Flora
Many plant species serve as an important ____ for wildlife such as insects, birds, deer, and bear.
What is a food source?
Mass vegetation loss can make it difficult for many animal species to find ____.
What is food?
This process that is exacerbated by flooding increases soil instability and sedimentation of waterways, and can be the cause of land/mudslides in extreme cases.
What is erosion?
Doing unpaid work for non-profit or other environmental agencies.
Hint: Riverside clean-up is an example of this.
What is volunteering?
Helene reached a 140mph maximum ______ .
What is wind speed?
Flooding can introduce harmful substances like oil, fertilizers, and toxic waste into plant habitats.
What are pollutants?
Flooding can greatly alter or destroy the homes to many wildlife species.
What is habitat loss?
Storm damage to these bodies of waters are characterized by bank erosion, unstable substrate, altered flow patterns, etc.
What are rivers?
Planting native species that increase soil stability is an example of?
Example: Planting rivercane on riverbeds increases streambed stability.
What is erosion control?
Hurricane Helene is responsible for unprecedented levels of ______, resulting in total ground saturation and high floodwaters.
What is precipitation?
Excessive groundwater can cause blight in ____, having a negative impact on agriculture.
What are crops?
For farmers, high floodwaters can significantly increase the chance of livestock ______.
What is mortality/drowning?
Increased turbidity, sedimentation, chemical pollution, debris and contamination in waterways can all have a negative impact on water _____.
Hint: this impacts our drinking water supply.
What is water quality/health?
What is infrastructure?
The extremely high floodwaters caused by Hurricane Helene caused significant structural damages, causing many people to lose their homes, jobs, and businesses. These are all examples of effects on our local _____.
What is economy?
Mass tree/plant uprootings, saturated soil, physical damage, as well as chemical pollution are all factors that can cause ______ during and after a flood event.
What is vegetation loss?
Studies were done on this endangered salamander species, which experienced habitat loss and population decline.
Hint: It's the largest salamander species in North America!
What are Hellbenders?
Nutrient loss, loose sediment and debris, pH levels, and chemical pollutants can all ave a negative impact on ________.
Hint: Plants, burrowing animals, and microorganisms will be greatly effected by this.
What is soil quality/health?
Restoration of _______ habitats can aid in absorbing floodwater and reducing the intensity of storm surges.
Hint: A bog is an example of this kind of ecosystem.
What is a wetland?
Hurricane Helene (and all hurricanes) formed from a ______ pressure system over warm waters.
What is a low pressure system?
non-native, opportunist species that thrive in a variety of conditions and outcompete native species and their ecological niche. Flooding events can increase the likelihood of the arrival of these species.
Hint: Bamboo is an example of this.
What are invasive species?
These aquatic, filter-feeding animals aid in water purification and serve as an important food source to other animals. Because they burrow in the ground, their populations and habitats are greatly disrupted by flood events.
Hint: They are in the Mollusk family and are known as "ecosystem engineers"
What are mussels?
This kind of damage can cause destruction of the foundation of man-made buildings, support beams, bridges etc.
What is structural/architectural damage?
The first species to arrive/re-establish following complete ecological destruction that begin to recreate a more habitable environment for the arrival of future species.
Hint: Mosses, lichens, grasses.
What are pioneer species?
Studying _______ can help predict the likelihood and frequency of severe weather events, saving lives and millions (or billions) of dollars.
What is meteorology/weather patterns?