Marine Ecology Final Exam

FIW 4624 Virginia Tech

Charles Darwin is well known as a great marine biologist because of

his work on classifying coral reef atolls

his classification of barnacles

his participation in the voyage of the HMS Beagle

Edward Forbes Azoic theory stated that

there is no marine life deeper than 300 fathoms (1800 ft)

Darwin’s theory of coral reef formation required that

the rock beneath a coral reef was steadily sinking

the following is a scientific hypothesis

blue whales cannot be seen diving, but they could dive to 1000m

mermaids will come to shore in San Francisco on May 1, 2002

sea otters have gills, and therefore they can dive to great lengths

NONE OF THE ABOVE… because none of these are testable, real hypotheses

which of the following is the best way to test a hypothesis

perform an experiment that manipulates one environmental factor, holding the others constant

after deciding upon a likely important effect, it would be best to

propose a null hypothesis, whose rejection would prove the importance of the effect

submarine canyons are found in

the continental slope

marginal seas tend to have properties that differ from the adjacent open ocean because

local evaporation may be high relative to precipitation

marginal seas usually have restricted circulation with the adjacent open ocean

local river input may reduce the salinity of the marginal sea

the abyssal plain

is an average of about 4000 m deep

as one proceeds away from a mid-oceanic ridge…

the oceanic crust becomes older and older

parts of the oceanic crust where new crust originates are known as

mod-oceanic ridges

plate boundaries include

trenches

mid oceanic ridges

transform faults

which of the following is a responsible rate of seafloor spreading

1 cm per year

which is good evidence for continental drift?

reconstructions of the orientation of ancient landmasses using magnetic minerals

the fit of continents much like a jigsaw puzzle

matches of specific geological elements from different continents, such as faults

water is a good solvent because

of the charge asymmetry of the water molecule

seasonal temperature changes are the greatest in

midlatitudes

many elements in sea water are found in constant ratios throughout the ocean because

they remain in the ocean longer than the mixing time

trace elements in sea water include

iron and strontium

salinity is often estimated by chlorinity because

chlorine is in constant ratio to sodium and other major elements

which of the following is a typical range of open ocean salinity in practical salinity units?

32-38

which of the following doesn’t decrease salinity

sea ice formation

practical salinity units are based upon

the conductivity of sea water

salt has the following effect on sea water

lowers its freezing point

UV light is important because

it is harmful to marine life, owing the damage it does to DNAthe

the coriolis effect causes a deflection to the right when

in the Northern Hemisphere

the coriolis effect doesn’t operate when

traveling east at the Equator (or just at the Equator)

oxygen is added to sea water in

photosynthesis

sea water is oxygenated on the deep-sea bottom because

sea water in teh deep sea originates at the surface in high latitudes

western ocean boundary currents such as the Gulf Stream owe their origin partially to

the eastward rotation of the earth

upwelling on the eastern sides of oceans is controlled by

the coriolis effect

local winds

global scale effects on climate

gyres

revolve clockwise in the north pacific

the motion of wind driven waves affects the bottom

at depths less than half the wave length

tidal forces on the ocean are affected most by

the moon

during spring tides

the sun, moon, and earth are in line, but the earth can be between or on either side of the sun and moon

which of the following is true about tides

tidal currents are always strongest during spring tides

fjords

are likely to have anoxic bottom waters

estuaries often don’t have a discrete layer of low-salinity water on top of high salinity water because of

wind mixing

tidal motion

basin shape

the 2 factors that most affect sea water density are

temperature and salinity

and oxygen minimum layer develops

at a depth in the water column in the open ocean in the western pacific

ENSOs are associated with

a deeper thermocline off the coast of Peru

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

has increased over the past 150 years in the atmosphere

the north atlantic oscillation

can have major effects on estuaries in northern Europe

the north atlantic deep water lies above the antarctic bottom water because

the north atlantic deep water is of lower density than the antarctic bottom water

