Oceanography HW 5

What is entropy?

The relative measure of disorder over time

What layer is permanently dark (i.e., no light)?

Aphotic zone

What did Darwin suggest the driving force of evolution was?

Isolation

What is rarely a limiting factor for marine organisms?

Hydrostatic pressure

What is a mutation and is it usually favorable?

An inheritable change in an organism’s genes; unfavorable

What is the largest biogeochemical cycle?

Global Carbon cycle

How do artificial and natural systems of classification differ?

Artificial systems classify based on exterior similarities, while natural systems classify based on common underlying natural origin

What can increase the variation of genetic traits in a population?

Mutations

What physical factor can denature or alter a protein’s structure in a cell?

Salinity

What is a heterotroph?

An organism that eats other organisms

What organism usually fixes nitrogen into usable chemical forms?

Cyanobacteria

Most marine organisms are

Ectothermic

A salmon migrates from the ocean to freshwater rivers to spawn. What is the freshwater environment like for the salmon?

Hypotonic

What biological chemical is important in heredity of traits?

Nucleic acids

How deep is the photic layer usually along the coasts?

100 meters

Which community has the highest level of net primary production?

Coral reefs

How many domains are there and what are their names?

3; bacteria, archaea, eukarya

What traps light energy in primary producers?

Chlorophyll

What element is used to link nucleic acids in all organisms?

Phosphorus

What inorganic nutrient is required for primary production?

Phosphorus

What is the immediate organic material produced from inorganic substances?

Glucose

What kind of metabolic rate do humans have?

Endothermic

What kind of movement of particles is able to move against normal concentration gradients?

Active transport

Which is considered a physical factor that could limit marine productivity or the success of an organism?

Dissolved nutrients

How old is the earth?

4.6 billion years old

Why is iron not abundant in the ocean?

It is nearly insoluble in oxygenated water

What is needed for living matter to function?

Energy

What is convergent evolution?

Organisms that evolve to look similar due to similar environmental conditions

What are the main ingredients (elements) in living organisms?

Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen

What is plankton?

A drifting organism

What is the difference between plankton and nekton?

Plankton drift or swim weakly while nekton actively swim

Why are phytoplankton critical for marine life?

All of these

What is a microbial loop?

A cycle of production and consumption of glucose carried on by extremely small organisms

What is the smallest form of plankton?

Picoplankton

What might not cause phytoplankton productivity to vary?

The frustules of a diatom

What makes light absorption in diatoms more effective than just using chlorophyll?

Accessory pigments

What is usually responsible for a harmful algal bloom?

Dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria

A highly biologically productive ocean surface appears chalky; what plankton is likely successful here?

Coccolithophores

What new method is being used to calculate productivity by estimating the chlorophyll?

Orbiting satellites

What season does phytoplankton peak in the northern temperate zone?

Spring

Spring