National Geographic Troubled Waters
(5 points)
Eastern Wyoming Marsh, Hayes, researcher and investigator:
1. What did Hayes discover about the N. Leopard frog?
2. What are his suspicions?
3. What is Atrazine and how does it move into the frog’s territory?
4. How does it affect the frogs’ reproductive system (give the hormonal anomaly)?
5. What is the conclusion of Hayes’ experiment?
6. Is a bigger dose always worse? Why or why not?
St. Lawrence Marine Park, Canada:
7. Is remoteness a guarantee of purity?
8. What has happened to the beluga whales?
9. How are the whales’ immune cells affected by the chemicals?
10. What is meant by a chemical cocktail?
Columbia, Mo. U.S.A. Shanna Swan, Epidemiologist
11. What is the evidence of chemicals on humans?
Women:
Men:
12. Explain her detective story.
13. Besides the low semen quality, what do all of these men share?
Solutions: Lake Harwell, Georgia, Geneticist, Richard Meagher
14. Discuss the mercury contamination in the pond.
15. Which form of mercury is the most toxic?
16. How can we use plants to deal with heavy metals?
17. Bacteria can handle doses of methyl mercury. So how did Meagher use bacteria and plants to extract methyl mercury from the water?
Queensland, Australia, Vince Vitale, Sugar Cane Farmer:
18. Many “cides,” nitrogen fertilizer and animal manure wash into the river that empties into the sea. This is suspected for the cause of an outbreak of ______that destroys corals of the Great Barrier Reef.
19. Explain the nitrogen theory.
20. In 1880 what was the protective barrier that prevented the runoff from flowing to the sea?
21. What did a farmer like Vitale do to help restore the Great Barrier Reef?
Eastern Pacific Ocean, TeraneyThys, Ocean biologist
22. Where are the open ocean animals getting exposed to toxins?
23. What are people doing to help these open ocean animals?
24. What is the toxic burden for the next generation, you?!
25. What ways are we all connected as far as the information in this video?
Extension: Define the following terms and find examples from the video, Troubled Waters.
1. Bioindicators
2. Bioaccumulation
3. Biomagnification
4. Bioremediation
5. The Colorado River flows from the Colorado Rockies to the Gulf of California. The primary source of Colorado River water is melting Rocky Mountain snowpack. Once the river descends from the Rockies, it flows through a landscape that is dominated by desert. Colorado River water carries a high load of sediment.
(a) Multiple dams have been erected along the Colorado River. Identify TWO benefits other than agriculture and recreation that people derive from that system of dams.
(b) Discuss TWO potential environmental consequences of damming a major river.
(c) Competition for access to Colorado River water has increased dramatically due to increased population size and intensive agricultural use. Describe TWO conservation strategies for reducing agricultural water consumption.
(d) Identify TWO possible environmental consequences of climate change on the hydrology of the Colorado River system.
(e) In addition to impacts on the Colorado River system, climate change is impacting the hydrology of coastal ecosystems. Identify and describe TWO possible consequences of climate change on coastal ecosystems.
Turn over for #6
6. Students in an environmental science class at Fremont High School tested the water quality in a stream near their school. They were concerned about the possible pollution of the stream, which flows through a farm on which hogs are raised. Shown below is a diagram that indicates the sites where the students collected water samples (labeled A through D, upstream to downstream) and a table of the results of the students’ water tests.
a) Assess the likelihood that animal waste is contaminating the water. Discuss the scientific basis of your assessment.
b) Describe two additional tests that could be used in monitoring the quality of the water in the stream. For each test, describe the patterns you would expect from sites A through D.
c) Describe a sequence of ecological changes that might result from the discharge of animal waste into a body of water.
d) The Clean Water Act was first passed in the United States in 1972 and has been amended several times since then. Describe two specific provisions of this legislation that would be likely to apply to the quality of the stream water.