General Marine Ecology
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), interacting as a system.
What is a community?
An assemblage of populations of different species occupying a habitat.
Define plankton.
Plankton are weakly swimming or drifting organisms
Define Keystone Species.
*A keystone species is a species (plant or animal) that has a disproportionately large effect on ecosystem relative to its abundance.
What percentage of the oxygen we breathe is phytoplankton responsible for?
50%
Define primary producer. Give an example of a marine species.
*Primary producers are those that convert solar or chemical energy that is usable (carbohydrates) by most members of an ecosystem.
*Examples: phytoplankton/ plants
Define niche.
A niche tells you how the animal lives.
Niche is defined as the role or function of an organism in an ecosystem or community.
Define Holoplankton. Give an example.
Holoplankton are organisms that spend their entire life as plankton.
Ex. Diatoms, Krill, Jellyfish
Who came up with the term keystone species and it's theory?
Robert Paine
What is a foundation species? Give an example.
*A foundation species is a species that has a strong role in structuring a community by producing and maintaining habitats that benefit other organisms using that structure.
Example: Coral
What does EBM stand for? Define EBM.
*Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is a management approach that includes these interactions instead of considering single species or single issues at a time
Describe what happens when competition occurs in an ecosystem. Give an example.
Competition occurs when organisms are using the same ecological resource in the same place at the same time.
ex. barnacles and mussels
Define Meroplankton. Give an example.
Meroplankton are a species that only spend part of their life cycle drifting.
Ex. fish and crab larvae
Give an example of a keystone predator and explain why they are a keystone species.
Examples:
American alligator: Alligators use their tails to make burrows to stay warm and when they move on, these burrows fill with water which is used by other species. Alligators are also predators, keeping the numbers of other species in check.
Sea Otter: They’re considered a keystone species because of their critical importance to the health and stability of the nearshore marine ecosystem. They eat sea urchins and other invertebrates that graze on giant kelp. Without sea otters, these grazing animals can destroy kelp forests and consequently the wide diversity of animals that depend upon kelp habitat for survival.
Describe the process of Ecological Succession.
Ecosystems are are constantly changing in response to community, natural and human disturbances.
As an ecosystem changes, some inhabitants aren’t able to survive the changes and new organisms move into their niche (role), which causes further changes in the community.
The series of predictable changes that occur in a community over time is called ecological succession.
What is the difference between abiotic factors and biotic factors? Give an example of both.
living vs. non living factors
examples of abiotic factor: ocean temperature, currents, nutrients
examples of biotic: plants, bacteria, animals
Compare and contrast the three types of symbiotic relationships.
There are three types of symbiotic relationships in nature:
Mutualism- both benefit
ex. cleaner shrimp with various fish
Commensalism- one benefits and the other not harmed.
ex. barnacles on whales
Parasitism- one benefits host is harmed.
ex. sea lamprey and fish
Compare and contrast phytoplankton and zooplankton. List at least two differences.
Producers vs consumers
remain near the surface may vertically migrate.
What is a keystone modifier? Give an example.
A species that affects many other species by by dramatically altering the environment.
examples: Beaver, Termites
Write the equation for photosynthesis on the white board.
CO2 + H2O --> C6H12O6 (carbohydrate) + O2(oxygen)
Fill in the blanks.
The __________________ is the part of the open sea or ocean that is not near the coast or seafloor. The _____________________ is the ecological region at the ________________ level of a body of water.
Pelagic Zone
Benthic Zone
Lowest
What does the Principal of Competition Exclusion state? Provide an example.
This principle states that no two species can occupy the same niche indefinitely when resources are limited.
ex.
Competitive Exclusion is demonstrated in a study done on the ochre star and six-armed star.
Both species co-occur in areas of Washington.
Both species feed mainly during summer and have a broad overlap in diet.
Why are plankton so important? Give at least 3 reasons.
Plankton are an important source of food for larger animals.
Phytoplankton are the first link in the food chain.
Like land plants, they produce lots of oxygen through photosynthesis.
Important part of global carbon cycle
Through photosynthesis turns carbon into organic matter.
Compare and contrast foundation species vs keystone species?
*Keystone species do not form the ecosystem but keep it going.
*Whereas a foundation species provides the foundation of a habitat.
One type of large predatory fish has been hunted to extinction. Will this have devastating effect on the marine food web? Explain what may happen?
The prey that this fish eats may over populate and eat more of their prey or plants that may be needed for the ecosystem to stay in balance.