Hawaii Final Review

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the major marine biology concepts, organisms, processes, and environmental issues presented in the lecture notes.

Coral

A sessile marine invertebrate in Phylum Cnidaria, Class Anthozoa, that secretes a calcium-carbonate skeleton and lives symbiotically with zooxanthellae.

Zooxanthellae

Photosynthetic algae that live within coral polyps, providing food and color to the coral.

Polyp

The cup-shaped, tentacles-up body form of cnidarians such as corals and anemones.

Medusa

The free-swimming, umbrella-shaped, tentacles-down form of cnidarians like jellyfish.

Cnidaria

A phylum of stinging marine animals that includes corals, jellyfish, and sea anemones.

Anthozoa

The class of cnidarians comprising corals and sea anemones, existing only as polyps.

Calcium Carbonate Skeleton

The hard external structure secreted by corals and some algae to create reef framework.

Coral Bleaching

Loss of zooxanthellae from coral tissue, turning the coral white and stressing or killing it.

Lobe Coral

Yellow-green mound-forming coral characterized by rounded, hilly projections.

Cauliflower Coral

Yellow or pink spherical coral with many crevices that provide habitat for reef creatures.

Rice Coral

Encrusting coral with small rice-like projections, often purple, white, or pink.

Finger Coral

Coral that grows in vertical, finger-like branches and often forms dense beds.

Coralline Algae

Red algae with calcium-carbonate cell walls that cement reef structures together.

Plate Coral

Coral forming stacked, plate-like layers, typically green, grey, or blue in color.

Fringing Reef

A narrow coral reef that forms directly along a shoreline of a volcanic island.

Barrier Reef

A coral reef separated from land by a lagoon; forms farther offshore than fringing reefs.

Atoll

A ring-shaped reef that once surrounded a volcanic island that has since eroded below sea level.

Crown-of-Thorns Starfish

A coral-eating, spiny starfish considered an invasive threat to reefs when populations explode.

Invasive Species

Non-native organisms that spread rapidly and harm native ecosystems due to lack of predators.

Kapu

Traditional Hawaiian system of taboos or prohibitions that regulated resource use.

Kuleana

Hawaiian term meaning responsibility or stewardship, especially toward natural resources.

Ku

In Hawaiian culture, the god of war, often linked symbolically to coral in chants.

Kumu

Hawaiian word for teacher or chaperone; in context, a guardian or guide.

Solitary Coral

A coral species that lives as a single, unattached polyp throughout its life (e.g., mushroom coral).

Plasticity (Coral)

The ability of corals to alter growth form in response to environmental conditions.

Temperature (Reef Factor)

The warm-water range (68–86 °F) required for most reef-building corals.

Salinity (Reef Factor)

Optimal coral-reef salt concentration, typically 32–42 ppt; strongly affected by freshwater runoff.

Wave Action

Physical force of waves that shapes reef species distribution and creates new habitats.

Turbidity

Cloudiness of water caused by suspended particles that reduce light penetration for corals.

Marine Invertebrate

An ocean animal lacking a backbone, such as corals, sponges, worms, and mollusks.

Intertidal Zone

Shore area between highest high tide and lowest low tide, alternately exposed and submerged.

Vertical Zonation

Distinct horizontal bands of organisms in the intertidal caused by tidal exposure gradients.

Splash Zone

Upper intertidal area rarely submerged, exposed mainly to sea spray and wave splash.

Middle Intertidal

Zone submerged and exposed daily, showing the greatest environmental variability.

Lower Intertidal

Zone submerged most of the time; resident organisms tolerate only brief air exposure.

Subtidal

Coastal zone that remains underwater even at low tide; also called the sublittoral.

Abiotic Factor

Non-living environmental element (e.g., temperature, salinity, wave force) influencing organisms.

Biotic Factor

Living component (e.g., predation, competition) that affects the survival of organisms.

Running and Hiding

Intertidal adaptation where animals move to moist shelters as the tide recedes.

Clamming Up

Adaptive behavior where bivalves close shells tightly to retain water during low tide.

Anchor Adaptation

Structural feature (e.g., byssus, suction foot) that secures an organism to rocks against waves.

Desiccation Tolerance

Ability of intertidal organisms to dry out and rehydrate without damage.

Dense Group Growth

Strategy where organisms cluster tightly (e.g., mussel beds) to resist wave impact.

Primary Producer

Organism (autotroph) that converts solar or chemical energy into organic matter.

Primary Consumer

Herbivore that feeds directly on primary producers.

Secondary Consumer

Carnivore that eats primary consumers.

Tertiary Consumer

Predator that feeds on secondary consumers at higher trophic levels.

Autotroph

Organism capable of making its own food, usually through photosynthesis.

