Oceanography Final Part 2

What are the 3 aquatic biomes?

Marine (ocean), fresh water, and estuary

The water is called brackish because salinity varies the most. Body of water and its surrounding coastal habitat where fresh water from land mixes with salty water from the ocean.

Estuary

What is another name for an estuary

Nurseries of the ocean.

What are the 4 zones of the water column and where are they located?

• Intertidal - along the coast, tidal area

• Pelagic - open ocean

• Abyssal - deepest part of the ocean, includes trenches

• Benthic - bottom of the seafloor, includes all zones 

Most marine species are found in a(n)  ______ environment.

benthic

In the ________ zone, animals are adapted to withstand the dark, the cold (near freezing), and the tremendous pressure.

abyssal

Which marine ecosystem is known as the rainforests of the ocean because of high productivity and diversity?

Coral reefs

How can corals live in nutrient-poor water?  

They have a mutualistic relationship with algae who make nutrients for them.

List several reasons why coral reefs should be preserved.

• Corals can take thousands of years to grow into a reef

• They are the most biologically diverse marine environment

• They can protect coastlines during storms

How does coral bleaching happen and what consequence does it have on corals? 

• Corals expel their zooxanthellae

• It happens when ocean water temperatures get too high, a change in salinity, or because of pollution 

• It often results in the death of coral polyps

Amount of food, or glucose, available.

primary productivity

What are the 2 ways glucose is created in the ocean?

Photosynthesis and chemosynthesis

What are the 2 conditions of productivity? 

Availability of nutrients and sunlight

In which latitude is productivity the highest? 

Mid-latitudes

List several sources of nutrients in the ocean.

• Photosynthesis and chemosynthesis

• Land runoff

• Upwelling

• Dead organisms sinking to the seafloor

What is the largest group of primary producers?

Phytoplankton

What group of plankton produce 70% of the Earth’s oxygen? 

Diatoms

animals without a backbone.

Marine invertebrates

 vertebrates; they have a backbone.

Fish

only a few and live in warm water

Reptiles

are adapted to living on the seashore.

Birds

vertebrates and warm-blooded

Marine Mammals

Plastic in the oceans comes from ______ and accumulates in the center of _______.

land and gyres

What do marine organisms mistake plastic pieces for?

Food

What happens to plastics that accumulate in the ocean?

They are eaten by birds and other organisms that mistake them for food

The accumulation of pollutants as they move up the food chain

biomagnification

Why are oil spills inevitable? 

We live in a global oil-powered economy. Oil spills can happen anywhere oil is drilled, transported, or used.

What causes the majority of large oil spills? 

Blowout of undersea oil wells

What was the main lesson we learned from the clean-up of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska?

The best method of clean-up is to let the oil biodegrade naturally.  Their clean up methods did more harm than good. 

Differentiate between crude and refined oil. Which is more toxic?

Crude oil is oil straight out of the ground. Refined oil has many additives in it. The most toxic form of oil is used, refined oil.

Why are birds and marine mammals the first to die from an oil spill?

They are coated with oil since their fur or feathers lose their insulating properties; this is called fouling/oiling. The organism cannot maintain its body temperature and dies of exposure.