Ocean Properties
What two factors drive surface currents
Winds and Coriolis Effect
What does the term plankton mean?
Drifters
Phytoplankton: Diatoms and dinoflagellates
Zooplankton: Krill, copepods, larve of fish and inverts
Describe the two body shapes of Cnidarians
Medusa- mouth and tentacles oriented downwards
Poly- mouth and tentacles oriented upward
What is countershading?
Light on bottom to blend in when viewed from below, dark on top to blend in when viewed from above
Phylum Porifera, spicules are support structures
Importance: filtering water, habitat, food
What is an ecological niche?
The role of a species in its environment: how it eats, where is lives, and how it reproduces
Define benthic and pelagic
Benthic- lives on the sea floor
Pelagic- swims in the water column
Explain two physical conditions needed for coral reefs to surive
Low nutrients (high nutrients = algae to compete with coral)
Slightly basic pH (to build CaCO3 skeletons)
Minerals (Calcium and carbonate)
Shallow water (above 300ft, light for zooxs)
What is the hearing bone in Ostiechthyes (bony fish) called?
Otolith
Used for species identification, diet analysis, and age of fish
What are holoplankton plankton and meroplankton?
Holoplakton- spend their entire lives as drifters (ex: krill, copepods)
Meroplankton - spend part of their lives as drifters (ex: larvae of fish and inverts)
Describe three factors that affect wave size
Wind strength - how hard the wind blows
Wind durations- how long the wind blows
Fetch- how far the wind can blow over the water
Name the taxonomic classification system from broadest to most specific
Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Explain the two ways coral polyps get their food.
Rest comes from active predation on zooplankton and small animals
What is the lateral line in fish?
Senses water pressure changes
Help fish school to avoid predators, helps predator fish catch prey
Name the three classes of Mollusca
Gastropoda (stomach foot)
Bivalvia (two shells)
Cephalopoda (head foot)
What controls tides and what are the largest tides called?
The gravitational pull of the sun and moon
Spring tides = biggest, when sun and moon aligned or directly opposite each other
Primary producers, primary consumers (herbivores), secondary consumers (carnivores) tertiary consumers (apex predators)
Describe how corals reproduce sexually and asexually
Sexually- broadcast spawning
Asexually- budding (polyp grows of the side of another), fission (polyp splits in half), and fragmentation (a piece breaks off and starts a new colony)
Define oviparity, viviparity, and ovoviviparity.
Reproductive strategies of Chondrichthyes
Oviparity- lay eggs
Viviparity- live birth
Ovoviviparity- young rely on yolk sac until depleted, then give birth to live young
Name three defining characterstics of phylum Echinodermata
Penta-radial symmetry, tube feet, water vascular system, regeneration
Examples of Echinoderms (spiny skin): sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, sand dollars, feather stars, brittle stars
What is a thermocline and a halocline?
Thermocline- water stratification due to differences in temperture (cold water more dense that warm)
Halocline- water stratification due to differences in salinity (saltier water more dense than less salty)
Provide the scientific name for the three types of algae
Chlorophyta - green
Phaeophyta - brown
Rhodophyta - red
An example of an algae you've seen?
Describe four major differences between hard coral and soft coral
Hard Corals: tentacles in multiples of 6 (Hexacorallia), hermatypic (reef building), calcium carbonate skeleton, live in high light/low nutrient waters, symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae
Soft Corals: tentacles in multiples of 8 (Octocorallia), ahermatypic (not reef building), spicules for structure (no calcium carbonate skeleton), can live in low light/high nutrient waters, no symbiotic algae
Describe four majoy differences between Ostiechthyes and Chondrichthyes.
Ostiechthyes: ctenoid scales (grow as fish grows), termial mouths, one set of teeth, bony skeleton, swim bladder, broadcast spawners, operculum (gill covering), homocercal tail
Chrondricthyes: dermal denticles (get more as fish grows), ventral mouths (underneath), multiple rows of teeth, cartilaginous skeleton, oily liver, three types of reproduction, gill slits, heterocercal tail (uneven lobes)
Name two classes of Cnidaria and privde an example of an organism in each
Hydrozoa: hydroids (ex: portugese man-o-war, fire coral)
Scyphozoa: true jellyfish (ex: lionsmane jelly, upside down jelly, moon jelly)
Anthozoa (ex: anemones and hard and soft corals)