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AQUA 102 Week 8, 9,10,11 Definitions 100% Verified
Sustainability - ANSWER For this course, we can define sustainability from a human perspective based on the 1987 Brundtland report 'Our Common Future' as using resources that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same.
Three pillars of sustainability: - ANSWER 1. Social/Cultural (i.e. how people are affected)
- Economic (i.e. how profit is affected)
- Environmental (i.e. how the planet is affectd)
Stock - ANSWER a population of a species that is distinct from other populations either genetically, reproductively, or geographically
Overexploited - ANSWER excessive utilization of a resource where its use becomes damaging or unsustainable
-At least one-third of fish stocks are overexploited
-Many of the populations that are overexploited are large predatory species that occupy high levels in food webs (e.g., top predators).
fishing down the food web - ANSWER progressively smaller species and individuals have been targeted because larger ones are not abundant enough.
- Ex/ Cod, tuna, swordfish stocks have dropped about 90%
Abundance - ANSWER the number of fish within a stock out in the wild
Stock assessments - ANSWER commonly used to understand the health of fish populations and implement strategies to effectively manage fisheries. They allow for the prediction of fishery yield under different scenarios of fishing. There are three basic
factors, known as the 'ABC' method that are required to conduct a stock assessment: abundance, biological factors, and catch.
-(The overall goal consists of ensuring the stocks have long-term viability from an economic point of view, but also social and environmental.)
Catch - ANSWER how many fish are being caught in the fisheries
Biological factors - ANSWER aspect of a species biology that are pertinent for fisheries
management, such as growth rates, mortality rates, age structure, etc.
Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) - ANSWER the level that a stock can be fished that ensures it is
(1) not overexploited leading to decreases in stock biomass (i.e., the total weight of the fish caught) beyond recovery and
(2) not underfished leading to potential food and income loss that could be sustainably harvested
Therefore, MSY balances between fishing intensity and fish biomass
Aquaculture - ANSWER consists of the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of aquatic organisms such as finfish, shellfish, and primary producers (e.g., algae and seaweed)
- relatively new industry, although its practice has been around for centuries in small pockets across the world
- Sixty years ago, widescale aquaculture was practically non-existent, world production of less than 2 million tons per year
- From 1960 to 2015, aquaculture (or fish farming) increased 50-fold to production over 100 million tons per year, and its output continues to rise
- Last few years, aquaculture overtook wild capture fisheries in terms of biomass produced
Aquaculture main purposes - ANSWER • Human consumption
- Stocking purposes
and feces are washed into the oceans by rain or flooding
- Agricultural run -off is one of the main causes of eutrophication and harmful algal blooms in coastal ocean waters (and lakes as well).
Harmful algal blooms - ANSWER rapid growth of algae or cyanobacteria that can cause harm to people, animals, or the local ecology. Harmful algae or cyanobacteria can look like foam, scum, paint, or mats on the surface of water and can be different colors.
Eutrophication - ANSWER (i.e., excess nutrients leading to excessive plant and algal growth and oxygen depletions)
Public pollution - ANSWER encompasses non-industrial and non-agricultural pollution activities, such as municipal and rural waste (e.g., sewage, littering, landfills).
- Noise pollution can also form a part of public pollution where excess noise (usually in dense cities) can be considered detrimental to human (or animal) health
Plastics - ANSWER One of the largest concerns at present regarding ocean pollution
- Due to poor management, lack of infrastructure, and detrimental recycling practices (among many other factors), by 2050 it is predicted that there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans. - Eight million metric tons of plastic is dumped into the oceans every year, enough to cover every foot of coastline on the planet. **- It is responsible for killing 100 million marine animals every year
- at least 80% of debris found in the ocean**
Three types of impacts from plastics - ANSWER Like many other types of pollution, plastics can have biological, chemical, and physical impacts on aquatic ecosystems
Biological Impacts (plastics) - ANSWER • infections (e.g., from cuts)
- proliferation of invasive species (e.g., plastics can act as a vector for non -native species to colonize new areas)
- pathogens (e.g., disease causing organisms that attach to plastics)
Physical impacts (plastics) - ANSWER • blockages in the gut from organisms' consuming plastics
- false senses of satiety (i.e., organisms think they are full because of the plastic in their guts), which lead to starvation - Larger plastics can also suffocate, lacerate, and entangle organisms, as well as damage habitats
Chemical impacts (plastics) - ANSWER • endocrine disruption (influencing hormonal, growth, and reproductive processes) from toxic chemicals
- biomagnification
Biomagnification - ANSWER Process of organisms accumulating contaminants in their tissues as they feed on infected organisms
Abandoned Lost and Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) or ghost gear - ANSWER fishing gear that ends up in the environment
**- can be hazardous to human activities such as boating
- can lead to ecosystem deterioration
- economically costly to the fisheries to lose and taxpayers to clean up**
By weight, ghost gear accounts for 76% of all large sized debris in the oceans
Oil spills - ANSWER typically happen when oil and gas vessels run aground and spill into ocean. Can also occur when underwater oil pipes burst/leek
- Not only do humans transport oil products in the oceans, but also extract them from the ocean floor - Ex. 2010 Deepwater Horizon (BP) oil spill, discharged estimated 210 million gallons into Gulf of Mexico **- Catastrophic mortalities (animals and plants)
- Tissue sampling shows that organisms are still contaminated**
-The Mi'kmaq act in accordance with Netukulimk
-Much of Indigenous beliefs follow reciprocal relationships with nature in which understanding local ecosystems is a normal part of life.
