Headwater streams and rivers

16 important questions on Headwater streams and rivers

What is surface runoff?

Water that can not infiltrate in the ground/soil and will stay on top of the ground. This can happen when the ground reached its capacity or when more rain falls from the sky than it can absorb.

What is a baseflow?

Baseflow (groundwater flowing to streams) is a portion of streamflow that is not directly generated from excess rainfall during a storm event. In other words, this is the flow that would exist in the stream without the contribution of direct runoff from the rainfall.

Where will you find more oxygen in the water, upstream or downstream? Why is this?

Downstream is more oxygen since it had more time to diffuse into the water.
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Where would you find shredders in a river?

Shredders are found upstream, they can tear organic material into smaller pieces and this will be eaten by other organisms. Therefore, shredders are found upstream.

What is a biofilm?

A layer of microorganisms surrounded by a layer of slime found on slippery substrate. Contains a lot of organisms like protozoa, bacteria, algae,and dead organic material

What is an interflow? And what is its significance?

Movement of water in the unsaturated zone, that first returns to the surface or enters a stream prior to becoming groundwater. Interflow contains more ions and organic material than surface runoff

What are the differences between laminar and turbulent flow?

Laminar flow occurs in layers without mixing. An obstruction can cause turbulence. Turbulent flow mixes the fluid. There is more interaction, greater heating,and more resistance than in laminar flow.

Shear stress, what is it? And when is the shear stress higher, by laminar flow or turbulent flow?

Shear stress= schuifspanning
turbulent streams have shear stress much stronger

What is the difference between a pool, run, and riffle? Where will the flow be faster?

Riffle: shallow and a lot of turbulence
runs: are fast-moving water in smoother straighter stretches.
Pools: deepened and flow slower
flow is faster at the riffles and slower at the pools

How do organisms respond to shear stress?

Some avoid it by hiding under rocks
Some cling on by hooking onto a surface or by suction

stream-conditions are not stable due to frequent disturbance. Therefore the community is not stable. Four distinct groups fall under this, which ones are these?

1) algae on stones
2) plants
3) macrofauna
4) fish

What are the five types of food gatherers?

Shredders, scrapers, filter feeders, predators, and collectors-gatherers

What are the five types of food gatherers?

Shredders, scrapers, filter feeders, predators, and collectors-gatherers

What is a shredder, scraper, filter feeder, and predator?

Shredder: tears organic matter into little pieces so other organisms can feed on them.
scrapers: consume algae and material
filter feeders: Collect fine particulate organic matter to filter
predators: feed on consumers

Collectors: collect fine particulate organic matter from the bottom

Name 6 major ions that you can find in freshwater systems.

Chloride (Cl-)
Sodium (Na+)
Bicarbonate (HCO3-)
Magnesium (Mg 2+)
Sulfate (SO4 2-)
Calcium (Ca2+)

What is the ETP score?

Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies) And Trichoptera (caddis flies)
EPT zijn zeer onverdraagzaam voor elke aanwezigheid van verontreinigende stoffen in de waterlichamen en daarom zijn EPT cruciale biologische indicatoren voor het bepalen van de waterkwaliteit van de rivier.

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