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Flashcards generated from lecture notes for exam preparation.
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How is the ocean divided based on proximity to land?
Into intertidal zone, coastal ocean, and open ocean.
List the depth zones of the ocean, from shallowest to deepest.
Epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssopelagic, hadalpelagic.
Define 'pelagic'.
Relating to the open sea.
Define 'benthic'.
Relating to the sea bed/bottom.
What is an oceanic environment?
Environment in the water columns, not close to the shore.
What is a neritic environment?
Environment close to the shore, generally less than 200 meters deep.
List three favorable attributes for sea life.
Buoyancy, low energy for floating/swimming, stable temperature.
List three unfavorable attributes for sea life.
Nutrient limitation, light limitation, increasing hydrostatic pressure, geographical barriers
Order these zones, mid-ocean ridges, ocean trenches, abyssal planes, and continental rises by % of ocean coverage from least to greatest.
Ocean trenches, continental rises, mid-ocean ridges, abyssal planes.
Name the main abiotic factors that govern marine life.
Light, temp, salinity, water movement, nutrients, depth, chemical composition.
How does light penetration affect marine life?
Controls the maximal depth distribution of plants and some animals and affects temperature regimes.
Define the euphotic zone.
Sufficient light to support plants.
Define the dysphotic zone.
Fish and some invertebrates can see, but not enough light for positive net photosynthesis.
Define the aphotic zone.
Sunlight not detected by any biological system; no plant life.
What causes light attenuation in inland waters?
Gilvin/particulates or a combination.
What causes light attenuation in estuaries?
Inorganic particulates.
What causes light attenuation in open oceans?
Phytoplankton and water.
How does temperature affect marine biology?
Controls reaction rates, determines water density, and determines dissolved gas concentration and isotherms set distribution boundaries.
What is the average salinity of the open ocean?
32-38% (average 35%).
Describe the impact of the Coriolis force.
Force is zero at the equator and maximum at the poles, deflects right in the northern hemisphere, deflects left in the southern hemisphere.
What adaptation do organisms in the surge zone have?
Leathery and flexible bodies to withstand mechanical drag.
Distinguish plankton from nekton.
Plankton cannot swim faster than currents, nekton can swim freely.
Distinguish benthos from nekton.
Benthos spend time on the sea floor, nekton do not.
What is important about continental shelves?
Dynamic and heterogeneous and very important for benthic production.
Define infauna and epifauna.
Infauna live within the sand/sediment, epifauna live on top.
Why is detritus important in soft-bottom habitats?
Often no primary production, so detritus serves as the food source as dead organic matter.
Describe the distribution of infauna.
Patchy distribution, closely related to particle size. Live at different depths in the sediment, the deeper, the less O2
List characteristics of hard-bottom habitats.
Provide areas for sessile plants and animals to attach, competition for space is common.
List characteristics of deep-sea benthic environments.
Dark, stable environment, homogenous physically and chemically, huge hydrostatic pressure, cold water temp.
What are the main roles of phytoplankton?
Food base for the open sea, contribute to carbon sequestration. All share chlorophyll.
What are nekton?
Animals that swim freely in the ocean.
List the three classes of fish.
Agnatha (jawless), Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous), Osteichthyes (bony).
List adaptations of epipelagic nekton.
Need to stay afloat, need to eat, avoid getting eaten.
List mesopelagic fish characteristics.
Small size, photophores, well-developed lateral lines, largemouth, needle-like teeth, large eyes often red.
List the environmental factors that affect the distribution of organisms.
Light, nutrients, temp, waves.
List biological interactions that affect the distribution of organisms
Predation, competition, facilitation.
Distinguish internal and external coral reproduction
Internal: sperm released, short dispersal. External: eggs and sperm released in mass, long dispersal.
List factors that dispersal distance depends on.
Longevity of propagule, release height, propagule size, buoyancy, waves and currents.
What is recruitment?
The establishment of juvenile organisms within a population, and is under environmental control
what is the difference between open and closed marine populations?
Open populations depend on recruitment from external populations. Closed populations depend on self-recruitment.
Define 'Biological structure' in a community sense.
Defined by the mix of species, their number, and relative abundance.
Define 'Spatio-temporal structure' in a community sense
The Distribution of populations and individuals in space and time.
