marine biology - organisms exam

diatoms

major 02 producers

produce 80% of earths oxygen

silica test

known as grasses of the sea

dinoflagelates

cellulosticplates

responsible for red tides (not always harmful)

what are the two groups of phytoplankton

diatoms + dinoflagellates

phytoplankton

microscopic, plant-like organisms that live in water, perform photosynthesis to create their own food, and form the base of most marine food webs

what are the 2 types of zooplankton

holoplankton(plankton all their lives) and meroplankton(plankton part of their lives)

what are the 4 groups within holoplankton

copepods, foraminiferans, radiolarians, coccolithophores

Foraminiferans

roles as both planktonic (floating) and benthic (bottom-dwelling) organisms that form a part of the marine food web

copepods

cows of the sea, eating the phytoplankton and converting the sun's energy into food for higher trophic levels in the food web.

radiolarians

their ability to absorb silica from seawater to form elaborate skeletal structures

coccolithophores

perform photosynthesis and build intricate calcium carbonate plates called coccoliths

algae

primary producers (autotrophs)

multicellular

thallus, blades, pneumatocysts, stipe, holdfast

brown algae taxonomy

king protista

phylum heterokontophyte (diatoms, kelp)

chloroplasts surrounded by 4 membranes

class phaephyceae

brown algae

mostly marine

live in colder northern waters

yellow-brown pigment fucoxanthin with chlorophyll

kelp(macrocystis) complex + large, sargassum, fucales = rockweeds, laminaria

named by the dominant pigment

red algae

phylum rhodphyta(same group as plants + green algae)

color is due to pigments

seaweeds(usually shallow) marine + smaller/simpler than kelps

green algae

phylum chlorophyta

most are freshwater, 10% marine

some species ecologically dominate

similar to plants

simple thalli

human uses for algae

major aspect of mariculture in far east

produce many types of gelantinous chemicals

algin-alginates stabilizer + emulsifiers for anything that needs to be smooth and keeps it from separating

ctenophora

comb jellies

small transparent, gelantinous, delicate, planktonic marine animals

8 rows of ciliated “combs”/ctenes controlled by apical sense organ at the aboral pole

porifera

characterized by a porous body with a canal system for filter-feeding, a lack of true tissues or organs, and a body supported by a skeleton of spicules, calcium carbonate, or spongin.

Cnidaria

stinging cells is what makes them them

hydrozoa

hydroids

Portuguese man o' war

freshwater jelly

pink-hearted hydroids

scyphozoa

jellyfish

anthozoa

animals

corals

sea anemone

Nemertea

ribbon worms

a complete digestive tract with a separate mouth and anus, a closed circulatory system, and a four-part brain

what are the 3 groups of Annelida

earthworms, leeches, many bristles

polychaetes

bristle-like structures called chaetae on paired, paddle-like appendages called parapodia, which aid in movement

Mollusca

soft-bodied, bilaterally symmetrical invertebrates characterized by a soft body, a mantle that often secretes a shell, a muscular foot for movement, and a visceral mass containing their organs

Polyplacophora

bearing many plates

herbivores that use a specialized, metal-hardened tongue (radula) to scrape algae off rocks

gastropoda

the largest class of mollusks, commonly known as snails and slugs

"stomach foot" and often have a coiled shell.

bivalvia

a two-part, hinged shell, no distinct head or radula, and a soft body that is primarily a filter feeder