Heterotroph

Organism that must consume other organisms for energy; cannot photosynthesize.

Food Chain

Linear sequence of energy transfer from producers to top consumers.

Food Web

Interconnected network of feeding relationships within an ecosystem.

Decomposer

Organism (bacteria, fungi) that breaks down dead matter into simple nutrients.

Symbiosis

Close ecological relationship between two species, beneficial, harmful, or neutral.

Mutualism

Type of symbiosis where both participating organisms benefit.

Commensalism

Symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other is unaffected.

Parasitism

Symbiosis in which one organism benefits at the expense of the other.

Exponential Growth

Rapid, unchecked population increase under favorable conditions.

Carrying Capacity

Maximum population size an environment can sustain long term.

Limiting Resource

Scarce factor (e.g., nitrogen, space) that restricts population growth.

Carbon Cycle

Global movement of carbon among atmosphere, organisms, ocean, and geologic reservoirs.

Nitrogen Cycle

Biogeochemical circulation of nitrogen through fixation, assimilation, and denitrification.

Phosphorus Cycle

Movement of phosphorus from rocks to organisms and back via weathering and decomposition.

Hokule‘a

Traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe famous for wayfinding using stars, winds, and swells.

ROV

Remotely Operated Vehicle, an uncrewed submersible tethered to a ship for deep-sea work.

ABE

Autonomous Benthic Explorer, a free-roaming robotic submersible for deep-ocean research.

Pelagic Zone

Open-ocean water column from surface to deep sea, above the benthic seafloor.

Epipelagic

Surface layer (0–200 m) with enough light for photosynthesis.

Mesopelagic

‘Twilight’ zone (200–1,000 m) with dim light but no photosynthesis.

Bathypelagic

Deep ocean layer from 1,000 to 4,000 m, in total darkness.

Abyssopelagic

Oceanic depth below 4,000 m down to the seafloor plains.

Plankton

Drifting organisms with little swimming power; includes phytoplankton and zooplankton.

Nekton

Actively swimming organisms able to overcome ocean currents (e.g., fish, squid, whales).

Upwelling

Vertical movement of nutrient-rich deep water to the surface, fueling productivity.

Photophore

Light-producing organ in mesopelagic animals used for camouflage or signaling.

Countershading

Dark dorsal and light ventral coloration that conceals animals in open water.

Swim Bladder

Gas-filled organ in many bony fish that regulates buoyancy.

Counterillumination

Camouflage where organisms match overhead light with ventral photophores.

Mariculture

Aquaculture specifically involving cultivation of marine organisms in seawater environments.

Open Mariculture

Farming fish in net pens or cages directly in natural bodies of seawater.

Closed Mariculture

Raising marine species in tanks or raceways with controlled seawater circulation.

Estuary

Partially enclosed coastal body where freshwater mixes with seawater.

Bar-Built Estuary

Estuary separated from the ocean by sandbars or barrier islands.

Tectonic Estuary

Estuary formed in a subsided fault basin, such as San Francisco Bay.

Fjord

Glacially carved, steep-walled estuary with a shallow sill at its mouth.

Salt Wedge

Layered salinity pattern where dense seawater intrudes beneath river water in an estuary.

Positive Estuary

Estuary where river input exceeds evaporation, producing fresher surface water flowing seaward.

Negative Estuary

Evaporation-dominated estuary where salty surface water flows landward and dense water sinks seaward.

Turbidity (Estuary)

Suspended sediment cloudiness that reduces light penetration in estuarine water.

Halophyte

Plant adapted to grow in high-salinity environments like salt marshes.

Mangrove

Salt-tolerant tree forming dense intertidal forests that stabilize tropical shorelines.

Diadromous

Fish species that migrate between freshwater and saltwater during their life cycle.

Hydrothermal Vent

Seafloor hot spring emitting mineral-rich fluid supporting chemosynthetic life.

Chemosynthesis

Process where bacteria use chemical energy (e.g., hydrogen sulfide) to produce organic matter.

Biomagnification

Progressive increase of toxin concentration at higher trophic levels of a food chain.

Eutrophication

Nutrient enrichment of water leading to algal blooms and oxygen depletion.

Point Source Pollution

Pollution that originates from an identifiable, localized source (e.g., a pipe, oil spill).

Nonpoint Source Pollution

Diffuse pollution from widespread activities (e.g., agricultural runoff, urban stormwater).

Noise Pollution

Anthropogenic underwater sound that disrupts marine animal communication and behavior.

Spring Tide

Greatest tidal range occurring when sun and moon align (full and new moons).

Neap Tide

Small tidal range occurring when sun and moon are at right angles (quarter moons).