Deck 15: Uses and Abuses of the Ocean

Question 1

What accounts for most of the total value of world trade transported by sea?

A) passengers
B) finished goods
C) oil
D) grain

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The growing or farming of marine plants or animals under controlled conditions is called:

A) mariculture.
B) aquaculture.
C) fish farming.
D) shrimp farming.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following statements applies to resources from the sea?

A) They are easier to recover than from the land.
B) They are more difficult to locate and extract.
C) They are in greater variety than minerals on land.
D) They are less expensive to recover than from land.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The desalination method that is done by forcing seawater against a semi permeable membrane at high pressure is called:

A) high pressure desalination.
B) distillation.
C) freezing.
D) reverse osmosis desalination.

Question 5

The best fishing grounds are located:

A) in the middle of the open ocean.
B) in temperate waters over continental shelves.
C) in tropical waters of the deep sea.
D) in equatorial deep waters.

Question 6

The fastest growing alternative energy source is:

A) nuclear power.
B) coal energy.
C) wind power.
D) oil energy.

Question 7

The decline of the Easter Island population of humans was in part due to all of the following EXCEPT:

A) consumption of the wrong fish species.
B) destruction of the palm trees.
C) mismanagement of resources.
D) overuse and erosion of agricultural land.

Question 8

Overall, the ocean's most valuable biological resources consist of:

A) compounds harvested for medical use.
B) cultured kelp and algae.
C) fish, crustaceans, and mollusks.
D) whales.

Question 9

The world's largest industry is:

A) tourism.
B) renewable resources.
C) commercial fishing.
D) whaling.

Question 10

All of the following changes in ocean conditions are expected to occur if current trends in climate change continue EXCEPT:

A) increase in anoxic zones (i.e. dead zones).
B) decrease in the pH of seawater.
C) increase in sea surface temperatures.
D) decrease in the intensity of El Nino events.

Question 11

The per capita world fish catch has changed in what way?

A) It has been climbing steadily since the 1950s.
B) It has declined drastically since the 1950s.
C) It has stayed at the level of the 1960s.
D) It has declined significantly since the 1970s.

Question 12

Second to petroleum and natural gas, the most profitable resource recovered from the marine environment is:

A) gold.
B) diamonds.
C) sand and gravel.
D) coal.

Question 13

Minamata disease, which affected people living near Minamata Bay in Japan, was finally traced to:

A) a vitamin deficiency due to a restricted diet of rice and fish.
B) a diet including shellfish contaminated with mercury.
C) a diet including seaweeds contaminated with lead from a nearby plastics plant.
D) high levels of DDT from local rice farms.

Question 14

A major source of anthropogenic greenhouse gases results from:

A) the release of gases from volcanic and geothermal processes.
B) the combustion products of petroleum, coal and natural gas.
C) the production of byproducts from photosynthesis.
D) the transfer of gases from the ocean into the atmosphere.

Question 15

Non-renewable physical resources that are extracted from the ocean and prized by humans include:

A) a variety of seafood.
B) petroleum and natural gas.
C) energy from currents.
D) pharmaceutical compounds.

Question 16

Greenhouse gases include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) chlorofluorocarbons.
B) methane.
C) carbon dioxide.
D) oxygen.

Question 17

Global demand for oil increases by about ____ per year.

A) 2 percent
B)0.5 percent
C) 25 percent
D) 10 percent

Question 18

About ____ of the crude oil used by humans is derived from the seabed.

A) 3/4
B) 1/2
C) 1/3
D) all

Question 19

The most dangerous threat to the marine environment, overall, is probably:

A) human overpopulation.
B) refined oil spills.
C) solid waste and synthetic pesticides.
D) excessive greenhouse heating.

Question 20

The number of people who can inhabit a given area is in part determined by the:

A) ease at which food can be extracted from the environment.
B) amount of potable water available.
C) ability of the people to build housing.
D) amount of evaporation in the area.

