5.0 AQUATIC & MOSQUITO EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS VERIFIED LATEST UPDATE GRADED ++
1. List the roles plants play in a healthy aquatic ecosystem.: -producing oxygen
-preventing shoreline erosion
-lessening excess nutrients during growing season
-stabilizing lake bottom
-providing food and habitat for fish, waterfowl, and other aquatic animals
2. List ways that excessive plant growth can adversely affect the ecology and
uses of a water body.: -harm ecology of aquatic ecosystem
-curtail or prevent recreational water uses (e.g. fishing, boating, swimming)
-impart tastes or odors to drinking water
-hamper water treatment operations
-adversely affect aesthetics, resort trade, and waterfront property values
-produce toxins that harm animals drinking the water
3. Describe the general growth habits of, means of dispersal and potential
problems caused by: Emergent aquatic plants: -*growth habits*: rooted in shal-
,low water, most growth above water
-*means of dispersal*: underground root systems
-*potential problems*: very dense and may exclude recreational pursuits like boating,
fishing, and swimming. Purple loosestrife is an example of a problem species.
4. Describe the general growth habits of, means of dispersal and poten-
tial problems caused by: Submergent aquatic plants (both pondweeds and
plants with whorled leaves): -*growth habits*: grow mostly under water surface,
pondweeds sometimes have floating leaves in addition to their submerged leaves;
whorled-leaf plants grow underwater with whorled leaf attachments
-*means of dispersal*: pondweeds have extensive root systems, runners, and can
also reproduce from seeds; plants with whorled leaves can disperse when uprooted
by breaking free and getting moved by the wind
-*potential problems*: most pondweeds not nuisance except for curlyleaf pondweed
and sometimes sago pondweed; whorled leaf plants can uproot and break free
easily and drift with wind to clutter shoreline; Eurasian watermilfoil is an aggressive
non-native that can affect habitat and restrict recreation. Raking is required to
,remove these clutters.
5. Describe the general growth habits of, means of dispersal and potential
problems caused by: Free-floating and rooted floating-leaved aquatic plants-
: -*growth habits*: occur on water surface and can be free-floating or rooted with
large floating leaves
-*means of dispersal*: free floating plants are easily windblown. rooted ones not so
much
-*potential problems*: free-floating plants accumulate on shorelines and are difficult
to control in large waterbodies; rooted plants are rarely a nuisance.
, 6. Describe the general growth habits of, means of dispersal and potential
problems caused by: Free-floating, filamentous, and "rooted" algae: -*growth
habits*: found free-floating (planktonic) or attached to submerged surfaces (filamen-
tous or "rooted").
-*means of dispersal*: multiply rapidly in warm weather;
-*potential problems*: free-floating algae responsible for many nuisance algal
blooms (release toxin, low DO, blue-green algae); removing rooted algae can allow
worse species to come in so don't mess with them.
7. List the advantages and disadvantages of chemical control of aquatic plants
and algae: *Advantages*:
-offer longer-lasting control than some mechanical methods
-less physical labor
-ultimately cost less
-important tool for specific nuisance plants/algae such as Eurasian watermilfoil and
purple loosestrife
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS VERIFIED LATEST UPDATE GRADED ++
1. List the roles plants play in a healthy aquatic ecosystem.: -producing oxygen
-preventing shoreline erosion
-lessening excess nutrients during growing season
-stabilizing lake bottom
-providing food and habitat for fish, waterfowl, and other aquatic animals
2. List ways that excessive plant growth can adversely affect the ecology and
uses of a water body.: -harm ecology of aquatic ecosystem
-curtail or prevent recreational water uses (e.g. fishing, boating, swimming)
-impart tastes or odors to drinking water
-hamper water treatment operations
-adversely affect aesthetics, resort trade, and waterfront property values
-produce toxins that harm animals drinking the water
3. Describe the general growth habits of, means of dispersal and potential
problems caused by: Emergent aquatic plants: -*growth habits*: rooted in shal-
,low water, most growth above water
-*means of dispersal*: underground root systems
-*potential problems*: very dense and may exclude recreational pursuits like boating,
fishing, and swimming. Purple loosestrife is an example of a problem species.
4. Describe the general growth habits of, means of dispersal and poten-
tial problems caused by: Submergent aquatic plants (both pondweeds and
plants with whorled leaves): -*growth habits*: grow mostly under water surface,
pondweeds sometimes have floating leaves in addition to their submerged leaves;
whorled-leaf plants grow underwater with whorled leaf attachments
-*means of dispersal*: pondweeds have extensive root systems, runners, and can
also reproduce from seeds; plants with whorled leaves can disperse when uprooted
by breaking free and getting moved by the wind
-*potential problems*: most pondweeds not nuisance except for curlyleaf pondweed
and sometimes sago pondweed; whorled leaf plants can uproot and break free
easily and drift with wind to clutter shoreline; Eurasian watermilfoil is an aggressive
non-native that can affect habitat and restrict recreation. Raking is required to
,remove these clutters.
5. Describe the general growth habits of, means of dispersal and potential
problems caused by: Free-floating and rooted floating-leaved aquatic plants-
: -*growth habits*: occur on water surface and can be free-floating or rooted with
large floating leaves
-*means of dispersal*: free floating plants are easily windblown. rooted ones not so
much
-*potential problems*: free-floating plants accumulate on shorelines and are difficult
to control in large waterbodies; rooted plants are rarely a nuisance.
, 6. Describe the general growth habits of, means of dispersal and potential
problems caused by: Free-floating, filamentous, and "rooted" algae: -*growth
habits*: found free-floating (planktonic) or attached to submerged surfaces (filamen-
tous or "rooted").
-*means of dispersal*: multiply rapidly in warm weather;
-*potential problems*: free-floating algae responsible for many nuisance algal
blooms (release toxin, low DO, blue-green algae); removing rooted algae can allow
worse species to come in so don't mess with them.
7. List the advantages and disadvantages of chemical control of aquatic plants
and algae: *Advantages*:
-offer longer-lasting control than some mechanical methods
-less physical labor
-ultimately cost less
-important tool for specific nuisance plants/algae such as Eurasian watermilfoil and
purple loosestrife
