Marine Ecology and Tides: Abiotic Factors, Organisms, and Osmosis

semidurnal tides

2 high or low tides of equal height

diurnal tides

1 high tide and 1 low tide each day, form at high latitudes

mixed tides

2 different high and low tides

what components make up an ecosystem?

abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) organisms, producers, consumers, and decomposers

range of tolerance (abiotic factors)

big/broad = tolerant to a wide variety of conditions and easier to find in multiple ecosystems

-those who live in shallow water and/or long shorelines have broader ranges than deep sea creatures

narrow of tolerance (abiotic factors)

In general most marine organisms have a narrow range in terms of temperature and cant survive in as many ecosystems

marine abiotic factors

sunlight, temperature, salinity, pressure, nutrient levels, dissolved oxygen, pH, wave action and currents

endothermic

warm blooded, you can generate heat yourself

-more tolerant to temperature fluctuations

-can live in a wider geographic region

-swim faster

-more hungry

-grow faster

-higher metabolism

-cant live as long as cold blooded

-faster chemical reactions

-mature quicker = reproduce sooner

examples: humans, whales, some large fish, birds, marine mammals, tuna, sharks, penguins

ectothermic

cold blooded, controlled by the environment

-the opposite of endothermic

-live longer than endothermic

examples: most marine life, most fish

Indirect effects of cold temperatures

-fewer aggressive predators

-fewer pathogens

-more dissolved gases and nutrients

what types of marine organisms have a higher tolerance in terms or salinity?

intertidal zone organisms

what is osmosis?

the movement of water moving from higher concentrations to lower

how does osmosis work with fresh water ?

water moves into cells through osmosis which can cause death

how does osmosis work with salt water?

Water moves out of the cells, leading to osmotic pressure that can cause the cells to shrink and may lead to death if the salt concentration is too low

what is isotonic?

has equal amounts of solute

-most marine inverbrates that are isotonic have the same salinity inside and out

what is hypertonic?

being more salty than the environment you are in

-freshwater fish absorb fresh water because they are slightly hypertonic (pee more)

what is hypotonic?

being less salty than the environment you are in then --freshwater fish will die trying to dilute salty water (ocean)

-most marine fish are slightly hypotonic

-marine fish can drink sea water because they have special organs to remove salt from salty water

how deeply light penetrates factors

depth depends on the clarity of the water

-majority of oceans contain no sunlight causing most of the ocean to lie in a aphotic zone

-light is important for plants for them to photosynthesize

-no plants = no photosynthesis = no food for animals = not a lot of life

clear water

lacks nutrients and life

merkier/"dirtier" water

more nutrient and life rich

which lights penetrate the deepest?

blues and greens penetrate the deepest

which lights penetrate the least and how does it affect deep sea organisms?

red is the least penetrative, it appears black/invisible down in the ocean

-good for red creatures, makes it easy to evade predators

what is hydrostatic pressure and how would deep-water fish withstand intense pressure?

hydrostatic pressure is water pressure

-the deeper you are the greater pressure

-internal pressure matches external pressure

-only when you move from one pressure to another it can be dangerous causing an organisms cells to swell or burst

shallow living fish swim bladders

shallow living fish typically have swim bladders to maintain buoyancy and allowing them to stay at desired water depth

deep living fish swim bladders

deep living fish often lack swim bladders because it would rupture at the pressure they are in, instead have lighter skeletons and body structures

prokaryote

bacteria and archaea that have no membrane-bound organelles and no nucleus

-benthic bacteria (bacteria that inhabits the seafloor

-symbiotic bacteria (bacteria that has relationships with coral, sponges, fish, etc.)

-archaebacteria (chemosynthesis)

eukaryote

cells with nucleus and membrane bound organelles

-fungi (such as mushrooms, mold, lichens)

-animals (such as mammals, fish, reptiles)

-plants (such as kelp, seagrasses, red algae)

-protists (such as algae, seaweed, zooplankton, phytoplankton)

what needs to be true to be classified as an animal?

-multicellular

-heterotroph (other nutrient/energy)

-eats other things

what needs to be true to be classified as a plant?