Question 21

The gas that comprises 72% of the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere is:

A) methane.
B) oxygen.
C) nitrous oxide.
D) carbon dioxide.

Question 22

The farming specifically of marine organisms for human use is called:

A) nonextractive resource harvesting.
B) fish farming.
C) aquaculture.
D) mariculture.

Question 23

One major concern about climate change is that:

A) crop production will increase.
B) solubility of oxygen will increase as ocean temperatures rise.
C) phytoplankton productivity will decrease.
D) the ocean will freeze.

Question 24

The introduction of excess nutrients into a system that results in the increased growth of autotrophs is:

A) heterotrophy.
B) chemoautotrophy.
C) eutrophication.
D) oligotrophication.

Question 25

In terms of the volume of oil spilled and subsequent environmental damage, the wreck of the tanker Exxon Valdez was the worst tanker accident in history.

Question 26

Most synthetic pollutants resist attack by water, air, sunlight, and living organisms because the compounds of which they are composed resemble nothing in nature.

Question 27

Drift nets were developed in response to demands that fishing nets take only target species, and that fishing ought to be more environmentally sensitive.

Question 28

Which of the following is true about a pollutant?

A) Pollutants are natural and so organisms develop adaptations to deal with them.
B) Pollutants can cause both indirect or direct damage by interrupting biochemical pathways of organisms.
C) Most pollutants are capable of causing massive mortality events for marine organisms.
D) The concentration of pollutants in the ocean has remained stable since the industrial revolution.

Question 29

Pollutants can have negative influences on organisms by interfering with biochemical processes.

Question 30

Though desalination is a theoretically attractive method for obtaining fresh water from seawater, no large commercial facilities for desalination exist.

Question 31

Fishing is a growth industry, but the fishing consortia are, for the most part, careful to conserve this resource and not to exceed the maximum sustainable yield.

Question 32

An example of a nonextractive resource provided by the ocean is:

A) transportation.
B) crabs.
C) oil.
D) manganese nodules.

Question 33

Global warning by "greenhouse gases" would not have happened if humans had never generated excess carbon dioxide, methane, CFCs, and other gases with similar effects on the atmosphere.

Question 34

Which of the following statements is FALSE concerning bycatch?

A) Bycatch are targeted species.
B) Bycatch sometimes greatly exceeds the target catch.
C) Bottom trawling is one of the methods that results in a lot of bycatch.
D) Sea turtles are an example of bycatch.

Question 35

Generally speaking, a spill of crude oil is more dangerous to marine life than a spill of refined oil.

Question 36

One toxic substance found in pesticides, industrial solvents, and cleaning fluids that has exceeded dangerous concentrations in some coastal areas is:

A) petroleum.
B) chlorinated hydrocarbons.
C) emulsion.
D) oil.

Question 37

The maximum of each species that can be caught without negatively influencing future populations of that species is called the:

A) maximum sustainable yield.
B) annual catch.
C) maximum global landing.
D) maximum global harvest.

Question 38

Sometimes, the best thing to do in the event of a crude oil spill is to do nothing.

Question 39

Whaling has effectively ceased. Except for a small and relatively insignificant number of "pirate whalers," the taking of whales for profit is a thing of the past.

Question 40

An example of a fishing technique that is particularly disruptive is:

A) hook and line.
B) drift nets.
C) mid-water trawl.
D) spear fishing.

Question 41

With a human population of nearly 7 billion, freshwater has become a very important natural resource for human success and prosperity. What is desalination and can it help? What challenges does this industry face?

Question 42

Define "Bycatch" and explain how it is damaging to marine populations.

Question 43

Describe the four main categories of marine resources and provide examples of each.

Question 44

With current climate change trends, is there any evidence that the ocean environment is changing as a result of increased greenhouse gases? Explain why or why not.

Question 45

Many of today's fisheries are not sustainable. Explain some of the factors that must be considered in maintaining healthy fisheries.