Define 'Physical structure' in a community sense
3-dimensionally (structural species/ foundation species
Interference and resource competition are two types of what?
Competition.
Commensalism and Mutualism are two types of what?
Cooperation
Define keystone species.
Species affect community structure disproportionately due to their abundance. Predators can promote coexistence.
Define foundation species.
Affect communities by their presence, and modify environmental conditions, species interactions, and resource availability and affects community structure.
Name examples of communities defined by the dominant species.
Mangroves, marshes, mussel bed, kelp forests, seagrass meadows, coral reefs.
Distinguish perturbation, stress, and disturbance.
Perturbation: pressure on the ecosystem. Stress: persistent non-lethal pressure. Disturbance: an event that causes perturbation.
List agents of disturbance.
Physical, biological, chemical agents by either natural or human causes
Define resilience; resistance; recovery.
Resilience - the capacity to withstand perturbation: resistance + recovery. Resistance- the capacity to withstand a disturbance force. Recovery- capacity to return to initial pre-disturbance state.
Why is Western Australia a biodiversity hotspot?
Exceptionally high richness and endemism (unique populations). The southwest corner of WA is one of 25 terrestrial hotspots of biodiversity in the world.
List 3 other major marine benthic organisms.
Sponges,Ascidians, and Corals
How have major marine benthic organisms promoted biodiversity throughout time?
Geology; Oceanography; and Ecology
How are Tectonic setting, seismic activity and topography Geological features?
A overall times scale for the existence of a species.
What has caused the evolution of Diversity for species?
Benign environment. Speciation in Isolation.
What are underwater trees called? and What do they do
Kelp ;Add structure (habitat and shelter); Alter the environment (light, currents, waves);Produce biomass (food)
Why is there a decline in Kelp Forest Population
Abiotic: Substratum and sedimentation (dredging); Temp (warming-climate change); and Nutrients (eutrophication, changed currents). Biotic: herbivory/predation (tropicalization-climate change currents, fishing) and Competition for space (turf, invasive species)
How can we save or fix/change/ and embrasse change with kelp forests
Fix the problem and stop compounding it; Find solutions to resist change; Accept and embrace change.
What does it mean for a species to be true aquatic angiosperms (flowering plants)?
They have true roots, leaves, flowers, and seeds; They reproduce completely underwater; and They are unique in tolerating a slime, fully submerged existence
What makes a species have high or low growth?
Fast colonizers vs climax species. long/thin leaves vs short/wide
Chemical, biological and physical attributes causes WHAT to increase?
Seagrass value
What makes up a Mangrove, and what do they do?
a single plant, or it can refer to a whole community; Emergent plants that grow in tidal areas; Trees or shrubs (from many classes).
Primarily, how do MANGROVES must cope with Salt Water?
Often possess xeromorphic adaptations a. Thick succulent leaves, stomatal protection ( puts stomata under leaves and protects them with hair or scales); and Salt excluders and salt excretion
What are some of the impacts that humans have on mangrove habitats?
52% of global mangrove losses are due to shrimp (38%) and aquaculture (14%);Charcoal production
What are corals? (Animals and algae) name the mineral that makes up the corals?
Animal = polyp ; Algae = zooxanthellae ; mineral=skeleton (CaCO3) This skeleton cups up around the polyp ( called the corallite). Aragonite is more sensitive to dissolution in acidic water
List the coral reefs Development Needs
Temperature, Currents, Salinity,Aragonites;Light, Substratee
Why do we care about the coral reefs?
Provide livelihood to millions of people worldwide;6 million people, mostly in developing countries, depend on coral reef fisheries for their livelihoods
Provide 3 Reasons why there are coral declines
Global warming;Ocean acidification;and Overfishing
What would frequent bleaching lead to for corals?
Increased resistance in some corals or existing genetic vulnerability increase chances for successful adaptations
What does OA is the reduction mean, and what caused it?
Ocean acidification;the reduction in ocean pH over decades but does not imply the ocean waters will become acidic (pH <7) any time soon
Define Estuary.