-multicellular

-autotrophs

-photosynthesis

-watered nutrient carrying systems

-mostly terrestrial

the functions of stipes, blades, holdfasts and air bladders of seaweed

holdfast: anchors the seaweed, preventing it from being ripped loose

stipe: acts as a stem, connecting the blades and holdfast, also flexible to bend from wave action

blade: responsible for photosynthesis and nutrient absorption

airbladders: provide buoyancy for the blades, allowing the algae to stay a the surface for max sunlight exposure

how does plankton differ from nekton and benthos?

plankton are free floaters that cant swim against a current meanwhile nekton are active swimmers and benthos are bottom dwellers

what are nektobenthos?

bottom dwellers that can swim

epifauna

animals that live on the surface

-greater diversity due to mobility and ability to interact with eachother on the surafce

-contains less amount of organisms

infauna

animals that live in sediment

-contain more organisms than epifauna

-less diversity

what is a trophic level?

different levels to consumers and each of those feeding levels

what does it mean to be higher on the trophic level?

usually animals that eat other animals like carnivores

what does it mean to be low on the trophic level?

usually herbivores, animals that consume plants

autotroph

An organism that makes its own food (producers)

-such as chemosynthesis and photosynthesis

heterotroph

An organism that eats other things (consumer)

neritic zone

shallow part of the ocean

-enough sunlight for there to be life

-stable environment

disphotic zone

-twilight zone

-some sunlight but not enough for photosynthesis

-many organisms have large eyes to help them see

euphotic zone

-enough light for photosynthesis

-phytoplankton and zooplankton both reside along with fish and marine animals

how is the oceanic zone?

75% in the aphotic zone

-no sun, small nutrient levels

-little life

biological deserts

-life in the oceanic twilight = disphotic aphotic zone

size in trophic levels

generally eat things smaller than you the higher the trophic level the larger the organism

# of organisms in the trophic levels

the higher the food chain the fewer the % of organisms

toxicity in the trophic levels

the higher the trophic level the more toxic the organism

ex: mercury gets stored in fatty tissues, for example, breastfeeding = fat contains mercury = passed along to child

pelagic zone

in the water column

-plankton and nekton both reside here

benthic zone

lives along the sea floor, benthos resides here, total darkness, crushing pressure, low food availability, slow metabolism, sensory specialization, pressure tolerance

neritic zone

over the continental shelf

where is the oceanic zone located?

beyond the continental shelf, open ocean

photic zone

-90% of marine fisheries -photic and euphotic zone

-tons of algae -lots of food for heterotrophs

-great for life -very high density of life

-sunlight + abundance of nutrients

how do the neritic zone and oceanic zone differ

neritic zone is the shallow coastal area rich in nutrients and biodiversity while the oceanic zone is deeper, open ocean with lower productivity light and light penetration

aphotic zone

areas where 1% of light penetrates making it impossible for there to be plant life affecting animals that may live there

bioluminescence

light created by living organisms in photophores

-used in the disphotic zone

-can attract mates

-help find food

-confuse predators

counterillumination

-looking transparent/invisible -being extremely thin

-camoflauge

intertidal zone (littoral)

area where the land meets the sea

-rocky intertidal zone means old

-sediment covered intertidal zone means young/new

vertical zonation in intertidal zones

the distribution

-affected by tidal changes, light, temperature, moisture at different heights or depths of species or communities in distinct vertical layers within an ecosystem

7 harsh conditions organisms living in rocky intertidal zones have to deal with

1) drying out during low-tide

2) dealing with rapid temperature changes

3) dealing with rapid salinity changes

4) dealing with waves

5) lack of attachment sites

6) predation

7) when to eat when youre all "clammed up"

what does sessile do to prevent drying out from low tide?

capture water inside and clam up

what does motile do to prevent drying out during low tide?

go somewhere more wet

what does sessile do to deal with rapid temperature changes?

toughs it out but the darker the color the more heat that is absorbed and the lighter the more heat reflected

what does motile do to deal with rapid temperature changes?

runs and hides in shade, cold cracks, or tidepools

what to do with lack of attachment sites?

you can:

- get there first (disperse and reproduce quickly) (lots of egg and sperm released)

-undercut or bulldoze intruders

-attach and grow over competitors

hermatypic corals

stony corals that grow in masses forming reefs

ahermatypic corals

soft corals that do not build reefs

what are corals classified as?

animals

what are polyps?

masses that grow & bulge from surrounding tissue, made up of thousands of coral animals

what is white coral?

