Deck 15: Environmental Issues

Question 1

Only animals are considered invasive species.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The sea is so vast that it can easily absorb any pollutants we dump into it with little harm to the environment.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Marine wetlands are being rehabilitated faster than they are being removed.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Mariculture is the farming of fish species.

Question 5

Clean-up efforts for oil spills are often as destructive as the oil spill.

Question 6

Ballast water is one of the main culprits introducing invasive species into new areas.

Question 7

Dumping the muds from dredged harbors offshore does not affect the coastal sediments.

Question 8

The effects of overfishing cease immediately when fishing is stopped.

Question 9

Oil spills are the single greatest source of oil to the marine environment.

Question 10

The sea is so vast that it can easily absorb any pollutants we dump into it with little harm to the environment.

Question 11

Over 50 percent of the world's coastal mangroves forests have been destroyed.

Question 12

The Mississippi delta is losing area because the supply of sediment is less than the rates of delta erosion and subsidence.

Question 13

Estuary areas and associated wetlands are generally increasing in the United States today.

Question 14

Sediments deposited in urban estuaries since 1970 carry a decreasing toxicant load.

Question 15

The U.S. Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act is also known as the Ocean Dumping Act.

Question 16

Today invasive species are commonly transported through the oceans on the hulls of ships.

Question 17

Mariculture, or aquaculture, has about the same relationship to commercial fishing as farming does to hunting.

Question 18

Despite the growth in commercial fishing and the exploitation of new fishing stocks, world fish harvests have remained nearly constant over the last decade.

Question 19

The Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was the largest oil spill to date in U.S. waters.

Question 20

Oil spill cleanup techniques are able to recover and remove the majority of spilled oil from the marine environment.

Question 21

The Federal Clean Water Act was passed in ________.

A) 1972
B) 1982
C) 1990
D) 1995
E) 2000

Question 22

The Marine Plastic Pollution and Control Act ________.

A) prohibits dumping plastic debris in coastal oceans only
B) prohibits dumping plastic debris everywhere in the oceans
C) is enforced by the United Nations Ocean patrol
D) has eliminated the plastic trash problem in the oceans
E) prohibits dumping plastic debris everywhere in the oceans and is enforced by the United Nations Ocean patrol

Question 23

The Exxon Valdez oil spill ________.

A) was equal in volume to the Persian Gulf spill
B) dissipated quickly in warmer inshore water
C) was 99 percent recovered using new sophisticated methods
D) All of these are correct.
E) None of these is correct.

Question 24

Which of the following are considered incidental catch?

A) turtles in shrimp trawls
B) porpoise in tuna nets
C) birds in salmon nets
D) All of these are correct.
E) None of these is correct.

Question 25

Globally, aquaculture produces about ________ percent of fish consumed by humans.

A) 50
B) 38
C) 24
D) 12
E) 2

Question 26

Natural mangrove stands provide a coast with ________.

A) protection from waves
B) protection from storms
C) habitats for fish and shellfish
D) protection from waves and protection from storms
E) protection from waves, protection from storms, and habitats for fish and shellfish

Question 27

Hypoxia ________.

A) occurs when oxygen concentrations fall below 2 mg per mL
B) can result in the death of sessile organisms
C) occurs when respiration rates exceed oxygen replenishment via circulation
D) occurs when oxygen concentrations fall below 2 mg per mL, can result in the death of sessile organisms, and occurs when respiration rates exceed oxygen replenishment via circulation
E) None of these is correct.

Question 28

Plastics in the sea are a hazard to marine life because ________.

A) they ensnare animals
B) they are eaten by animals
C) their colors confuse animals
D) they ensnare animals and they are eaten by animals
E) they ensnare animals, they are eaten by animals, and their colors confuse animals

Question 29

Overfishing did not become an issue until about 100 years ago.

Question 30

How much oil is usually recovered after a spill?

A) 5 to 10 percent
B) 8 to 15 percent
C) 22 to 25 percent
D) Up to 50 percent
E) None is recovered.

Question 31

Marine biological invaders arrive ________.

A) in ballast water
B) with commercially harvested shellfish
C) from home aquariums
D) attached to seaplanes and small boats
E) All of these are correct.

Question 32

The number of human-caused oil spills in the ocean have decreased since the 1970s.

Question 33

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) ________.

A) were in greatest use in the early 1960s
B) are no longer manufactured or used in the U.S
C) are still entering the environment from previous use
D) remain in the sediments for unknown periods of time
E) All of these are correct.

Question 34

The term "bycatch" refers to ________.

A) all fish caught in nets
B) animals other than fish caught in nets
C) fish that are processed on board the fishing vessel
D) fish other than the targeted species, often thrown away
E) None of these is correct.