Mouth of a river where tidal effects are evident and where fresh water and sea water mix Salinity gradient-fresh near the river end to marine near the ocean entrance, varying with ebb and flow of tides (range of biota along the estuary length )
what do humans do to the estuaries
Transport, Recreation,Effluent disposal, Farming, and Aesthetics
Not all estuaries are the same why?
Water sources:Nutrients, Flushing,Inflows (catchment size, rainfall, amount, and timing),Outflows ( length and breadth of the ocean channel/bar );Opportunity for mixing of the water column are low,and Water build up leads to algal bloom
what are Wave- dominated estuaries known for?
Marine and brackish, subtidal, intertidal, and Supratidal estuarine habitats Narrow entrance restricts marine flushing River flow is often High levels River flow is typically high, and flooding may expel marine water and flush materials from the estuary
How do esturaies get Pollutants out?
Flanking environments trap territgenous sediment and polutants. And loss of material to the coastal ocean
What causes the sandbar Formation?
Decrease in rainfall and reduced river flows; Sand supply= on/off shore and londshore movement of sands and swells;
How do fish interact with an esatury?
Food resources throughout the year for a variety of organisms
list a few ways how animals in Estuaries Die
Habitat loss,Disturbance,Water quality: Too salty- too fresh, Low oxygen,Ammonia and many more
list a few key points of focus for the desired future state of esturairs.
Less vs greater rainfall, Changes in timing of rainfall, More nutrients and pollutants, Water quality
Distinguisg Barametric and Astronomic tides
The astronomic tide is based on the pull of the moon; Barometric tides are based on the changes in atmospheric pressure
What is the Intertidayl?
Highly productive (lots of light, oxygen, and nutrients); but stressful.
What are Spring and Neap tides?
Spring tide - the biggest tidal difference; Neap tide - smallest tidal distance
What does It mean when in the INtertidal are you moveing seaward?
Increase in abundance and diversity of life as you move seaward
what are soe of the majour environmental factors that control intertidal ozonation?
organism differs in the range and ability to survies is the major factor that controls the interdial zones.
Why can Tempertaure Varu Widley in the lower tide
high heat capacity, which makes them resistant to temperature fluctuation.
How do wvae chocj and Waves influce a intetrdal?
Extreme sheltered (little splash) can result in desiccation, especially during low tides in summer; Zones are expanded and shifted landward
how does Porisity effect the intertidal
The porosity or the amount of space within a substrate determines the amount of water (or O2) that substrate can hold, which results in different patterns of zonation on beaches with different kinds of substrates
What are two Case Studies?
The influence of interspecific competition and other factors on the distribution of the barnacle and Food Web Complexity and species diversity
What are impacts Climate change has on the intetidal zones
Warming systematically shifts species down the shore; Species become more abundant and species become less abundant
The defintion of Deep Sea
Oceans deeper than 200m, Beyond the edges of the continental shield, Where there is a biological transition from shallow to deep-water fauna, And Where light penetration ends,
What is the Average depth of ocean, what does that look like Percentage wise?
Average depth=3970m; 4000 - 6000m = 54% of Earth 6000 - 11000m = 45% of the total depth range
What is meant by the Subsurface temperature, Deep-sea photic zone
Euphotic- the surface that receives sufficient light for photosynthesis; Disphotic- the transition between aphotic and euphotic (twilight zone) Aphotic - depth no longer reached by sunlight
what makes bioluminescence
Luciferin (pigment) reacts with oxygen to create light; Luciferase (enzyme) acts as a catalyst to speed up the reaction
What is Transparacy used?
Transparency as camouflage in the pelagic is successful from all viewpoints at all depths
What are the two different food sources in the depth?
Allochthonous: does not originate in its present position (import of food to the deep sea)Autochthonous: originated in its present position
What adapations Do Fish in The depths need?
Ability to localise and recognise potential food sources;Ability to feed on large, muscular food sources;Consume large quantities of food in relatively short periods
What are the unique points of the Arctic marine ecosystem unique?
A high proportion of continental shelves and shallow water (8%<20m;Dramatic seasonality in sunlight and primary production; and Overall, low light and cold sea temperatures,
What is the foodchain in Sea Ice
Provides habitat for marine mammals Sea ice algae form the base of the food web
what happens to meltwater during the run off that effects the levels of ocean.
It is predicted that by 2100, sea levels will rise by as much as 1 meter