Oceanography final

Autotrophs

Organisms that produce their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, serving as the primary producers in an ecosystem.

Photosynthetic Autotrophs

use light energy

Chemosynthetic Autotrophs

use energy from the oxidation or reduction of inorganic molecules produce organic compounds.

Primary productivity

the rate at which energy is converted by autotrophs to organic substances

How is primary productivity measured

as mass of inorganic carbon converted into organic carbon per unit area per year (g C m-2 yr -1)

corals cannot survive in

fresh brackish waters or highly turbid waters

Primary producers convert simple inorganic molecules…

carbon, hydrogen into more complex organic compounds typically glucose used for biosynthesis and use as energy stores

NPP

GPP-R

Net Primary Production

mass of organic matter accumulated by autotrophs in a certain amount of time

Gross Primary production

mass of organic matter produced by autotrophs in a certain amount of time

Respiration

energy used to drive cellular processes

Consumers

heterotrophs

Symbiosis

a close and often long-term interaction between two different biological species, which can benefit one or both of the organisms involved.

Mutualism

a type of symbiosis where both species benefit from the interaction.

Commensalism

a type of symbiosis in which one species benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Parasitism

a type of symbiosis where one species benefits at the expense of the other.

Keystone species

a species that has a disproportionate impact on community structure relative to its abundance

Roles of key species

maintain community stability and diversity

Fundamental Niche

the total range of environmental conditions that are suitable for existence without the influence of interspecific competition or predation from other species

Realized Niche

part of the fundamental niche actually occupied by the species

Lagoons

shallow bodies of coastal waters that receive little if any freshwater inflow

Lagoons salinities vary depending on climate and local hydrology from

brackish and hypersaline

Brackish

ocean water mixed with freshwater resulting in lower salinity

Hypersaline

water with salinity levels significantly higher than that of typical seawater.

Salt Marshes

intertidal flats covered by vegetation

Location of Salt Marshes

areas protected from high energy waves, winds, currents and usually with moderate tidal range

When do salt marshes flood and drain?

Salt marshes flood during high tide and drain during low tide.

Where are salt marshes grown

mud and sand sheltered by barrier islands

Corals belong to

phylum Cnidaria

Coral polyp

saclike body that sits in a rigid carbonate cup and mouth is surrounded by stinging tentacles that enable the coral to capture food.

Coral shares what type of relationship with

A mutualistic relationship with photosynthetic zooxanthellae

Zooxanthellae

unicellular algae that live within the tissue of the coral polyp and comprise up to 75% of the polyps weight and provide nutrients through photosynthesis.

Coral Polyps provide what to the zooxanthellae

water to the zooxanthellae which in turn provide sugar and O2 to the coral

Coral bleaching occurs when

coral polyps expel their zooxanthellae

Corals do best in

nutrient poor water where phytoplankton and seaweed are not abundant

Corals grow

upward toward the sunlight

As sea level rises/land subsides, coral reefs pass through

three stages of development, fringing reef, barrier reef, atoll

Fringing reefs

form limestone shorelines around islands or along continents; earliest stage of reef development

As the land is progressively submerged and the coral grows upward, what expands

shallow lagoons expands

How are barrier reefs created

when the lagoon begins to separate the fringing reef from the shoreline

Barrier Reef

a type of coral reef that runs parallel to the coastline, separated by a lagoon. It forms as the ocean floor subsides and coral builds up.

Atoll

the final stage when the land vanishes below the sea and the reef forms a ring of islands surrounding a shallow lagoon

Pelagic

relating to the open sea or oceanic waters, typically referring to organisms that live in the water column away from the sea floor.

Neritic Zone

the coastal marine zone that extends from the low tide line to the edge of the continental shelf, where sunlight penetrates and supports diverse marine life.

Nekton

actively swimming marine animals that live in the water column and are capable of moving independently of water currents.

Phytoplankton

autotrophs, single celled algae, cyanobacteria that drift in ocean waters, forming the base of the marine food web and contributing to oxygen production.

Zooplankton

small, heterotrophic organisms that drift in ocean waters, feeding on phytoplankton and serving as a crucial part of the marine food web.

Holoplankton

organisms that spend their entire life cycle as plankton, including both zooplankton and phytoplankton species.

Meroplankton

organisms that spend only a part of their life cycle as plankton, typically larval stages of various marine animals.

