USU - WATS 2500

What makes a group of animals be assigned to being in the same Phyla?

They share a similar body plan with homologous features

Describe one theory explaining the dramatic amount of new diversity that appeared in the Cambrian explosion

when there is an increase in oxygen levels, predators thrive. This allows diversity to take place introducing new niches to form.

What is one advantage of conducting research at a marine field station as opposed to on an open ocean ship?

Field stations are much cheaper

Why is it thought that early humans tracked the coastlines as they migrated?

It is easier to find food, especially protein, on the coasts

Observing that many different species of sharks eat other fish, and then concluding that sharks are therefore predatory is an example of...

inductive reasoning

In science, what is a hypothesis?

A testable statement describing something about the work based on what we have observed

What is an ecosystem service. Briefly describe a particular ecosystem service and who it is a benefit to

an ecosystem service is a benefit people get from a healthy ecosystem. The service from water would be high protein foods which would benefit us the people. 

Why are a human and Sea squirts placed in the same phyla (Chordata?), what morphological features do we share?

Notochord, Dorsal Hollow Nerve Cord, Pharyngeal Gill Slits

Roughly how many people globally rely on seafood as their main source of protein?

3 billion

Within the Cambrian explosion we see many "intermediate forms", but what does "intermediate forms" mean?

 

An animal that appears to share characteristics with many others

Which of these is not a Cnidarian class?

Hirudozoa

What is the name of the stinging weapons that Cnidaria use to capture their prey?

nematocysts

What type of symmetry do the whole bodies of sponges show

 

asymmetry

Which Cnidaria form would you most expect to be sessile?

Polyp

Within sponges, which type of cells act as pores to let water enter and circulate

Ostia

Annelids are important for which ecosystem process that takes place on the seafloor and in your garden?

they act as bioturbators, mixing nutrients and oxidized sediment

What best describes how Evolutionary developmental biology works

 

Evolution alters the development of features that already exist, producing new forms

What are the 3 key features that all Chordates possess at sometime during their lives

Pharyngeal, Notochord, Post-anal tail

Which phyla is thought to have the highest number of marine species

Mollusca

The camera eyes that are present in molluscs and ourselves arrived independently of each other. What do we call this process when different species independently develop the same features?

converent evolution

What is the name of the crustaceans are thought to be the most abundant organisms on earth?

copepods

Barnacles are members of which Phyla?

Arthropoda

A water vascular system that is used for locomotion, gas exchange, moving nutrients around, and waste removal is characteristic of which phyla?

Echinodermata

OPEN ENDED - Explain how Pisaster starfish act as keystone predators in tide pools. 

they pray on california mussels

Which of these phyla live exclusively in marine environments?

Echinodermata

Which group of molluscs is able to rapidly change color for communication and defense?

cephalopods

What type of symmetry do adult starfish tend to show?

radial symmetry

Which of these animals is most closely related to you and me?

sea squirts - Tuncates

Cnidaria are said to have reached which level of complexity?

Tissue level

(OPEN ENDED)Describe one challenge a terrestrial tetrapod (e.g. whale, seal, turtle, seasnake) has to overcome in order to return to the sea (1pt). Then describe a strategy that one species has evolved to overcome this challenge (1pt), and state one advantage (1pt) and one disadvantage (1pt) of its strategy compared to other species that have used alternate strategies

sea snakes have to maintain water balance while surrounded by hypertonix saltwater. This causes dehydration. 

(OEPN ENDED)Name 1 minor phyla (1pt) and describe one of its unique features (1pt)

water bears are cabable of cryptobiosis ! they can survive in extreme conditions 

What best describes the diversity of jawless fish now and in the past?

 

high diversity in past, low diversity in prehistory

The what best describes the skeleton of the jawless fish

 

They have a cartilaginous skeleton including a skull

What best describes the evolutionary relationship between Placoderms and modern fish?