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased over the past century

because of deforestation, fossil fuel burning, and other sources

which is the correct order of categories by inclusiveness

individual, population, community, ecosystem

if a forager spends time feeding in one of several patches, and can move from patch to patch,

it should stay longer in a patch if the travel time to another patch is increased

diet breadth of a consumer will increase when

food abundance decreases

prey having toxic chemicals are often brightly colored because

predators have attacked a brightly colored poisonous individual and associate color with poison

prey animals have inducible defenses

because there may be a cost to making the defense, so the defense is best unused unless a predator is present

a series of populations that are interconnected, with some recieving individuals dispersing from others, is known as

metapopulation

a metapopulation will likely increase in population size over time if

dispersal between sources increases

the following best describes a commensal interaction

+0 (one positive, one unaffected)

what is a problem with an obligatory mutualistic interaction between two species

if one species becomes extinct, then so must the other

if one species evolves, then the other might have to evolve to adjust to the first species

if one is vulnerable to a predator, then the other is too

an example of a renewable resources might be

fish

a foundation species

provides a structural feature crucial to the overall composition and structure of the community

which of the following hierarchies is correct

species, genus, family, order, class phylum

a cline is a

spatial change in gene frequency

sibling species are always

quite similar, and very closely related

two individuals with the same phenotype

may be different genotypes

predation and disturbance both hav ethe following similar effects on community structure

at modest disturbance and predation intensity, the number of competing prey species increases

the best way to demonstrate the effects of interspecific competition is

perform an experiment: remove one of the hypothetical competing species

coexistence of a species in a community may occur when

predators are present

species are exploiting different resources

mortality is random and several species are colonizing randomly into a community

species occurring relatively late in succession are

relatively poor colonizers

in a food web, plants are also known as

primary producers

in order to estimate primary productivity in an ecosystem by sampling

one needs to know the amount produced and time only

a trophic cascade exists when

there are strong effects in members of different levels of a food chain, when one level is change substantially

one level responds strongly when a member of another trophic level disappears

top down effects are strong

scope for growth is

the difference between the energy amount assimilated from food and the cost of metabolism

if water temperature increases

body temperature of poikilotherms always increases

marine homeotherms have a problem in sea water because

they are likely to be losing heat to the water

osmosis involves

the movement of pure water across a membrane in the direction of higher salt concentration

osmolytes are chemically

diverse, but restricted to organically derived compounds

oxygen consumption rate is a good measure of

metabolic rate

at the time of low tide, intertidal animals may

reduce metabolic rate

respire directly from air, if the air isn’t dry

shift metabolism to anaerobic pathways

the reduction of loss of heat from a porpoise’s flipper is explained by

a countercurrent heat exchange system

dissolved oxygen is often very low at the base of the thermocline in the open ocean because

fine-grained organic matter accumulates there, and microorganisms consume oxygen as they break down this material

plankton that spend part of their life cycle in the water column, but live as adults in the benthos, are

meroplankton

many planktonic organisms have excesses of ammonium, sodium, and chloride relative to sea water because

these excesses are substitutions of ions of lower density, which counteracts sinking

diatoms have a skeleton made of

silica

dinoflagellates

usually have 2 flagellae used for locomotion

include species involved in toxic algal blooms

may be heterotrophic

nautilius adjusts its vertical position in the water column by means of

gas secretion

during asexual reproduction in diatoms

cell size decreases steadily to a threshold

cyanobacteria

are capable of nitrogen fixaiton

calanoid copepods

are the most abundant zooplankton in the sea

siphonophores are notable because

they are planktonic gelatinous creatures

they are polymorphic colonies

they often have gas filled floats

planktonic organisms are usually

patchily distributed in the water column

cephalopods are capable of avoiding predators by means of

rapid color change

production of clouds of ink

rapid swimming

some cephalopods can adjust their position in the water column using a

salt pump

the teeth of cartilaginous fishes are

composed of replaceable rows

deep bodies fishes

are well suited to maneuvering

most bony fish swim continuously

by undulations of the entire body

gas exchange into the fish swim bladder is regulated by

the rete mirable

a fish gill and the rete mirable are examples of

countercurrent exchangers

a fish with good maneuverability will likely be

disk shaped

bony fish may feed by

suction

ram feeding

chewing with teeth

body temperature of fishes

may be greater than ambient in either the body or part of the brain

mesopelagic fishes usually have their photophores

concentrated on the ventral surface

a member of the Mysticeti is

the blue whale

members of the Odonticeti

attack prey including fish and smaller marine mammals

baleen whales

may migrate thousands of kilometers between feeding and breeding areas

killer whales are known for their

social organization in hunting