Marine Biology Exam 1

Oviparous

Producing eggs that hatch outside the body

Viviparous

Producing eggs that hatch within the body

Taxonomy

Systematic classification of organisms. Based on physical characteristics and genetic information

Azoic Theory

Proposed by Edward Forbes. Claimed that no life existed beyond 300 fathoms (550m)

Deductive

General —> Specific; Predict observations based on a hypothesis/theory; syllogisms

Inductive

Specific —> General; Make broad generalizations from specific observations

Abductive

An educated guess; incomplete observations to formulate hypotheses

Pacific Ocean Basin

Largest/deepest ocean basin; little freshwater input; extensive marginal seas

Atlantic Ocean

Second largest basin; large freshwater input; small number of marginal seas

Indian Ocean Basin

74,000,000km² area, 3,310m depth; large sediment input; small number of marginal seas

Southern Ocean Basin

20,327,000km² area, 3,270m depth; coldest; most biologically productive; small number of marginal seas

Arctic Ocean Basin

Smallest depth; 1,038m depth; large sediment input; centered on north pole and most affected by climate change

Henry Cavendish

Discovered composition of water by combusting H2

Hydrogen Bonding

weak IMF when a - charge of one water molecule attracts to the + charge of another. Good solvent; high heat capacity; high surface tension

Salts

atoms are held together by ionic bonds

Solubility

Amount of a dissolved has that the water can hold under certain conditions of temp, salinity, and pressure

Saturation

Amount of gas currently dissolved in water, relative to the maximum possible content

Upwelling

Current that carries low O2;high CO2 to the surface

Downwelling

Current carries O2 rich water to the deep ocean

Salinity

Total conc. of all dissolved inorganic materials in water

Conservative ions

In constant proportions; controlled by physiological processes; includes the most abundant ions

Nonconservative ions

Not present in constant proportions; conc. are altered by chemical reactions

Light

electromagnetic radiation within the visible portion of the spectrum

Light Penetration

Decreases with depth; depends on the amount of suspended material

Photic Zone

Area where sunlight penetrates; open, clear water around 1000m

Euphotic Zone

Photic Zone; brightly lit, clear area 80-200m depth

Disphotic Zone

Photic Zone; dim light not bright enough for photosynthesis

Aphotic Zone

No visible sunlight (most of the ocean)

Blue Light

Light that penetrates water the most

Red Light

Light that penetrates water the least

Accessory Pigments

Photosynthetic organisms use these that complement cholorphyll

Osmosis

Movement of fluid across a membrane in response to differing conc. of solutes

Osmoregulators

Organisms that tightly regulate the conc. of solutes in their bodies, maintaining constant internal conditions despite the salt conc. in the environment

Osmoconformers

Organisms that match the conc. of solutes in their body to their environment actively or passively

Poikilotherms

Lack physiological means to generate heat

Homeotherms

Have specific physiological adaptations for regulating temperatures

Optics

Shadows, refraction, or reflection

Bioluminescence

Production of visible light by a chemical reaction without any prior absorption of radiant energy

Fluorescence

Fractions of the light illuminating an object are absorbed and re-emitted as a different color

Phosphorescence

Similar to fluorescence but materials emit light for a longer time

Density

Mass per unit volume; use temp and salinity to calculate

Buoyancy

Density of seawater relative to that of a living organism

Viscosity

Measure of the resistance of a fluid that is being deformed by shear stress or tensile stress.

Laminar Flow

Orderly/Parallel; Low flows; small diameter tubes; low fluid density; hgih viscosity; low RN

Turbulent Flow

Disorganized/Chaotic; high speed/volume flow; large diameters; hgih fluid density; low viscosity; high RN

Reynold’s Number

A way to express dynamic similarity. Dimensionless ratio of inertial forces to viscous forces

Principle of Continuity

Mass is always conserved in a fluid system regardless of pipeline complexity or direction of flow

Bernoulli’s Principle

At points along a stream, higher pressure regions have lower fluid speed; lower pressure regions have high fluid speeds

Drag

Force exterted by a fluid stream on any obstacle in its path or felt by an object moving through a fluid

Opposing Force

Acts in a direction that is opposite to the motion of the swimming organism or water flow

Schooling

Continuous lateral undulations of body and tail organize wake as staggered array of interconnected vortex rings

Vortex Rings

Induce jet flow that produces through to overcome drag

Schools

Highly organized formations allow individuals to use flow patterns to reduce drag

Maneuverability

stability acts to self-correct for disturbances, maintains desired postural attitude

Biosphere

Entire set of living things on earth and the environment in which they interact

Ecosystem

Entire habitat including all the abiotic features and all the living species within it that interact

Community

Group of populations all living in the same geographical area

Population

Group of individuals of he same species in an area

Individual

Physiologically independent organism

Species

Natural group of actually or potentially interbreeding individuals isolated from other such groups

Niche

The role of an organism in a community

Narrow Niche

Role of the organism is specialized; organism is a specialist

Broad Niche

Role of the organism is generalized; organism is a generalist

Abundance

The number of individuals within a unit area or volume

Resources

Materials whose abundance or availability can limit survival, growth, or reproduction

Optimal Foraging Theory

Adopt a foraging strategy that provides the most benefit (energy) for the lowest cost, maximizing the net energy gained.

Cripsis

Hard to spot in the natural environment

Deceit

Pigment/Bodily aspect to ward off predators

Mimicry

Organism manipulates appearance to appear as unappealing to predators

Commensalism

One organism relies on another, the other is not impacted by the organism’s presence

Facultative Commensalism

Species does not completely depend on a specific, single species

Obligatory Commensalism

Can live only with certain other species

Mutualism

Both organisms benefit from interaction

Parasitism

One organism benefits; other organism is harmed

Competition

when two or more organisms are vying for the same resource

Exploitation

Resource is consumed and is not available for others

Interference

One organism prevents the others from using the resource

Disturbance

When something happens in an environment that disrupts the environment

Succession

when disturbance ends and new indiciduals begin to colonize new areas. Does not need to be the same organism

Functional Groups

Sets of species showing either similar responses to the environment or similar effects on major ecosystem processes

Speciation

Process by which groups of previously interbreeding organisms become unable to successfully mate

Phylogenetics

Study of the evolutionary history that underlies biological diversity

Cell Division

Mitosis; Rapid

Fission

After period of growth, organism splits into two

Fragmentation

Body or colony is broken into parts that can regenerate

Budding

Outgrowth of a part of cell or body region that separates

Parthenogenesis

Eggs develop without fertilization; sometimes haploid/diplod

Vegetative Spread

Shoots radiate from plant

Iteroparous

Live long enough to reproduce repeatedly

Semelparous

Short-lived, reproducing once w/ high output

Gonochorism

One sex only

Hermaphrodism

Both sexes at the same time

Larvae

Independent, morphologically different stages that develop from fertilized eggs and must undergo profound change before assuming adult features

Direct Development

Hatch as a small version of an adult (skate)

Indirect Development

Pass through larval stages after hatching (turbot)

Planktotrophic Larvae

Organism finds its own food

Lecithotrophic Larvae

Organism carries yolk sac after hatching

Settlement

Water column to seafloow and metamorphosis; triggered by cues and/or depletion of resources

Primary Productivity

Rate at which energy is stored in organic matter

Gross Primary Productivity

The amount of photosynthetically fixed carbon