Question 35

The ecology of San Francisco Bay is being disrupted by ________.

A) Asian clams
B) comb jellies
C) European green crabs
D) Asian clams and European green crabs
E) Asian clams, comb jellies, and European green crabs

Question 36

A low-oxygen level in the Gulf of Mexico ________.

A) kills most bottom organisms
B) is responsible for a decline in Gulf fisheries
C) has been linked to excess nutrients supplied by the Mississippi River
D) kills most bottom organisms and has been linked to excess nutrients supplied by the Mississippi River
E) kills most bottom organisms, is responsible for a decline in Gulf fisheries, and has been linked to excess nutrients supplied by the Mississippi River

Question 37

Minamata disease is an example of humans ingesting ________-contaminated sea life.

A) DDT
B) mercury
C) lead
D) chlorine
E) PCB

Question 38

It is estimated that roughly ________ or more of all material dumped at sea is dredged material from ports and waterways.

A) 10 percent
B) 25 percent
C) 35 percent
D) 50 percent
E) 75 percent

Question 39

The world's largest oil spill ________.

A) came from a commercial oil well in the Gulf of Mexico
B) occurred in the Persian Gulf during the 1991 Gulf War
C) happened during the grounding of the Exxon Valdez
D) was the result of tanker collision during a North Atlantic storm
E) was the grounding of the Amoco Cadiz on the French coast

Question 40

Surimi is ________.

A) a processed fish product
B) a product processed from crab and shrimp
C) shrimp paste made from krill
D) shark meat that has been specially processed
E) None of these is correct; it is a type of tuna eaten raw.

Question 41

The number of large oil spills in the marine environment has decreased over the last 45 years.

Question 42

Material accidentally lost at sea is called flotsam, while material deliberately discarded is called jetsam.

Question 43

High concentrations of toxic heavy metals in estuaries are most likely to be found in ________.

A) the water of the estuary
B) air above the estuary
C) the sediments
D) the water of the adjacent ocean
E) the air above the adjacent land

Question 44

Simultaneous removal of fish from multiple trophic levels is termed ________.

A) sustainable fishing
B) fishing through the food chain
C) overfishing
D) fishing down the food chain

Question 45

As plastics discarded in the marine environment degrade, they can produce and concentrate

A) bisphenol A (BPA)
B) PCBs
C) DDT
D) All of these choices are correct.

Question 46

Hypoxic areas such as in the Gulf of Mexico develop when ________.

A) oxygen levels fall below 5 ppm
B) large amounts of nitrate are added into the water
C) die-off from a large phytoplankton bloom uses up the oxygen in water
D) methyl-mercury is added to water
E) oxygen levels fall below 5 ppm, large amounts of nitrate are added into the water, and die-off from a large phytoplankton bloom uses up the oxygen in water

Question 47

Biological invasions can occur in response to ________.

A) shifts in climate patterns
B) plate tectonics
C) ballast water transport
D) All of these choices are correct.
E) None of these choices is correct.

Question 48

A toxicant is a substance that is not normally found in the environment.

Question 49

Pollution is best described as ________.

A) adding substances or energy that harm the environment
B) changing the population growth of species
C) the decrease in the quality of the environment as a result of natural events
D) substances or materials that are toxic to humans, thus decreasing the quality of the human environment
E) can be broken down by bacteria

Question 50

The size of the hypoxic dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico appears to vary annually in response to all of the following except ________.

A) annual fish catch
B) annual rainfall
C) the amount of fertilizer used
D) periods of drought

Question 51

Continued catches above the maximum sustainable yield ________.

A) can be increased to prevent overfishing
B) will result in underutilization
C) will result in a decrease of fishing effort
D) must be decreased in order to decrease population size
E) will result in overfishing and the crash of fish populations

Question 52

For the year 2008, the FAO estimated that every person on the planet consumed at least ________ percent of their animal protein intake as fish.

A) 5
B) 10
C) 17
D) 42

Question 53

Mercury toxicity has been directly linked with which one of the following health problems in humans?

A) hepatitis
B) cancer
C) neurological disorders and paralysis
D) digestive disorders
E) respiratory problems

Question 54

There are more than 6,000 marine-protected areas (MPAs) worldwide accounting for approximately ________ percent of the world's surface ocean.

A) 1
B) 2
C) 5
D) 10
E) 20

Question 55

Addition of harmful substances to the environment is called eutrophication.

Question 56

Ecosystem-based management allows for diverse societal use of fish stocks including all of the following except ________.

