Free Practice Quiz Question List

8 Ocean Resources and Sustainability Online Quiz Questions

Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 8 Ocean Resources and Sustainability, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.

20 questions

Choose one

1 point

A coastal community wants to expand aquaculture to supplement its wild fisheries. Which plan best reflects sustainable aquaculture management?

A
Expand farms without monitoring their effects, since farmed organisms do not affect wild ecosystems.
B
Monitor feed, disease, waste, escapes, and nearby habitats while assessing whether farms supplement wild fisheries.
C
Replace all wild fisheries with aquaculture, regardless of local conditions.

True or false

1 point

A tidal-energy project uses a renewable resource, so its location and design still need to account for possible effects on habitats and wildlife.

A
True
B
False

Fill in the blank

1 point

Excess fertilizer nutrients can fuel algal growth. When the algae die and decompose, the process may deplete in the water and harm marine animals.

Written response

1 point

A fishing operation catches species other than the ones it intended to catch. What is this unintended capture called?

Choose one

1 point

A watershed community wants to reduce marine pollution from land. Which approach best addresses the problem before pollutants disperse into the ocean?

A
Improve waste handling and wastewater treatment before pollutants reach rivers and the sea.
B
Rely mainly on removing pollutants after they have dispersed through the ocean.
C
Allow fertilizer and chemical runoff, then focus on collecting visible plastic debris.

Fill in the blank

1 point

In a bay receiving excess nutrients, a large algal bloom dies. As the algae decompose, the water's may fall to levels that harm marine animals.

Choose all

1 point

A planner is comparing sites for a tidal-energy project. Select all considerations that should be part of designing and siting the project.

A
Assume predictable tides mean a project cannot affect marine life.
B
Consider navigation when designing and siting a project.
C
Assess possible effects on marine habitats and wildlife.
D
Treat renewable status as proof that no environmental assessment is needed.

Choose one

1 point

A fishery depends on a species that spawns in a particular habitat. Which management plan best addresses the risk that catch limits alone may not protect the population?

A
Set catch limits and assume they will protect the population without monitoring or habitat measures.
B
Protect habitat but allow unlimited catches and disregard bycatch.
C
Combine catch limits with spawning-habitat protection, bycatch reduction, monitoring, and community participation.

True or false

1 point

If seabed mining could cause serious harm and ecosystem recovery is uncertain, a lack of complete evidence about impacts should not by itself be treated as proof that mining is safe.

A
True
B
False

Choose all

1 point

Select all statements that correctly distinguish ocean resources by whether they are replenished and by the possible effects of using them.

A
Wave energy is replenished by natural processes, but developing it may still affect habitats or wildlife.
B
Burning offshore natural gas is renewable because it comes from the ocean.
C
Extracting a mineral deposit depletes a finite resource, even if the deposit is located underwater.
D
Renewable ocean energy projects need no assessment of environmental effects.

Written response

1 point

What sustainable-management principle advises against assuming an activity is safe when serious harm is possible but knowledge is incomplete?

Open ended

1 point

A company proposes extracting minerals from a deep-sea area where organisms and ecosystem recovery are poorly understood. Propose a management plan that balances possible mineral use with ecosystem health. Explain how uncertainty, environmental impacts, monitoring, and decisions about continuing or limiting extraction should be handled.

True or false

1 point

A fishery can use seasonal or area closures and gear rules that reduce bycatch as part of sustainable management, alongside harvest limits.

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

A regional council is setting rules for several ocean resources. Which approach best reflects sustainable management across ecological, social, and economic concerns?

A
Make decisions using only expected short-term revenue from extraction.
B
Use scientific monitoring and risk assessment while involving affected communities and revising decisions as evidence changes.
C
Exclude fishing communities from decisions so that management focuses only on marine organisms.

Written response

1 point

What term describes the unintended capture of species other than those a fishing operation is targeting?

Written response

1 point

Which named type of deep-sea mineral deposit occurs on abyssal plains?

Choose one

1 point

A seafood producer is evaluating whether to expand an aquatic farm. Which approach best assesses the farm's sustainability?

A
Judge sustainability only by how many organisms the farm produces.
B
Evaluate feed, disease control, waste, escapes, and effects on nearby habitats.
C
Assume that farmed organisms cannot affect wild populations.
D
Focus only on whether the farm is located in coastal water.

Choose one

1 point

A community depends on a local shellfish population. Which condition is necessary for the shellfish to remain a renewable living resource?

A
Harvest can exceed reproduction indefinitely because marine populations always recover.
B
A population remains sustainable as long as fishing gear does not damage habitat.
C
Harvest and other pressures must not outpace the population's reproduction and recovery.
D
A population can replenish only if people stop using all living marine resources.

Choose one

1 point

Fertilizer runoff adds excess nitrogen and phosphorus to coastal water. Which sequence best describes a possible effect on marine life?

A
It can fuel algal growth, and decomposition of the algae may deplete oxygen in the water.
B
It prevents algal growth and raises oxygen levels as the fertilizer breaks down.
C
It directly removes nitrogen and phosphorus from seawater before algae can use them.
D
It makes algae grow, but their decomposition has no effect on marine animals.

Choose one

1 point

A coastal region is planning a tidal-energy project. Which planning decision best supports sustainable use of this renewable resource?

A
Site the equipment wherever energy capture is greatest, since renewable energy cannot affect wildlife.
B
Avoid assessing navigation because tides and currents are predictable.
C
Treat habitat effects as irrelevant if the project does not extract minerals.
D
Assess navigation, habitats, and wildlife when designing and siting the project.