 

 

Placoderms evolved from jawless fish, there are differences in jaw structure that suggest modern fish are not their direct descendants

Is this animal a shark or a ray, what anatomical features made you make that choice?

this is the guitarfish !! a ray! it has underside gills, a flattened body shape, and large breathing holes behind the eyes

Which of these 3 features distinguish bony fish from cartilaginous fish

only one gill slit, skeleton made of bone, swim bladder

Tiktaalik, the ancestor of all land vertebrates, evolved from.....

 

a species of lobe-finned fish

What determines the zones in the following image?

 

a combination of desiccation risk and competition

What does the "strand line" represent in soft bottom intertidal habitats?

 

the highest point of the most recent tide

Which of the 3 are used by phytoplankton to maintain buoyancy in the open ocean?

Gas filled spaces, Fats and oils in the body (lipids), Body shapes that increase drag

Which kingdom are macroalgae part of?

Protista

OPEN ENDED -Describe the differences between how macroalgae and seagrass attach to the substrates on which they grow. Specifically name the features that both groups use to attach.

Macroalgae attach to substrates using a holdfast. It acts as an anchor to secure the algae to rocks or dead corals. However it doesn't function like a "traditional" root system - no nutrients

Sea grass use roots and rhizomes. They anchor themselves to soft sediments such as sand or mud and the roots are functional. 

In which part of a lagoon would you expect environmental conditions to be the most stable (i.e. fluctuate the least?)

 

Outer reef slope/fore reef slope

Where on the planet are the majority of coral reefs found?

indopacific

Which of the following are names for different types of coral? select all that apply

Branching, Massive/boulder, Foliaceous

Describe the key difference between the plankton and the nekton

plankton are drifters moving with the current while nekton are swimmers and can move against the current

What is the term for species that only spend part of their life as plankton?

meroplankton

OPEN ENDED - Not all ecosystems are fueled by Photosynthesis. Describe another ecosystem that is fueled by a different process. Name the process, and briefly describe how the ecosystem works. 

Chemosynthesis! bacteria form the base of the food web and support organisms like tube worms clams and shrimp. The entire ecosystem depends on chemical energy rather than solar !

Which of the two do deep sea species across the ocean basins have to cope with?

high pressure, low food availability

How much of global primary production takes place in the ocean?

 

50% - 75%

OPEN ENDED - Give an example of a Marine species acting as an agent of nutrient transfer (i.e. a cross ecosystem subsidy).  Briefly describe how it works.

Salmon swim into freshwater rivers to spawn and when they die their bodies decompose and release marine nutrients into the surrounding forests. 

The deep ocean is divided into zones based on light penetration. The epipelagic (sunlight) zone is the zone in which there is enough light for photosynthesis, the Mesopelagic (twilight) zone is where there is enough light to see, but not for photosynthesis. How deep are the maximum cut-offs for these two zones (select 2 different answers)?

 

200 m, 1000m

Why are so many species in the mesopelagic zone red?

 

Red light doesn't penetrate into the oceans, red species become invisible

Why do marine systems have more trophic levels than terrestrial systems (click all that apply)

Fish are poikilothermic - don't use energy for heat, marine systems are generally energetically efficient

Why do we see inverted trophic pyramids in marine systems?

 

Primary producers are consumed as fast as they reproduce

Which of these is the species that can be active at the highest temperature of any animal

 

Pompeii worm

Which of the following measures of diversity is most relevant for biodiversity -> ecosystem process relationships?

 

Functional/trait divesity

What is the name of the organization that accredits zoos and aquariums in the USA?

 

Association of Zoos and Aquariums

OPEN ENDED

Mangroves and seagrass beds are needed to trap sedimate and prevent the release of stored carbon. This is the ocean regulating carbon sequestration also known as "Blue Carbon".

Which of the three are potential issues with deep sea mining? (tick all that apply)

Sedimentation, High seas have little regulation, We are genuinely unsure of what may happen

OPEN ENDED - Zoos and Aquariums fill various different roles. Describe one of the these roles, and a how it is performed by a particular zoo or aquarium (name the institution). What are the positives and potential controversies associated with this role?

The San Diego zoo is famous for the recovery program implemented for the California Condor. Both playing a critical role in species conversation and breeding acting as a bank of sorts to prevent extinction.