Classification
Domain → Kingdom → Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species
What is the taxonomic hierarchy (domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species)?
Drifting organisms carried by currents with limited control over movement.
What are plankton?
Stinging cells used for prey capture.
What are nematocysts?
Tube feet are powered by this system.
What is the water vascular system?
Foot + head + visceral mass.
What is the mollusk body plan?
Main exoskeleton material.
What is chitin?
Fish belong to this phylum.
What is Chordata?
Kelp anchor structure.
What is a holdfast?
Genus capitalized; Genus + species italicized (or underlined).
What are the binomial nomenclature rules?
Producer plankton.
What are phytoplankton?
Sessile form with mouth/tentacles up.
What is a polyp?
These structures often use suction for movement/attachment.
What are tube feet?
Two hinged shells (clams/oysters).
What are bivalves?
Arthropods are defined by these limbs.
What are jointed appendages(feet)?
Bony skeleton + operculum + swim bladder.
What are bony fish?
Kelp stem-like support.
What is a stipe?
The 2nd word in Tursiops truncata.
What is the species epithet?
Consumer plankton.
What are zooplankton?
The jellyfish-like cnidarian body form—essentially an “upside-down polyp.”
What is a medusa?
Most adult echinoderms show this symmetry.
What is pentaradial symmetry?
One (usually spiraled) shell (snails/conchs).
What are gastropods?
Crustaceans grow by shedding the exoskeleton in this process.
What is molting?
Gill-covering flap in bony fish.
What is the operculum?
Main photosynthesis surfaces on kelp.
What are blades?
A tool that identifies organisms using paired either/or choices.
What is a dichotomous key?
“Glass-like” (silica) cell walls.
What are diatoms?
Coral framework made of secreted CaCO₃.
What is a (calcium carbonate) skeleton?
Sea stars, urchins, cucumbers.
What are echinoderms?
Squid/octopus group.
What are cephalopods?
Head and thorax are often covered by this “shield.”
What is the carapace?
Buoyancy-control organ in many bony fish.
What is a swim bladder?
Buoyancy “floats” that lift blades upward.
What are gas bladders?
Two organisms share family but not genus.
What is “closely related”?
Harmful blooms often linked to toxin-producing dinoflagellates.
What is a harmful algal bloom (red tide)?
Coral turns white after losing symbiotic algae.
What is coral bleaching?
Most echinoderms live on/near the seafloor.
What is benthic?
Squirting water through a siphon to move fast.
What is jet propulsion?
Common larval form for many crustaceans (not crabs).
What is a nauplius?
Detects vibrations/movement in water.
What is the lateral line?
Dense cold-water coastal ecosystems formed by kelp.
What are kelp forests?
Fill the missing rank: Kingdom → Phylum → ___ → Order.
What is class?
Sinking organic particles that feed the deep ocean.
What is marine snow?
Phylum defined by tentacles + stinging cells.
What is Cnidaria?
“Spiny-skinned” with an internal calcareous skeleton.
What is Echinodermata?
Ink cloud used to confuse predators. comes from this organ.
What is an ink sac?
Where many female crabs carry eggs.
What is under the abdomen?
Tooth-like “scales” on sharks/rays.
What are denticles?
Why a holdfast isn’t a true root.
What is “anchors, not absorbs”?
Explain how to fix this scientific name: “tursiops Truncata”.
What is "capitalize the Genus and lowercase the species(special) epithet"?
A huge bloom happens, then nights show low oxygen and fish die-offs.
What is hypoxia from bloom decay/respiration?
Jellyfish can move, but this reason is why they’re still not considered “nektonic.”
What is “they mostly drift”?
Five-part body plan + tube feet + seafloor lifestyle.
What is an echinoderm?
Filter-feeders with two shells.
What are bivalves?
Used for protection and must molt (vulnerable) describes this tradeoff.
What is an exoskeleton tradeoff?
Sharks usually have these instead of one operculum.
What are gill slits?
Seagrass sexual reproduction uses flowers and this transport method.
What is water-borne pollination?
A key step says “has fins” vs “has gills.” Make it a valid dichotomous pair.
What is “has fins” vs “no fins”?
OR
What is “has gills” vs “no gills”?
Discolored water + dinoflagellate spike + people report coughing nearshore.
What is red tide?
Repeated bleaching events over years cause reefs to shrink in structure.
What is reef decline?
A student incorrectly calls an urchin a “shellfish.”
What is “not a mollusk”(shellfish)?
OR
What is "an echinoderm"(sea urchin)?
A shell-less mollusk that disproves “all mollusks have shells.”
What is an octopus/squid/cuttlefish/slug etc.?
Two pairs of antennae + carapace + jointed legs.
What is a crustacean?
Scientific name of animals that have: gill slits + denticles + cartilage skeleton.
What is Chondrichthyes?
Kelp loses gas bladders—blades sink lower in the water column.
What is reduced photosynthesis?