N19/4/ENVSO/SP1/ENG/TZ0/XX/T

Environmental systems and societies

Standard level
Paper 1 – resource booklet

Friday 8 November 2019 (afternoon)

1 hour

Instructions to candidates
Do not open this booklet until instructed to do so.
This booklet contains all the resources to answer paper 1.

8819 – 6302
14 pages © International Baccalaureate Organization 2019
 –2– N19/4/ENVSO/SP1/ENG/TZ0/XX/T

Figure 1(a): World map showing the location of the St Lawrence River and the
Gulf of St Lawrence in North America

St Lawrence River
and the Gulf of
St Lawrence

Equator

[Source: adapted from TUBS/Wikimedia.

File licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en]

Figure 1(b): Map showing the location of the St Lawrence River from
Montreal to the Gulf of St Lawrence

72°W 68°W 64°W 60°W 56°W

0 200
N
km
53°N

Canada
51°N

ary
estu
49°N nce
re
aw
Quebec City tL
Gulf of St Lawrence
S

ce
ren
t Lawiver
47°N S R
Montreal

45°N
USA
Atlantic Ocean

[Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Reproduced with the permission of

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2019]
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The St Lawrence River estuary and the Gulf of St Lawrence are recognized as a Large Ocean
Management Area by the Canadian government (Figure 2(b)).

It is an important shipping route from the Atlantic Ocean to eastern Canada.

The area is highly productive (Figure 4(a)).
It provides habitat for wildlife, including resident and migratory birds, whales and crabs.

[Source: adapted from https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca]

Figure 2(b): Map showing the Large Ocean Management Area

72°W 68°W 64°W 60°W 56°W

N
53°N

Canada
51°N

49°N
Quebec City

47°N
Montreal

45°N
USA 0 200
km
Key:
St Lawrence River beluga whale range
Critically-endangered right whale range
Main aquaculture region
Saguenay–St Lawrence Marine Park
Proposed marine park
Proposed sites for oil and gas drilling
Outline of Large Ocean Management Area
Main shipping lane

[Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Reproduced with the permission of

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2019]

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and the Gulf of St Lawrence

Aquaculture

Removed for copyright reasons

[Source: FishFarmingExpert]

Oil and gas exploration

[Source: Dale Scullion]

Tourism such as bird watching and whale watching

[Source: Jean Iron. Greater Snow Geese in Ontario (2011).

Used with permission]
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activities in the Large Ocean Management Area

Oil and gas (estimated) 45 000

533

Aquaculture 39

Whale watching 20

[Source: www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca]

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–2
a–1) of selected world biomes

40 000
Key:

35 000 Terrestrial biomes

Average net primary productivity (kJ m–2 a–1)

Aquatic biomes
30 000

25 000

20 000

15 000

10 000

5000

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st

n
st

t
y

nd

ra

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es

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Tr

Tr

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te

at
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Te
ra

hw
th
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Fr
Te

[Source: graphic used with the permission of Integrated Access STEM Sites, LLC]

[Source: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson]

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68°W 66°W 64°W 62°W 60°W 58°W

N
51°N
Quebec

49°N
Gulf of
St Lawrence

47°N
0 200 Atlantic Ocean

km

Key:
Salinity (ppt)

33 32 31 30 29

[Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Reproduced with the permission of

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2019]

Figure 5(b): Water-surface temperature variation across the

Large Ocean Management Area
68°W 66°W 64°W 62°W 60°W 58°W

N
51°N
Quebec

49°N
Gulf of
St Lawrence

47°N
0 200 Atlantic
Ocean
km

Key:
Temperature ( C)

0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28

[Source: Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Reproduced with the permission of

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2019]

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Figure 6(a): Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

[Source: https://pixabay.com/]

Delphinapterus leucas)

Opportunistic feeders, change their food sources with the seasons.

Can live for up to 70 years.
40–50 % of the beluga whale’s body weight is made up of fat.
Reaches sexual maturity between 5 and 9 years of age.
The worldwide population of beluga whales is estimated at 150 000.
The St Lawrence River estuary population (900 individuals)
is isolated from other beluga whales
is listed as endangered by the Canadian government
has been protected by law since 1983.
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[Source: Halibut image: FishWatch.gov

Phytoplankton: GreenVector/VectorStock
Zooplankton: macrovector/VectorStock]

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Figure 7: Estimated population of the St Lawrence River beluga whales

10 000

9000

8000
Estimated population size (individuals)

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Year

[Source: An age-structured Bayesian population model for St. Lawrence Estuary beluga (Delphinapterus leucas), Canadian
Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) Research Document 2013/127, Quebec Region. Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Reproduced with the permission of © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2019]

Figure 8: Threats to the St Lawrence River beluga whale

Shipping and whale watching:

Noise from ships disturbs feeding behaviour.
Ships may separate young whales from their mothers.

Hunting:
•
industry.

Pollution:
•
• Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as DDT and PCBs, from agriculture and industry.
• Treated and untreated sewage from cities along the river.
• Microplastic beads from domestic and industrial waste.
• Pollutants accumulate in the mud at the bottom of the river.
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Neogobius melanostomus)

• An invasive species from Asia.