Infauna

benthic organisms that live within the substrate

Epifauna

benthic organisms that live onthe surface of the substrate.

Major phytoplankton

diatoms, dinoflagellates, coccolithosphere

Major herbivorous zooplankton in open ocean

foraminifera, radiolaria

Zooplankton rely on

organic detritus falling from above for food

Euphausiids practice

diurnal vertical migration

Diurnal vertical migration

is a behavior where zooplankton migrate to deeper waters during the day to avoid predators and return to the surface at night to feed.

Competitive exclusion

when one group outcompetes most others and drives them to extinction

Rich bottom communities

are ecosystems found in deep-sea environments at the crest of midocean ridges

Hydrothermal vents

seawater in basaltic rock is heated by magma and escapes and the hot water leaches metals from the surrounding basalts, the metals precipitate as sulfide and sulfate minerals around the vent forming a chimney

The base of the food webs in the vents communities consist of

chemosynthetic bacteria

Chemosynthetic bacteria

microorganisms that convert chemical energy from inorganic molecules into organic matter, serving as the primary producers in environments like hydrothermal vents.

Agnatha

a class of jawless fish that includes lampreys and hagfish, known for their elongated bodies and lack of true jaws.

Chondrichthyes

a class of cartilaginous fish including sharks, rays, and skates, characterized by a skeleton made of cartilage rather than bone. elasmobranch fish

Osteichthyes

a class of bony fish that possess a skeleton made of bone, including species such as salmon, goldfish, and tuna.

euryhaline fish

able to tolerate wide range of salinity

Anadromous fish

fish that spend most of their life at sea

Catadromous fish

fish that spend most of their time in fresh water

ray finned fish

most boney fish that belong to the class Osteichthyes and have fins supported by thin, bony rays.

Sarcopterygii

include coelacanths and lungfishes where tetrapods came from, have thick, fleshy fins with bony supports, have gills and lung like sacs

Gills often used to

extract O2, eliminate CO2, aid in salt balance

Otoliths

bony structures used by fish for balance, orientation and sound detection, similar to mammal ears

Squalene

colorless poly unsaturated hydrocarbon liquid thats found naturally in many animals and plants, helps maintain buoyancy

Swim bladder

a gas filled sac that helps offset the density of the body and regulates buoyancy in various fish species, allowing them to maintain their position in the water column.

Three reproductive modes

oviparity, ovoviviparity and viviparity

Pelagic spawners

release vast quantities of gametes, fertilized eggs drift with the currents and no parental care

benthic spawners

non buoyant eggs with large yolks, no parental care, pelagic or benthic embryos/larvae

Hermaphroditism

an animal that posses both male and female sex organs

synchronous

spawning that occurs simultaneously among individuals in a population

sequential

spawning that occurs in a series, with individuals taking turns to release gametes.

protogyny

condition in sequential hermaphroditic animals where eggs are produced in the life cycle before sperm

protandry

condition in sequential hermaphroditic animals where sperm are produced in the life cycle before eggs

R selected species

species that produce many offspring with low parental investment, aiming for rapid population growth, reproduce young

K selected species

slow growing and late producing but long lived, babies enter a competitive world in a population at or near its carrying capacity

Examples of K selected species

sharks and orange roughy

examples of r selected species

market squid and anchovies

Maximum sustainable yield

populations have a carrying capacity where resources available match population requirements, if individuals removed they will be replaced

Flow meters

Devices used to measure the flow rate of liquids or gases in a system, often used in oceanography to monitor currents and water movement. calculations include diameter of net opening, how long net was being pulled

Gelata

are a group of marine invertebrates known for their gelatinous bodies and umbrella-shaped bell, including jellyfish and sea anemones.

reynolds number

ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces

A solution is what if it has excess H+

acidic

A solution is what if it has excess OH-

basic

ph 0-6

acidic

ph 7

neutral

ph 8-14

basic

Which wavelengths are absorbed first?

long wavelengths, red

which wavelengths are absorbed last

short wavelength, blue

Increasing pressure causes

water molecules to be packed closer together resulting in higher density

True or False: Water Masses can have varying salinities and temps but if on the same isopycnal, they have the same density

True

Higher Salinity water can rest above lower salinity water if

the higher salinity water is sufficiently warm and the lower salinity water is sufficiently cold