A) tourism
B) ecosystem health
C) fishing down the food chain
D) fishing
E) recreation

Question 57

Which of the following organisms are expected to show the highest concentration of DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbons in its tissues?

A) filter-feeding fishes
B) carnivorous fishes
C) phytoplankton
D) sea lions
E) zooplankton

Question 58

The maximum sustainable yield is best defined as the ________.

A) highest catch that can be taken without overfishing
B) maximum fishing effort allowed after overfishing is reached
C) highest catch that will pay the minimum cost of the fishing effort
D) minimum catch that will still allow the population to grow
E) the annual size of the catch that will balance natural death and predation

Question 59

Municipal solid waste (MSW) can include yard trimmings, food scraps, plastics, and packaging containers.

Question 60

Floating objects accidentally lost at sea are called ________.

A) flotsam
B) jetsam
C) toxicants
D) garbage patches

Question 61

The maximum sustainable yield refers to ________.

A) the maximum fishery biomass that can be removed annually while maintaining a standing stock
B) the maximum amount of incidental bycatch that can be removed by a fishery
C) the maximum fish biomass in the oceans that can be sustained
D) the total biomass of fish caught in the ocean annually
E) the maximum productivity of the ocean

Question 62

There is evidence for overfishing since approximately ________.

A) the 1970s
B) the early 1900s
C) the mid-1800s
D) the late 1700s
E) 1000 years ago

Question 63

The major source of plastic waste is ________.

A) fisheries
B) oil and gas extraction
C) recreational and commercial shipping
D) land-based sources
E) All of these are correct.

Question 64

An example of fishing through the food web is ________.

A) successively removing apex predators
B) simultaneously fishing at multiple trophic levels
C) fishing with trawl nets
D) using fish pens for mariculture

Question 65

The most common waste item found on beaches worldwide is ________.

A) plastic bags
B) plastic bottles
C) cans
D) cigarette butts
E) sewage

Question 66

The term "trash fish" indicates fish that were caught accidentally.

Question 67

Fully oxygenated waters contain as much as ________ ppm oxygen.

A) 100
B) 25
C) 12
D) 5
E) 2

Question 68

Human impacts on the planet have become prominent since approximately ________.

A) the past four to five decades
B) the past century
C) the past 150 to 300 years
D) the past millennium
E) the beginning of time

Question 69

Human expansion can lead to altered marine ecosystems by ________.

A) introducing new species
B) conserving biodiversity
C) surveying marine species
D) reducing incidental bycatch

Question 70

The enforcement of the international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships (the origin of the U.S. Marine Plastic Pollution and Control Act of 1987) in international waters is implemented by ________.

A) the United States
B) the United Nations
C) the G-8
D) the European Union
E) nobody

Question 71

Introduction of alien species to bays and estuaries can result in "biological homogenization" of worldwide species diversity.

Question 72

Ecosystem-based management allows for diverse societal use of fish stocks including all of the following except ________.

A) heavy metals
B) PCBs
C) excess nutrients
D) chlorinated compounds
E) All of these are correct.
F) None of these is correct.

Question 73

Hypoxia, or low-oxygen conditions, is generally considered to occur when oxygen in the water drops to ________ ppm.

A) 15
B) 10
C) 5
D) 2
E) 0

Question 74

In the United States, A Marine Protected Area where fishing and other activities are completely prohibited is referred to as a ________.

A) marine protected zone
B) marine reserve
C) no-take zone
D) national park
E) conservation area

Question 75

Sessile benthos in a hypoxic zone generally begin to die when oxygen in the water drops to ________ ppm.

A) 15
B) 10
C) 5
D) 2
E) 0

Question 76

The fraction of nutrients responsible for the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone that are anthropogenic is:

A) 10 percent
B) 30 percent
C) 70 percent
D) 90 percent
E) 100 percent

Question 77

The invasive seaweed ________ was accidentally released from Monaco's aquarium during a routine tank cleaning.

A) Corbula
B) Ulva
C) Hemigrapsus
D) Caulerpa
E) kelp

Question 78

Over the past two decades, coastal wetland loss in the regions of the Great Lakes, Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico has resulted in approximately what percentage being lost?

A) 5 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 15 percent
D) 20 percent
E) 30 percent

Question 79

In 2012, fish production provided between ________ of the annual protein consumption by humans globally.

A) 0 to 100 percent
B) 17 to 70 percent
C) 25 to 50 percent
D) 22 to 88 percent
E) 70 to 90 percent

Question 80

The key function of wetlands is as ________.

A) a recreational ground for humans
B) a habitat for marine species, including commercially important species
C) a resource for many industrial chemical processes
D) a shipping refuge
E) a wasteland to be drained and used by humans