# results title text: You got {score} out of {total_questions}. Thank you for taking the quiz and testing your coastal habitat knowledge!
# results text: 2|
You missed a few, but you could still become a coastal habitats whiz. Learn more about these vital areas.
6|
Pretty good, but you have room for improvement. Learn more about coastal habitats.
8|
Congratulations, you’re a coastal habitats whiz!
# wrong text: Sorry, that's incorrect.
# right text: That's correct!
# social text incomplete: I took @pewenvironment’s “Are you a Coastal Habitats Whiz” quiz. Try it and see how much you know about these important but vulnerable areas. %23ConserveCoastalHabitats
# social text complete: I took @pewenvironment’s “Are you a Coastal Habitats Whiz” quiz and got {score} out of {total_questions}. Try it and see how much you know about these important but vulnerable areas. %23ConserveCoastalHabitats
? How many people in the U.S. live near a coast?
- About 200 million
- 3 million
- 50 million
+ Nearly 95 million
! Almost
95 million people—about 29% of the total U.S. population—lived in coastal counties in 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, an increase of 15.3% since 2000. Of that total, about 60 million live in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico regions, which are the most vulnerable to intense storms such as hurricanes. When healthy, salt marshes, seagrass beds, and other coastal habitats can help blunt the impacts of these serious weather events.
? True or False: Once oysters are eaten, their shells shouldn’t be put back into the ocean or estuaries because they can slow the growth of new oysters.
+ False
! Oyster shells are valuable material for
oyster reef restoration. Rather than sending them to landfills, restaurants and other businesses can recycle oyster shells for reef-rebuilding projects. Healthy oyster reefs help reduce erosion, buffer coastal communities from sea level rise and storms, and filter pollutants from the water.
- True
? Which U.S. coastal habitats are at risk of degradation or destruction?
- Kelp forests
- Oyster reefs
- Rocky habitats
- Salt marshes
- Seagrass beds
+ All of the above
! All of these
coastal habitats are at varying levels of risk from warming ocean temperatures, sea level rise, pollution runoff, and development.
? “Hardened shorelines,” such as concrete seawalls and bulkheads, are one strategy to protect the country’s coastal communities from flooding and sea level rise. Another approach uses natural barriers to safeguard coastal property and is called:
- Natural shorelines
- Soft shorelines
+ Living shorelines
! Coastal habitats offer natural protection for the country’s shores and coastal development. When incorporated into coastline conservation and storm mitigation projects, they are called
living shorelines. Oyster reefs, seagrass meadows, and other natural formations can reduce reliance on manmade structures that can have significant adverse effects on coastal ecosystems.
- Green coastlines
- Organic edges
? True or False: All the most valuable coastal habitats are lush, undisturbed plant life.
- True
+ False
! Ecologically important coastal habitats also are found along rocky shores. In Oregon, rocky habitats make up
41 percent of the coastline and are among the state’s most valuable natural resources, attracting thousands of visitors annually; providing habitat for seabirds, fish, and other marine wildlife, and serving as a living laboratory for scientists and students.
? The National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) is a network of 29 protected sensitive coastal areas across 23 states and Puerto Rico. Which activity is allowed in NERRS sites?
- Homebuilding
+ Kayaking
! In addition to facilitating environmental
monitoring, stewardship, training and public education, and research, most NERRS sites remain open to many recreational activities, such as kayaking and canoeing, that were allowed before they became part of the network.
- Sandboarding
- Spelunking
? True or False? Eelgrass is planted by eels, which expel the seeds, then bury them in rich silt as they perform their spring mating movements.
- True
+ False
! Eelgrass, a type of seagrass, gets its name from its long, eel-like blades, but eels don’t cultivate it.
Eelgrass beds help stabilize shorelines, provide habitat and shelter for marine wildlife that supports commercial and recreational fishing, absorb climate-warming greenhouse gases in their roots, and help prevent harmful algal blooms.
? Fill in the blank: Seagrass meadows play important roles in the health of the ocean and coastal communities, such as reducing erosion and providing essential marine habitat. Scientists estimate that a seagrass bed the size of ___ can provide almost $30,000 in benefits.
+ Two football fields
!
Research suggests that 2½ acres of seagrass (roughly the size of two football fields) deliver an estimated $29,000 annually in habitat, erosion control, and other benefits, making seagrass the third-most valuable marine ecosystem behind only estuaries and wetlands.
- Rhode Island
- Lake Superior
- An aircraft carrier
