Marine Bio JMU 310 (Wurch) Exam 1

functional biology

How an organism carries out basic fuctions

ecology

study of the interaction of organisms with their physical and biological environments and how that influences abundance and distribution

biodiversity

controls the number of species

azoic hypothesis

no life deeper than 1800 feet, first marine scientific hypthesis

coral reef subsidence

coral growth rate keeps up with volcanic island sink rate, eventually forming an atoll

Bathybius hypothesis

the idea that the entire ocean floor was covered in a primordial slime that was constantly giving rise to new life

plankton

organisms in the water columns, some of which are locomotive but not enough to overcome currents/ turbulence

nekton

organisms that can "swim" against currents/ turbulence

neuston

organisms found in the upper surface layer of the water

benthos

bottom

epifaunal

organisms that live on, but not within, the bottom sediment

infaunal

organisms that live within the sediment

intertidal

the area between high and low tide (completely submerged at high tide, completely exposed at low tide)

neritic

basically the continental shelf, includes area between low tide and the shelf break

pelagic

oceanic habitats (sometimes can mean water column and sometimes means open sea)

continental shelf

a low slope platform that extends roughly 10-300 km from the shoreline

shelf-slope break (shelf break)

transition between the gently sloped continental shelf and much steeper continental slope

Continental slope

steep sloping bottom extending from the edge of the continental shelf and downward to the continental rise

submarine canyons

erosional feature found in the slope that allows sediment to rapidly move down the slope toward the continental rise

Continental rise

transition zone between the slop and abyssal plain

abyssal plain

the deep ocean floor, averages about 4000m deep

tectonic plates

what the earths crust in broken up into

mantle

solid but over time it acts as a viscous fluid

subduction zones

where crust is dragged down at the trenches and melted in the upper mantle

general properties of water

excellent solvent- high dissolving power, high heat capacity, high heat of evaporation, high transparency

salinity

the number of grams of dissolved inorganic solids per 1000g of seawater

major elements

greater than 100 parts per million

chlorine

most abundant element in sea water

crest

the highest part of a wave

trough

the lowest part of a wave

wave height

the vertical distance between wave crest and wave trough

wavelength

the horizontal distance between two wave crests (or troughs)

velocity

the speed at which a crest travels

period

time it takes for two crests to pass a reference point ( V=L/t)

longshore currents

formed by waves arriving with their crestline at an angle to the shore (parallel to the shore)

rip currents

dangerous narrow currents formed by irregularities at the shoreline with longshore currents

wave refraction

irregularly shaped coast lines that affect the speed and and direction of incoming waves

spring tides

during a full moon or half moon when the sun and moon align to produce a stronger net gravitational force, higher high tide and lower low tides

neap tides

when the sun moon and earth are at rights angles which produces a weaker gravitational force, higher low tides and lower high tides

semidiurnal tide

two high tides and two low tides (both of equal height) daily

diurnal tide

one high tide and one low tide daily

mixed tides

two high and two low tides with mixed heights

estuaries

coastal zones where freshwater meets marine water

estuarine flow

low density river water flows down and comes in contact with marine water where it rises because it tends to be less dense

highly stratified estuary

a layer of fresh water flows on top of the more dense salt water below

individual level

an organism that is physiologically independent from other organsims

population level

group of individuals of all the same species that respond to the same environmental factors and freely mix (reproduce)

species level

a single population (or group of populations) that are genetically isolated from other species

community level

group of populations, each belonging to a different species , that live together and interact

ecosystem level

entire habitat including all abiotic and biotic interactions

biosphere level

the entire set of living things on earth and the environment with which they interact

predation +/-

one organism capture/entraps/kills another for food

commensalism +/0

beneficial to one organism without helping or hurting the other

mutualism +/+

both organisms benefit

parasitism +/-

one organism relies upon another for survival. Host is negatively affected

population size

the total number of organisms in a population

population density

number of individuals per unit area or per unit volume (measure of the degree of crowing)

exponential growth

population increases by the same proportion over time (abundant resources)

Resource limiting growth

population size will increase until resources become limiting (when population reaches carrying capacity)

random growth

factors influencing population size are too complex to discern any simple pattern

metapopulations

a series of subpopulations that are interconnected through sources, sinks and both

source

contributes individuals to other subpopulations

sink

location that receives immigrants from source populations, but do not contribute individuals to the metapopulation

spatial variation

measure of spacing among individuals within a population

random

if an individual has the same chance of being located in a spot versus any other spot

uniform

if every equal subarea contains the same number of individuals (territoiality)

patchy

more individuals are located in one area then would be predicted by chance (result of behavior, mating, fish schooling)

foundation species

species that actually provide habitat for other species to live (coral reefs, sea grass)

processes that impact distribution and abundance of species

competition- occurs when two species utilize the same limited resource

renewable- organisms feeding on something that can regrow

non-renewable- space on a rock that resource is gone

Pacific Ocean

largest, numerous island chains, less impacted by differences in regional climates and river input

Atlantic ocean

2nd largest, narrow, surround by marginal seas, more effected by terrestrial climate and river born inputs

Antarctic ocean

3rd largest, newest named ocean, completely landless border with other water bodies

Indian and Arctic ocean

smallest oceans

Marginal seas

strongly affected by local climate due to restriction with open ocean

Coriolis force

moving along the northern hemisphere objects will be deflected to the right and moving along the southern hemisphere objects will be deflected to the left

Polar cell

Cells of air circulation occurring between 90- 60 degrees north and south and each pole.

Hadley cell

Convection Currents that cycle between the equator and 30 degrees North and South.

Ferrel Cell

A convection current in the atmosphere that lies between Hadley cells and polar cells between 30 and 60 degrees

Polar Easterlies

Prevailing winds that blow from east to west between 60degrees-90degrees latitude in both hemispheres.

Trade Winds

Prevailing winds that blow northeast from 30 degrees north latitude to the equator and that blow southeast from 30 degrees south latitude to the equator

Prevailing Westerlies

winds that blow west to east between 30 and 60 degrees in the northern and southern hemispheres

Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

the area where the two Hadley cells converge and cause large amounts of precipitation

Horse Latitudes

are regions of high pressure and gentle winds at about 30 degrees north and south latitude.

Ekman Transport

The change in wind direction with altitude caused by the varying effect of surface friction.

Gyre

a circular motion of water in each of the major ocean basins

western boundary currents

relatively narrow, fast flowing currents on the western boundaries of gyres

El Nino

A warm water on the western side of the Pacific flows back East

La Nina

Intensification of "normal" conditions, driven by stronger Trade Winds

North Atlantic Deep Water

Cold, dense water formed in the Arctic that flows onto the floor of the North Atlantic ocean.

Antarctic Bottom Water

deep water formation that occurs around Antarctica

Territoriality +/-

defending a nesting, feeding, or breeding site (usually intraspecific)

Competition -/-

two organisms compete for resources

Aposematism

warning coloration --> bright conspicuous markings of certain distasteful or poisonous animals, which predators recognize and learn to avoid

Crypsis

camouflage that makes prey difficult to see

intermediate disturbance hypothesis

the hypothesis that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse than those with high or low disturbance levels

countercurrent heat exchange

circulating veinous and arterial blood in opposite directions which in close contact to reduce heat loss to environment

homeotherms

maintain constant body temperature, usually higher than ambient

poikilotherms

do not regulate body temperature

homeotherms advantages

constancy for cellular chemical reactions

homeotherms disadvantage

high metabolic cost, constant heat loss to environment