dead coral

what is a polyp classified as?

animal

how do zooxanthellae benefit from living in corals?

zooxanthellae share some of the food they make with the coral polyps and in exchange they get a stable home

what do polyps get in return from their relationship with zooxanthellae?

a direct supply of food, direct supply of oxygen, a waste removal agent, help polyps secrete calcium carbonate, and in desperate times corals can digest and eat zooxanthellae as food

what conditions are necessary for coral reef formation and why?

warm water temperatures to thrive, shallow water for sunlight to penetrate effectively, clear water for sunlight, a supply of calcium carbonate for growth, and a stable environment with salinity as they are sensitive to temperature changes

atolls

a ring-shaped reef, island, or chain of islands formed of coral.

fringing reefs

a large coral reef formation that closely borders the shoreline, found in warm shallow waters that grow directly from shore

barrier reefs

a coral reef close and running parallel to the shore but separated from it by a channel of deep water.

coral bleaching

the loss of color in corals because of the lack of zooxanthellae

what causes coral bleaching?

stress, if water gets too cold or too warm, changes in light, or nutrient levels

why is life the way it is in the benthic zone?

because of lack of food and temperatures are low, organisms grow slower but live longer, many organisms have heightened senses, reduced or absent eyes because of how dark it is, and cell membranes are flexible and functional under the type of pressure they are in

Hydrothermal Vents

spots on the ocean floor where hot gases and minerals escape from earth's interior into the water

hydrothermal vents energy source

chemosynthesis, chemical energy from hydrogen sulfide

organisms that live in hydrothermal vents

giant tube worms that have no mouth or digestive system and no anus, vent crabs and vent shrimp, Pompeii worms, vent mussels and clams

cold seeps

areas that produce lower temperature fluids where natural gas and methane gas seep into the water in the deep ocean

organisms that live in cold seeps

seep tube worms that live longer than giant tube worms and depend on chemosynthetic bacteria , methane mussels and clams, bacteria mats,

pollution

must be human-caused to be considered pollution

direct pollution

point source and easier to clean and control

indirect pollution

non-point source and more difficult to clean and control

-majority of pollution, washed from roads or fields, atmosphere particulars, diffuse

biodegradable

Able to be broken down naturally

presistence meaning

how long does trash remain?

-man made chemicals typically persist for a long time

heat pollution

when you pump water that is warmer than the ocean or estuary

-common with power plants and shocks marine life (eggs, larvae)

noise pollution

any noise that causes stress or has the potential to damage health

-sonars, marine ships/boats

-very loud and many marine animals have sensitive hearing (like whales)

sediment pollution

dumping sediment on marine life

-buries benthic life, affects water clarity, harder to photosynthesize

-clogs gills/filters, can contain toxic stuff

-different life can move in and affect food chain

nutrient pollution

Occurs from excess of nitrogen and phosphorous in the environment, can cause algal (algae) blooms

-ex: fertilizers, soil erosion, factory and sewer effluent, manure

-not enough light for photosynthetic life below = animals that depend on food die and as those animals decompose the process removes oxygen from the water = creates anoxic zones = zones with no oxygen

introduced species pollution

larvae and eggs in the water is kicked up in one place and emptied in another, introducing new species

-primarily due to shipping and ballost water

-some new species can outcompete native species

-can spread through boats travelling if not cleaned properly

solid waste pollution

mostly plastic, looks like food to sea creatures

-lasts for hundreds of years

-plastic incinerators cause air pollution but there id also plastic eating fungus, worms and bacteria and engineered enzymes

synthetic organic chemicals pollution

man-made compounds

-not biodegradable, many bioaccumulate, weakens immune system, affects fertility and hormones

heavy metal pollution

Such as mercury, lead, copper, argon, cadmium can cause various health problems and bio magnify in the aquatic food web.

-toxic in larger doses, brain, kidney, lung, immune damage

oil pollution

most oil pollution is a non-point source

-petroleum

-2010 BP oil spill was the second largest oil spill

-Persian Gulf was the biggest oil spill in 1991

Eutrophication

excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.

how can eutrophication cause hypoxic conditions?

-hypoxic = low oxygen

-Occur when dissolved oxygen drops below ~2-3 mg/L.

-Caused by bacteria using oxygen to decompose dead algae.

-Fish and mobile organisms may flee the area.