Ch 12 - Marine Life and the Marine Environment

Question 1

Which of the following kingdoms includes species that function primarily as decomposers in the marine ecosystem?

Answer 1

Fungi

Question 2

Which of the following kingdoms contains species that range in complexity from simple sponges to complex vertebrates?

Answer 2

Animalia

Question 3

Which of the following kingdoms has only a few species living in the marine environment?

Answer 3

Plantae

Question 4

Which of the following kingdoms contains the multicelled plants, all of which photosynthesize?

Answer 4

Plantae

Question 5

Which of the following domains has cells that house DNA in a discrete nucleus and contain structures that supply energy to build the cell and maintain its functions?

Answer 5

Eukarya

Question 6

Which of the following domains includes complex organisms: multicellular plants, multicellular animals, fungi, and protoctists?

Answer 6

Eukarya

Question 7

Which of the following domains is a group of simple, microscopic, bacteria-like creatures that includes methane producers and sulfur oxidizers that inhabit deep-sea vents and seeps?

Answer 7

Archaea

Question 8

The single most important factor that determines the distribution of life in the oceanic province is ________.

Answer 8

sunlight

Question 9

A plankton biologist has discovered a new species and he needs your help classifying it into the proper kingdom. All you can observe is that this microscopic organism has just one nucleus in its cell, and it has chlorophyll, so it must be photosynthetic. What kingdom does it belong to?

Answer 9

Protista

Question 10

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. 
Animalia 
Protista 
Plantae 
Fungi 
Archaea

Answer 10

Archaea

Question 11

The fundamental unit of taxonomic classification is the ________.

Answer 11

Species

Question 12

Which of the following is the most specific taxonomic grouping shared by humans and common dolphins?

Answer 12

Class

Question 13

what does nekton mean?

Answer 13

swim

Question 14

can never swim against a current

Answer 14

holoplankton

Question 15

floats for a portion of its life

Answer 15

meroplankton

Question 16

lives on top of benthic sediments

Answer 16

epifauna

Question 17

lives in benthic sediments

Answer 17

infauna

Question 18

swims for its entire life

Answer 18

nekton

Question 19

Nekton are restricted to particular ocean areas by:

Answer 19

availability of food.
differences in water pressure with depth.
changes in salinity.
temperature variations with latitude and depth.

Question 20

An example of an organism that might be part of the infauna is a/an:

Answer 20

lug worm.

Question 21

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern.
Macroplankton 
Picoplankton 
Meroplankton 
Holoplankton 
Nektoplankton

Answer 21

Nektoplankton

Question 22

All organisms that drift with ocean currents are classified as ________.

Answer 22

plankton

Question 23

Most of Earth’s mass of living organisms consists of which of the following?

Answer 23

plankton

Question 24

Which of the following types of plankton can photosynthesize and produce its own food?

Answer 24

Phytoplankton

Question 25

Which of the following is a phytoplankton?

Answer 25

Dinoflagellates

Question 26

All animals capable of moving independently of the ocean currents are called ________.

Answer 26

Nekton

Question 27

Ninety eight percent of marine species belong to which of the following?

Answer 27

Benthos

Question 28

Octopuses, crabs, and sea urchins are classified as which of the following?

Answer 28

Nektobenthos

Question 29

Of the following factors, which is/are used to classify marine organisms as plankton, nekton, or benthos? Choose all that apply. where they live (their habitat)
proximity to land
the maximum depth of water in which they can survive
their mobility (how they move)
organism size

Answer 29

where they live (their habitat) 
their mobility (how they move)

Question 30

Of the following statements about plankton, which is/are true? Choose all that apply. Plankton are very abundant and comprise most of Earth’s biomass.
Plankton also include certain types of bacteria.
Plankton drift with ocean currents.
Plankton can move up and down in the water column.
Plankton comprise 98% of all marine species.

Answer 30

Plankton are very abundant and comprise most of Earth’s biomass.
Plankton also include certain types of bacteria.
Plankton drift with ocean currents.
Plankton can move up and down in the water column.

Question 31

Of the following characteristics, which apply to a planktonic organism that photosynthesizes? Choose all that apply. a type of autotrophic organism 
classified as zooplankton 
living within the euphotic zone 
a type of heterotrophic organism 
living in the aphotic zone 
classified as phytoplankton

Answer 31

a type of autotrophic organism
living within the euphotic zone
classified as phytoplankton

Question 32

organisms that are classified as benthos?

Answer 32

crabs that crawl across the sea floor 
sea anemones in the rocky intertidal zone 
sponges growing on a substrate 
sand dollars just beneath the sand 
clams living in burrows

Question 33

In which marine environment would you find the greatest diversity of species?

Answer 33

Temperate kelp forest These cold-temperate, productive ecosystems are home to a wide variety of benthic species.

Question 34

Most marine species are found in the:

Answer 34

benthic environment

Question 35

So few of the world’s species live in the ocean because the marine environment ________.

Answer 35

is more stable than the terrestrial environment