EMES FINAL Midterm content

Life-style Habitats of Marine organisms

Neuston

Nekton

Plankton

Benthos

Epifaunal

Infaunal

Semi-infaunal

Neuston

organisms associated with the sea surface (includes microorganisms)

Nekton

larger organisms that swim in the water column and can move against a current or turbulence

Plankton

organisms that live suspended in the water (may have some ability to move but not against ocean currents or turbulence)

Benthos

animals and plants associated with the seafloor

Epifaunal

live on the seabed surface

Infaunal

can burrow within the soft seabed

Life Depth Habitats

Intertidal

Subtidal

Neritic

Epipelagic

Mesopelagic

Bathypelagic

Abyssopelagic

Hadal

Intertidal zone

range of depths between the highest and lowest extent of the tides

Subtidal zone

the entire remainder of the sea from the lowest water tidemark to the greatest depth of the ocean

Neritic zone

also continental shelf) includes all seafloor and open- water habitats between the high-water mark and shelf edge

Epipelagic zone

upper 200 meters of water

Mesopelagic zone

200 to 1000 meters

Bathypelagic zone

from 1000 to 4000 meters

Abyssopelagic zone

from 4000 to 6000 meters

Hadal zone

environments at seabed and in the waters of trenches (>6000 meters)

Photic zone

>1% of surface light, anything less then theres not enough light

5% total of ocean’s volume

Three of the ocean basins are connected in the southern hemisphere in a body of water called the

Southern Ocean

Coriolis Effect

a phenomenon that causes fluids, like water and air, to curve as they travel across or above Earth’s surface

Ekman Transport

net motion of fluid as the result of Coriolis and turbulent drag forces

When wind blows over the ocean, the Coriolis effect plus friction makes the net movement of surface water go 90° to the wind:

to the right of the wind in the Northern Hemisphere

to the left of the wind in the Southern Hemisphere

Zooplankton

primary consumers

consists of all heterotrophic plankton (heterotroph is an organism that cannot produce its own food)

come as eukaryotic protists (ex. Radiolaria) or eukaryotic animals (jellyfish or krill)

Copepods (animal zooplankton) are the most abundant (by mass) in the ocean

Which of the following are examples of zooplankton (select ALL correct answers):

A Ciliates and Radiolaria

 

B Copepods and Siphonophores

 

C Trichodesmium and Prochlorococcus

 

D None of the above

A+B

List the types of Plankton

Holoplankton

Meroplankton

Ichthyoplankton

Meroplankton

organisms that spend part of their time in the plankton but also spend time in the benthos (ex. crab, lobster, shrimp)

Holoplankton

organisms spending all their life in the water column and not on or in the seabed (ex. copepods, krill, foraminifera)

Ichthyoplankton

the eggs and larvae of fish

List types of Larval dispersal for Meroplankton

Planktotrophic and Lecithotrophic

Planktotrophic

feed in plankton

“foragers”

small eggs

many eggs/spawn

long time in plankton ~10-40 days

better dispersal

Lecithotrophic

don’t feed (egg sac for nourishment)

“lunch packers”

large eggs

fewer eggs

short time ~0-5 days

poorer dispersal

Which of the following are reasons why planktotrophic larvae are better at dispersing over greater distances, compared to lecithotrophic larvae? (Choose ALL correct answers)

 

A Planktotrophic larvae can actively feed, which allows them to survive longer in the water column.

 

B Planktotrophic larvae spend less time in the plankton and therefore avoid predation.

 

C Planktotrophic larvae spend 10 - 40 days in plankton, allowing for longer dispersion time.

 

D Planktotrophic larvae have an egg sac for nourishment, so they can disperse instead of searching for food.

A+C