Seventh-Generation philosophy - ANSWER a practice of sustainability and guidance for everyday life so that the welfare of future generations can be secured
-Netukulimk followings also support the mentality that any activities, particularly extractive ones, should be decided on behalf of the next seven generations to come and not just themselves or present needs.
Shellfish - ANSWER molluscs (e.g., squid, clams, oysters), crustaceans (e.g., shrimp, lobsters, crabs)
Bycatch - ANSWER the removal of non-target species
Finfish - ANSWER Fish lol
Sea cages/pens - ANSWER - consist of enclosures that are anchored in natural waterways
- may be deployed at the surface or fully submerged
Atlantic salmon are commonly farmed in sea
pens in the Atlantic Ocean, particularly Canada
and Norway
Sea cages: Main issues - ANSWER nutrient deposition (from food waste and feces), Caged fish susceptible to disease, sea lice, escaping cage and interacting with wild populations, and portion of food given to farmed fish is often wild fish
nutrient deposition (sea cages) - ANSWER - large amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen are released into the system directly underneath farming opera%ons.
- Leading reduction in oxygen and harmful algal blooms
- Effects lessened to an extent in sea cages, especially if offshore because there are fewer nutrients in the system already compared to coastal areas, and currents will help disperse nutrients
Caged fish susceptible to disease (sea cages) - ANSWER - e.g., non-natural diet, low microbiome exposure, crowding
- treatment such as antibiotics, usually get released into the environment which can be detrimental for other organisms
Sea lice (sea cages) - ANSWER - parasitic copepods that target salmonids and are especially abundant on farms
- Harsh chemicals used to treat sea lice can negatively affect the ecosystem
Farmed fish escaping their cage and interact with wild populations (sea cages) - ANSWER - This can be problematic because they are often genetically different which can disrupt wild or natural genetic lineages
- They may also outcompete wild fish for resources
A portion of food that is given to farmed fish is often wild fish (sea cages) - ANSWER - This is considered an inefficient and wasteful practice
- However, improvements to fish feed and reductions in fish waste have lessened the amount used
- It takes on average 1.9 wild fish (various species) to feed 1 farmed salmon
Types of Ecosystem Services - ANSWER Supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural services.
Supporting Services (Ecosystem) - ANSWER Services necessary to produce all other ecosystem services
Lentic - ANSWER Freshwater ecosystem composed of still or standing water
Key characteristics:
**- Shape and volume
- Nutrient concentration
- Water transparency**
Wetlands (bogs, ferns, swamps, marshes) - ANSWER Key characteristics:
**- Water level
- Productive
- Detritus
- Low oxygen soils**
Ocean (open) - ANSWER Key characteristics:
**- Size
- Currents
- Low productivity per area**
Mangroves - ANSWER Key characteristics:
**- Nursery habitat
Quantification (or valuation) of ecosystem services - ANSWER incredibly important because conventional economics does not usually account for them
Ex. While it may be simple enough to calculate the economic benefit of SCUBA dive tours in Belize to a tour operator, it may not be so simple to quantify the social benefit of spending time with friends on that tour or the aesthetic value of visiting such a beautiful place
Invasive Species - ANSWER An organism that is not indigenous, or native, to a particular area. They can cause great economic and environmental harm to the new area.
