Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
35 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
What is diffusion and why is it important to phytoplankton? |
-molecules move from areas of high concentration to low concentration -phytoplankton rely on diffusion, need to get nutrients in and waste products out |
|
Why are almost all phytoplankton cells microscopic? |
-small gives maximum surface area/ volume ratio -small radius=greater area to volume ratio -small size=slower sinking |
|
What do copepods mainly feed on? |
phytoplankton |
|
Why are the dominant primary producers in the ocean microscopic while the primary producers on land are usually much larger organisms? |
-microscopic organisms in ocean reduce sinking by maximizing SA/volume ratio -land organisms compete for light must be taller |
|
Suggest reasons why many deep sea organisms are bioluminescent |
-to confuse, lure, communication |
|
What limits primary productivity in most oceanic ecosystems? In most terrestrial ecosystems? How does this affect the animals and plants in these systems? |
-nutrients constantly limiting primary productivity, light and temperature -trees have nutrients available but compete for limited sunlight and can be limited by water |
|
What is meant by the term ecosystem? |
the living organisms, their physical environment and all their interrelationships in a particular unit of space |
|
Primary productivity |
-measure of how much photosynthesis there it |
|
What is a food chain? |
the food chain represents the flow of energy through the ecosystem |
|
Why are there fewer big carnivorous fish in the sea than little carnivorous fish? |
-the bigger you are the fewer you are -10% energy lost within each trophic level big fish need more energy |
|
Why are the biggest fish in the ocean herbivores? |
the lower trophic levels provide more energy for the bigger fish |
|
Why is a food chain an over-simplification of how organisms in an ecosystem interact? |
-its not a perfect line, better represented as a food web |
|
What are the key challenges facing any organism in an ecosystem? |
-how to obtain energy or food -how to avoid being eaten |
|
What are some of the main environmental differences between the surface ocean and the deep sea? |
-light at surface (photic zone) -nutrients-used at surface(limiting)-high nutrient deep waters -temperature |
|
What kinda of circulation enhance primary productivity? Suppress it? |
-upwelling= productivity ^ (nutrient rich water up) -downwelling=productivity v (surface water down to depth) -mixing=productivity ^ |
|
Kinds of upwelling and downwelling |
-coastal=upwelling filling coastal depression -equitorial=upwelling filling equator -gyres=least productive part of ocean |
|
What factors control primary productivity and why? |
-light and nutrients |
|
What members of the phytoplankton and zooplankton contribute their shells or tests to marine sediments? |
-diatoms- silaceous shell (SiO2)- phytoplankton -forams- CaCO3-calcareous shell-zooplankton |
|
Compensation depth |
-depth to which 1% of light penetrates -below depth of greatest productivity |
|
Why is the coastal ocean more productive than the open ocean? |
-more productivity per unit area on coast -rivers,upwelling, mixing can reach sea floor |
|
Describe 3 types of phytoplankton and zooplankton |
-phytoplankton= diatoms (silaceous shell, most abundant), dinoflagellates (PSP), coccolithophores(tiny) -zooplankton=(consume primary producers) copepods, krill (macroscopic), meroplankton (juvenile crabs, clams) jellyfish (zooplankton) |
|
Why do many planktonic organisms have adaptations to minimize their sinking rate? Describe these adaptations |
-phytoplankton need to stay in photic zone to photosynthesize -adaptations: can reduce density, shape and antanae to reduce sinking, surface area to volume ratio |
|
Why are many planktonic organisms translucent? Why is this strategy not employed by many nektonic organisms? |
-to hide -nektonic organisms can swim, plankton drift (can't be translucent because of muscles) -zooplankton can be translucent, phytoplankton can't |
|
WHat organisms are responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning? Why are shellfish involved? |
-dinoflagalletes -release toxins against predators and becomes concentrated in things we eat like oyster and shellfish that can kill us |
|
Why are there more benthic organisms in coastal regions than in the deep sea |
-surface light reaches bottom in coastal regions but not in deep sea |
|
What are some advantages and disadvantages of living on the seafloor? |
-adv: environment more constant, no energy for buoyancy, can hide -dis: can't disperse offspring, food supply reduced |
|
Describe the different types of benthos based on habitats |
-epifauna: (surface dwelling) sessile(don't move-coral) or mobile(move-lobster) -infauna: (live in the sediment) clams, worms |
|
Describe the concept of intertidal donation and the factors that affect it |
-intertidal zone: area of beach defined by part of day under water -exposure to air, competition for space,extreme temp and salinity fluctuations, wave action |
|
Why are there fewer species of animals in estuaries than in the adjacent open ocean |
-estuaries:semi enclosed body of water, mix of salty and fresh(brackish water) -variations in salinity, extreme temp change, more difficult to live in brackish water, have to osmoregulate to live there -open ocean pretty constant |
|
Describe conditions necessary for coral reefs to develop and why these conditions are necessary |
-built entirely by biological activity -made from CaCO3 skeletons -highly productive but low nutrient -warm, salty, low nutrients (clean water) clear shallow water (for photosynthesis) -symbiotic phytoplankton to photosynthesize not for food, energy form sun and food for vitamins |
|
What are the main food sources for baleen whales? toothed whales? |
-baleen: zooplankton, krill, plankton (filter feed-doesnt have teeth) -toothed whales: fish, squid (hunters, have teeth) |
|
What are some of the challenges faced by nektonic organisms? Describe some adaptations used by fish to deal with these challenges |
-how to catch food, avoid predators, reproduce, where to live, how to swim, prevent sinking, get oxygen -swim: harder to move through water-muscles and fins -predators:color shading, speed -sinking: gas bladders, fats, lipids -food:filter feed, hunters, grazers, luring |
|
Describe the feeding strategies of a copepod, jellyfish and tuna. They are the strategies different |
-copepod: zooplankton, eats phytoplankton -jellyfish:immobilizes things that go through tentacles, structured to drift not swim -tuna: eats smaller fish, muscles, fins, carnivorous |
|
What is fishing down the food chain |
-fisherman trying to get bigger fish, not as many big fish, start going for smaller -smaller and smaller fish being caught-overfishing causes us to have regulations and fish to lower trophic levels. |
|
What are relative trophic levels of fish harvested from the ocean and animals harvested on land? What are the implications of this answer to the management of fisheries? |
-grass-cow-human (3 levels) -ocean typically 5 -cant overfish |