean state of physical system.
C. Producer and consumer communities establish themselves in harmony.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.
17) A term descriptive of fish that spawn in a stream and migrate to the ocean for major growth.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Eutrophic
Detritus
Anadromous
Catadromous
None of the above
18) The characteristics defining wetlands include:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Lands that are transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems.
The water table is usually at or near the surface, or the land is covered by shallow water.
Features that are permanently wet, or intermittently water covered.
All of the above.
None of the above
19) The series of major events involving precipitation, run-off to the ocean, and evaporation is
known as:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Rhithron
Serial discontinuity
Hydrologic cycle
The river continuum
None of the above
20) The total area drained by a stream or river is called a:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Landscape
Catchment
Hydrologic cycle
Riparian zone
None of the above.
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21) The wide, lower course of a river where its current is met and influenced by the tides is called a:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Ecotone
Trophic zone
Ecosystem
Estuary
None of the above.
22) The concept of a flood pulse includes:
A. Exchange between the floodplain and river channel has a greater effect on biota than nutrient
spiraling in the river channel.
B. It is a major force controlling biota in river systems.
C. Most animal biomass comes from production in the floodplain, not transport of organic matter
downstream.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above
23) The transition zone between different biological communities is termed a:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Ecotone
Fluvial
Food web
Home range
None of the above.
III. Short Answer. Match the following with the correct term or concept. (See list below for
choices.)
24) __________________ The relative degree of abundance of species of plants and animals,
functions, communities, habitats, or habitat features per unit of area.
25) __________________ Starting and stopping at intervals of time, as with a stream.
26) __________________ Maximum level that the biomass of an animal population can reach in
accordance with the quality of its environment.
27) __________________ Spring or well arising from pressure in deep aquifer.
28) __________________ A group of one or more populations of plants and/or animals using a
common area; an ecological term used in a broad sense to include groups of plants and animals of
various sizes and degrees of integration.
29) __________________ Of or pertaining to material deposited by a stream or flowing water.
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30) __________________ A band of vegetation that is left along the margins of a stream or a river
to reduce the impacts of human activities on that stream or river.
31) __________________ A stagnant swamp, marsh, bog, or pond, especially as part of a
backwater, inlet, or bayou.
32) __________________ Water loss from a plant or tree due to transpiration as well as evaporation.
33) __________________ Maintenance of the structure and functional attributes of a locale, which
includes normal variability.
Artesian
Anadromous
Alluvial
Buffer strip
Carrying capacity
Catchment
Channelization
Climatic cycle
Community
Confined aquifer
Delta
Detritus
Diversity
Ecological niche
Ecological integrity
Ecosystem
Ecotone
Eutrophication
Evapotranspiration
Food web
Gallery forest
Geomorphology
Groundwater
Habitat
Home range
Hydraulic complexity
Integrity
Intermittent flow
Lentic
Life history
Lotic
Plankton
Redd
Rhithron
Riparian vegetation
Slash
Slough
Stream order
Suspended sediments
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