Chapter 14: Primary Producers

Question 1

____ are responsible for producing between 90% and 96% of the surface ocean’s carbohydrates?

Answer 1

phytoplankton

Question 2

what is the immediate organic material produced through primary production?

Answer 2

glucose

Question 3

what is the source of carbon for glucose in the ocean?

Answer 3

dissolved carbon dioxide

Question 4

what is biomass?

Answer 4

the mass of living tissue

Question 5

plankton is derived from the Greek word “planktos” which means _____

Answer 5

wandering

Question 6

when was the first large-scale systematic study of plankton?

Answer 6

in 1925 on research vessel Meteor

Question 7

what are phytoplankton?

Answer 7

autotrophic plankton that generate glucose by photosynthesis

Question 8

apart from cyanobacteria, the most productive photosynthetic organisms in the plankton are ____

Answer 8

diatoms

Question 9

what is bioluminescence?

Answer 9

the process by which energy from a chemical reaction is transformed into light energy

Question 10

what are HABs?

Answer 10

harmful algal blooms

Question 11

what are nonconservative nutrients?

Answer 11

nutrients that change in concentration with biological activity

Question 12

what is the compensation depth?

Answer 12

the depth at which the production of carbohydrates and oxygen by photosynthesis in a day will exactly equal the consumption of carbohydrates and oxygen by respiration

Question 13

what are extremophiles?

Answer 13

specialized organisms capable of life under extreme conditions