• First discovered in the St Lawrence River in 1990.
• Females lay eggs three times a year; up to 5000 eggs at a time.
•
•
• Aggressively defend the best egg-laying sites, out-competing the native mottled sculpin
(Cottus bairdii).
• Eat invasive zebra mussels.
•

Neogobius melanostomus) Mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdii)

maximum size 24 cm in length maximum size 15 cm in length

[Source: © Joseph R. Tomelleri] [Source: illustration © Emily S. Damstra]

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Figure 10: Untreated sewage release into the St Lawrence River

Montreal:
In November 2015, the City of Montreal discharged between 5 and 8 billion litres of untreated sewage
into the St Lawrence River.
It was called “FlushGate” in the Canadian news.
Citizens were warned to avoid contact with the water.
River pollution levels returned to normal within 4 to 10 days.
The Mayor of Montreal described it as the “most environmentally-friendly solution”.

Quebec:
In November 2016, the City of Quebec discharged 110 million litres of untreated sewage into the
St Lawrence River.

25 % of Canadians do not have access to sewage or wastewater treatment centres.

205 billion litres of untreated sewage are released into Canadian rivers and oceans each year.

[Source: adapted from www.cbc.ca/news]

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St Lawrence River near Montreal

Figure 11(a): Before the release of untreated sewage

Key: Coliform bacteria concentrations units / 100 mL

10
40 000

0 10
80 000
km

120 000

[Source: adapted from CBC news, © OpenStreetMap contributors www.openstreetmap.org/copyright and © Mapbox.
Data adapted from Ville de Montréal the open data portal http://donnees.ville.montreal.qc.ca/dataset?q=intercepteur
and licensed under CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode]

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Figure 12: News headlines about the St Lawrence River and the Gulf of St Lawrence
areas

ce
awren
of St L
Gulf
the
ead in
n dd
s fou
whale
ri ght
red
dange
ll y en Since the mid-1
ritica 990s, the aver
age water tem
10 c the southern G
ulf of St Lawre perature in
nce has increa
sed by 1.5 °C

e
L a w renc
St es
G u lf of ing whal
the itt
p e e d in o avoid h
ce s on t
t o redu ion seas
s t
Ship g migra
dur i n tect 10 % of
m en t promises to pro
Canada’s g o ve rn ng by 2050
tl in e fr o m fi sh ing and oil drilli
Canada’s coas

Government p
romises Can$1
97 million for
ocean and fres
hwater resear
ch

e Park
enc e Marin
e n in g St Lawr
ses op ation
r n m e n t propo and gas explor
Gove to oil
N19/4/ENVSO/SP1/ENG/TZ0/XX/Q

Environmental systems and societies

Standard level
Paper 1

Friday 8 November 2019 (afternoon)

Candidate session number

1 hour

Instructions to candidates
Write your session number in the boxes above.
Do not open this examination paper until instructed to do so.
Answer all questions. Refer to the resource booklet which accompanies this question paper.
Answers must be written within the answer boxes provided.
A calculator is required for this paper.
The maximum mark for this examination paper is [35 marks].

8819 – 6301
7 pages © International Baccalaureate Organization 2019

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Answer all questions. Answers must be written within the answer boxes provided.

1. (a) Using Figure 4(a), identify an ecosystem that has an average net primary productivity
above 30 000 kJ m–2 a–1. [1]

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(b) Suggest one reason for the zonation seen in Figure 5(b). [1]

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(c) Estuaries are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, but only account for
3 % of global productivity.

State one reason why this occurs. [1]

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(d) Outline why estuaries are highly productive ecosystems. [3]

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2. (a) Using Figure 6(c), identify a food chain in the St Lawrence River ecosystem that has

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(b) Using Figure 7, state the St Lawrence beluga whale population in 1920 and 1940. [1]

1920: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1940: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(c) Calculate the percent decrease in beluga whale numbers from 1920 to 1940. [1]

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(d) With reference to Figure 8, explain why the beluga whale is more at risk from toxic
pollutants, such as heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), than most
other organisms in its food web. [3]

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(Question 2 continued)

(e) Suggest why the St Lawrence River beluga whale population has not recovered
despite being given protected status in 1983. [4]

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3. (a) Using Figures 9(a) and 9(b), identify one feature of the round goby that shows it is an
r-selected species. [1]

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(b) With reference to Figure 9(a), outline how the round goby both positively and

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(Question 3 continued)

(c) With reference to Figure 9(a), explain why the realized niche of the mottled sculpin has
changed in recent years. [3]

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4. (a) Using Figure 11(b), estimate the highest concentrations of coliform bacteria
(in units/100 mL) found in the St Lawrence River one day after the untreated sewage
was released. [1]

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(b) Outline an environmental problem that may result from the release of untreated sewage
into a river. [2]

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(Question 4 continued)

(c) With reference to Figures 10, 11(a) and 11(b), describe a method to monitor the impact
of the release of untreated sewage into the St Lawrence River ecosystem. [3]

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5. With reference to information in the resource booklet, evaluate the sustainability of Canada’s
management of the Large Ocean Management Area of the St Lawrence River estuary and
Gulf of St Lawrence. [6]

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