Biomass - ANSWER Renewable organic material that comes from plants and animals. Contains stored chemical energy from the sun that is produced by plants through photosynthesis. Can be burned directly for heat or converted to liquid and gaseous fuels through various processes.
(i.e. total weight of fish caught)
Fish stocking - ANSWER Releasing fish that are artificially raised in a hatchery into a natural body of water (river, lake or ocean), in order to supplement existing wild populations or to create a new population where previously none exists.
Weather - ANSWER short-term variations in atmospheric conditions that impact the environment and life, below and above land
**- Hours, days, weeks (sometimes months)
- Precipitation, temperature, cloudiness, wind speed and direction, relative humidity
- Meteorologists study these short** -term changes in atmospheric conditions
Climate - ANSWER Long-term patterns of weather over periods such as decades or more
- More predictable, stable, since trends in long -term averages of weather patterns do not change significantly over long periods of time - Climatologists study these long -term patterns to make predictions that may inform insurance, farmers, energy managers....
Solar Cycle - ANSWER 11-year cycle
- Solar intensity fluctuates from high to low levels due to shifting in magnetic activity
- carbon in fossil fuels contain large amounts of stored energy that are released when they are burned
Industrial Revolution - ANSWER • Fossil fuels have enabled countless technological advancements that have led to safer, longer, and more diverse lives
- However, burning fossil fuels release greenhouse gases (primarily CO2, CH4, other gases) into atmosphere - Current atmospheric levels of CO2 are approx. 50% higher than pre -industrial times and are the highest they have ever been in the last 800,000 years.
Global warming - ANSWER rise in global average temperature near the Earth's surface
Climate Change - ANSWER Long-term changes in any climate conditions
-Changes in regional or global patterns associated with temperature (i.e., global warming), precipitation, winds, and other environmental effects at large enough temporal scales all fall under climate change.
-Changes in hydrological cycle
-Increase in extreme weather events
Can occur naturally (ice ages) or due to human activity (burning fossil fuels)
Cryosphere - ANSWER includes snow and ice, including sea ice, lake and river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps and sheets, and permafrost
- Found on all seven continents
- Approx. 70% of FW stored in cryosphere
- Over 1 billion people worldwide rely on for drinking water
Sea Level Rise - ANSWER Refers to the increasing volume of liquid water on the planet
- Result is that water levels, particularly saltwater in oceans, increase and encroach on-land
Cryosphere integral part of the global climate system
- Snow and ice high albedo, much of the solar energy reflected into space as visible light
- and not radiated as infrared light
Currently, approx. 30% sunlight reflected into space. Without snow and ice on land and in the seas, this number would fall drastically.
- Changes in snow and ice also impact other climate facets such as air temperature, ocean currents, and storm patterns throughout the world. Sea levels are also directly controlled by presence of snow and ice on the planet.
Two main processes of Sea level rise - ANSWER Warming temperatures (global warming) and melting
Warming temperatures (global warming) - ANSWER Thermal expansion: ocean waters expand due to increased molecular activity creating more distance between themselves
Melting - ANSWER Glaciers, ice caps, and ice sheets melt (more than they are formed) due to warming temperatures
What is the issue if sea levels rise by a foot or so? - ANSWER A large proportion of humans live close to oceans and will experience the impacts
- 30% of the USA population live in dense urban areas where sea level poses risks associated with flooding, shoreline erosion, hazards from storms **- 8/10 of the largest cities in the world are coastal
- Threatened infrastructure such as roads and buildings
- Cause sig. FW quality issues (contamination of drinking water, agriculture water)
- Cultural services associated with coastal environments** - tourism, recreation, transportation - Island nations - 5 islands in pacific nation of Solomon Islands have already disappeared
Coastal Squeeze - ANSWER hand-made barriers preventing migration of species to
into oceans are promoting excessive algal growth that in-turn deplete oxygen in water, particularly in coastal areas where nutrients are highest
- Why are nutrients highest in coastal areas? Human activities supply nutrients to the oceans - Fertilizer run -off, sewage, aquaculture, deposition of nitrogen from the burning of fossil fuels
Excessive growth of algae at the surface can block sun from reaching established primary producers below and the high rates of algal mortality encourages bacterial decomposition - the bacteria use up oxygen while feeding on the dead plant matter
Species Range Shifts (or distributional shifts) - ANSWER Moving to avoid the inhospitable conditions
- This type of behaviour is called behavioural thermoregulation and is often necessary for aquatic organisms that cannot regulate internal temperatures themselves (i.e., ectotherms)
Also refers to organisms that shift their normal distributional ranges (e.g., latitudes) due to warming ocean temperatures or associated changes (e.g., change prey distribution).
