Marine Ecology

Abiotic

nonliving factors (currents/temp/salinity/pH)

Biotic

living factors (animal interactions)

Fundamental Niche

theoretical range of environmental conditions under which a species can survive, grow, and reproduce (absent of competition or predetation)

Realized niche

the actual, restricted set of environmental conditions and resources a species requires to occupy an environment

Spacial/habitat niche

physical space occupied by the organism in an environment

Trophic niche

Organisms functional role, diet, and position within a food web

Multidimensional niche

range of environmental conditions and resources in which a species can survive and reproduce

Population

group of one species in given area

community

multiple populations of different species

exponential growth

continuous population growth with out ecological limits

Carrying capacity (k)

the number of individuals a habitat can support with available resources

High nutrient low chlorophyll zone

Nutrients, but not lots of primary production due to lack of iron

Iron

micronutrient required for photosynthesis and metabolism

Logistic growth (s-curve)

realistic growth of an organism including lag phase, exponential phase, stationary phase, and decline phase

Lag phase

before organism can take off and reproduce

Intraspecific

within species: urchins competing for space

interspecific

between species (competitive exclusion/resource partitioning)

competitive exclusion

one species outcompetes another one and pushes species to have specific traits for specific environments

Resource partitioning

specialization/sharing of resources so each species focuses on its own resource source

Symbiosis

relationship between species

Facultative symbiosis

can have a relationship but not essential to either organism

Obligate symbiosis

neither organism can live on their own, they need eachother

Mutualism

both species benefit (ex: clown fish and anemone)

Commensalism

one species benefits and the other has no effect (ex: barnacles on whales)

Parasitism

one species benefits, the other is harmed (ex: pee-crab feeding on oysters)

Keystone predator

effect on the communities are proportionally much greater that their abundance

Ecological succession

regular replacement of species by another in a given area in different stages of growth

Climax community

final stage of succession, final organisms present for best result

Plankton

cannot move against the currents

Nekton

can move against the currents

Benthos

associating/living/attached to the bottom

Bathyal, abyssal, hadal

order of deep sea floor

Continental shelf

intertidal/subtidal zones

Intertidal

Subtidal

Bathyal

Abyssal

Hadal

Neritic

Pelagic

Oceanic

Epipelagic

0-100/200m

Mesopelagic

200-1,00m

Bathypelagic

1,000-4,000m

Abyssopelagic

4,000-6,000m

Hadopleagic

6,000m +

Autotrophs

producers

Heterotrophs

consumers

trophic level

position organisms is in within food web

trophic cascade

effect of one species may flow through an ecosystem

10%

standard amount of energy transferred from one organism to another