Physical Characteristics
What is the temperature range?
35-40 degrees celcius
Name 1 TERTIARY consumer from MOLLY's food web
Answers: walleye, river otters, osprey, great blue heron
What substance must be present for fish and aquatic life to survive?
Oxygen.
What is irrigation?
Farmers use water from the South Saskatchewan River for this purpose.
How do people utilize the river?
agriculture, irrigation, drinking water, recreation, industry and economy.
What is the length of the South Saskatchewan River?
1392 km long.
Name 1 producer and 1 consumer from SYDNEY's food web.
Producer: algea, plants
Consumer: copepod, mayfly, minnow, pike, walleye, pelican.
How do people interact with the river?
through paddling, summer leisure, and urban enjoyment.
Name one impact that was mentioned in our presentation that humans could have on the ecosystem.
Farming, Dams, Pollution, Development, Climate change.
Name 3 threats to water quality.
Acceptable answers: wastewater discharge, agriculture runoff, sedimentation and erosion, invasive species, urban storm water, climate change, industrial contamination, low flow conditions.
What is sediment?
This material carried and deposited by the river includes sand, silt, and gravel.
What is the PH of the river?
7.5-8.5
Basic.
What are the 3 things organisms compete for in this ecosystem?
Food, Space, Light
What is water flow or habitat?
Dams and reservoirs can affect fish by changing this natural river condition
What are the Rocky Mountains?
This mountain range is the original source of much of the South Saskatchewan River’s water.
Name 3 plants in the ecosystem
Acceptable answers: tall grass, buffalo grass, purple prairie clover, prairie blazing star, golden rod, black-eyed Susan.
What is turbidity? What is the turbidity of the river?
The clarity of a liquid. The river's turbidity is moderate-high due to clay silt and algea.
What are 3 characteristics of nutrient cycling?
dead plants, animal breakdown, nutrients return to water and soil
What were the 5 categories mentioned in the human impact slide
Agriculture, Water use, Pollution, Dams and water control, Climate change.
Name 5 animals that use the river
deer, moose, beavers, muskrat, fox, coyote, frog, turtle, walleye, pike.
What is the depth and width of the river?
Depth: 2-6 meters
Width: 100-300 meters
Explain what a food web is.
A food web is a diagram that shows how plants and animals are connected by feeding relationships in an ecosystem.
What is a producer?
The base of the food web, produce oxygen, and provide shelter and food for animals.
What can be found in the river as "runoff"
fertilizer, manure, chemicals, dirty water.
What are 4 things in Sydney's protection plan and explain the impact those might have.
reduce pollution; cleaner water for wildlife + people
protect habitat; safer environment for wildlife
save water; more water stays in the river
educate community; more people involved in protecting the river
monitor river health; problems fixed quickly