Problematic - change the dynamics of ecosystems, where some species (e.g., more tolerant to heat) may outcompete native species leading to changes in biodiversity
Ocean acidification - ANSWER occurs where carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves into ocean water and increases its acidity
When carbon dioxide is absorbed a series of chemical reactions occur.
Water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) combine to form carbonic acid (H2CO3) a weak acid
H2CO3 breaks apart to form hydrogen ions (H+) and bicarbonate ions (HCO3 -).
Freely available hydrogen ions can then bond with carbonate ions (CO3 2-) already present in the water
Implications of Acidification: - ANSWER 1) Acidity increases because of increased carbonic acid and hydrogen ions in the ocean, leading to direct harmful effects on marine life such as disrupting chemical communication, reproduction, and growth
- many chemical reactions that are essential to life are sensitive to small changes in pH, a scale measuring the acidity of compounds (1-extremely acidic to 14- extremely basic)
- Since there is an increase in hydrogen ions bonding with carbonate ions, there are fewer carbonate ions available for organisms that rely on them as part of their survival
- many aquatic organisms incorporate carbonate ions to make calcium carbonate as part of their shells, skeletons, and other structures
The oceans' average pH levels have decreased approximately 0.15 units since preindustrial times (pH 8.25 in 1751 to 8.1 in 2020).
This may seem like a small change, but the pH scale is logarithmic and a decrease of 1 pH unit is equivalent to a 10-fold increase in hydrogen ions
- The increase in acidity from pre -industrial times represents a change in pH by 30%.
The main reason for ocean acidification - ANSWER anthropogenic activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation that lead to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If emissions continue at their current rate, the pH of oceans, on average, is expected to be 7.8 by the end of the century - the last time it was this low was approximately 14 million years ago, ironically during a major extinction event.
Ocean Warming - ANSWER -As GHG increasingly trap heat energy within Earth's atmosphere, the oceans also warm
-As snow and ice melt, the oceans absorb more energy
- Some of that heat eventually escapes when water evaporates (or other ways) but when the oceans absorb more heat than they release the heat content (heat energy available to be
released) increases.
Recall: gases are less soluble in warmer waters
- as oceans continue to warm there is less ability for oxygen to remain in the water
Warmer water is also less dense that colder water meaning warmer water is more buoyant
- A result of this thermal stratification is that deep cold waters that are low in oxygen, remain deep and do not get reoxygenated
- Increasing conflicts over access to clean water are also expected
- Higher rates of disease due to changes in how pathogens are propagated
Is Climate Change all bad? - ANSWER Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report from the United Nations (April 2022) states that even if all governmental policies to cut carbon emissions were fully implemented, the world would still warm by 3.2 ˚ C between 2000 and 2100.
- Goal of the IPCC to keep warming to only 1.5˚ C during that period - any higher and unprecedented heat waves, extreme weather events, and widespread water shortages are expected - To stay under 1.5˚ C, carbon emissions would need to peak in 2025, then drop rapidly, reaching net-zero emissions globally by 2050 - i.e., any carbon emissions released into the atmosphere need to be equally countered by sequestration in primary producers, oceans, underground, etc
Human Perspectives - ANSWER One study found that nearly 60% of young people feel very worried or extremely worried about climate change
In as little as ten years ago, there was great debate as to whether global warming and climate change even existed, at least among the public (i.e., not among most scientists).
- 'Climate change denying' has greatly reduced progress in changing the way humans think and act concerning the use of fossil fuels. - A recent poll of 2000 Canadians found that only 70% believed climate change is caused by humans (7% did not believe it is occurring at all!)
Now greater progress towards finding solutions and reducing our impact on the environment
- renewable energy such as solar and wind are increasingly being utilized as alternatives to fossil fuels and are more affordable now than ever before (e.g., prices have dropped 85% over the past decade).
- People are also seeing firsthand the effects of climate change and are now more accepting of the need to change the way we live. - Public transportation, electric vehicles, walking more often, avoiding using natural gases for heating households...
Yet to truly be effective, industries that promote the use of fossil fuels need to act accordingly
- For example, oil and gas companies usually spend 10 -50x more on non-renewable energy investments compared to renewable investments
Governments also need to take initiative to support the social and economic development of renewable energy and other resources
