Vocabulary
Does most human activity occur in the neuritic or oceanic zone?
As depth increases in the ocean, the abundance of life and the quantity of life and food decreases. Explain why this is so.
Light penetration decreases which prevents photosynthesis which means less food is available, so smaller quantities of life is supported.
What are clupeoid and ganoid fishes? How are the similar and different?
Clupeoid: small, plankton-eating fishes that travel in large schools
Ganoid: Large, Bottom dwelling fishes
Why is chlorine not the best solution for treating sewage to be dumped into the ocean?
What is upwelling?
The process that carries colder, nutrient-rich water upward to a more shallow depth.
A marine biologist does a plankton tow in the epipelagic and collects many species of zooplankton. Which organisms will most likely be the largest group collected?
Copepods will most likely be pulled, due to the fact- these are the most abundant group of zooplankton in the epipelagic zone.
Why do ost mesopelagic fishes have a board diet?
Because they have to wait for food to come near to them, they cannot be picky if they want to eat. Therefore many mesopelagic fishes feed on practically anything they come across.
How does coastal upwelling enhance fish population?
Costal upwelling brings up nutrient-rich deep water, which increases primary production and supports larger populations.
What type of pollutant can kill or harm any marine organisms without being eaten?
Radioactive waste- it is harmful nearly all living things.
What are photosphores?
Organs that produce light.
Which epipelagic creatures undergo vertical migration? How often?
Zooplankton- daily, to escape predators
How do mesopelagic fishes compare in size to their epipelagic counterparts?
They are smaller.
What does renewable resource mean? Give an example of a renewable marine resource.
A resource that can naturally replace harvested numbers/itself. Marine examples: seaweeds, shellfish (oysters), finfish such as tunas.
What does non biodegradable mean? Give an example of how this could negatively impact marine life.
Substances that cannot be broken down by bacteria or other organisms.
An example could be styrofoam, which smaller fish could view as food, which can lead to all sorts of digestive problems, potentially leading to death.
The making of organic material from inorganic substances using chemical energy.
The microbial loop is sometimes referred to as a food web within a food web Explain why this might be so.
The microbial loop is a small food web that utilizes DOM (dissolved organic material) that leaks out of the organisms that feed on it. These organisms are also part of the major epipelagic food web, so the microbial loop is a "little web within a big web".
What two chemicals must an organism produce in order to preform bioluminescence? What does each chemical do?
Luciferin: Reacts with oxygen to produce energy in the form of light
Luciferase: increases the rate of reaction
What are the benefits of reverse osmosis verses distillation?
Reverse osmosis does not produce a residue of salts, and it takes less energy than distillation.
An ecosystem is exposed to a large oil spill, but it recovers from the exposure fairly quickly. What can you say about the wave action in this ecosystem?
It probably has strong waves and tidal actions, which aid in oil removal.
What does sustainable yield mean?
The amount of individuals in a population that can be caught without reducing the size of the population or letting it grow.
How is the weather in India connected to the weather in Peru and Chile?
The weather in both places is part of a phenomenon called El Nino Southern Oscillation, which is a see-saw effect of barometric pressure and weather in these areas.
Explain some of the difficulties of organisms in the deep sea to find food, why is this true?
Answers may vary.
What is Mariculture? Which type of mariculture involves controlling the water quality?
Mariculture is the farming and harvesting of marine animals and plants.
Closed mariculture involves controlling all aspects of an organism's environment, including water quality.
What is coral bleaching and what does it indicate?
Bleaching is when corals spontaneously throw off a majority of their symbiotic zooxanthellae, resulting in a whitish color on their surface. It is an indication that the coral is under stress and vulnerable to disease.