Environmental Sciences Flashcards
1
Q
While most people think about fish as swimming in the open ocean, several species prefer to __________ into the sediment at the sea floor.
A
Nestle
2
Q
What are the two fibre optic networks that Ocean Networks Canada has off the west coast of Canada?
A
NEPTUNE and VENUS.
3
Q
What do scientists use the cores for?
A
To reconstruct the past and help predict the future.
4
Q
Why are most marine creatures bodies filled with water?
A
Because liquids are virtually incompressible.
5
Q
True or False? Corals are thought to be the most bio-diverse ecosystem on the planet.
A
TRUE:)
6
Q
Why can Sperm Whales dive over 2m below the waves and survive the crushing pressure?
A
Because their lungs and their rib cage collapse: squishing the air in the whale’s body to 1/4 of it’s volume at the surface.
7
Q
What was one of the most fascinating things found using IODP?
A
That microbial life was found to live over one kilometre beneath the seabed.
8
Q
What percentage of fish stocks have been fully exploited?
A
70%
9
Q
What are the deepest places in the ocean called?
A
The Hadal Zone or deep sea trenches.
10
Q
What do scientists do when they think they have found something interesting visually?
A
They can listen to the sound and confirm what it might be.
11
Q
What do gas hydrates look like?
A
Yellow ice.
12
Q
Where do the greatest temperature fluctuations in the ocean occur? What are these fluctuations?
A
In the upper 200 metres. 7 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius.
13
Q
What are tectonic plates?
A
pieces of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle
14
Q
What element is all life based on?
A
The element carbon.
15
Q
What would be the pressure on you , if you stood at the bottom of the Marianas Trench (11km) be equivalent to?
A
The pressure on every centimetre of your body would be equivalent to an elephant standing on your big toe.
16
Q
What is a coral reef?
A
When large networks of corals are grouped together.
17
Q
Some species have the ability to produce a _____ light through another series of chemical reactions.
A
Red.
18
Q
What does atm stand for?
A
atmosphere
19
Q
What is light penetration?
A
How far down sunlight reaches.
20
Q
Name some ways that these animals use the light they produce.
A
Communication, to attract their prey, to scare away predators and to find mates.
21
Q
What is another name for the Euphotic zone?
A
The sunlit zone.
22
Q
Why can aquaculture be harmful?
A
Aqua cultural continues to be a risk for harmful diseases and can result in the destruction of marine environments.
23
Q
What are some threats to coral that are more local?
A
Agricultural runoff, pollution, overfishing, blast fishing, disease and mining.
24
Q
How do larger marine animals use Ocean currents?
A
They use the currents as migration highways to travel the oceans and often rely on them for the completion of their life cycles.
25
How far does the continental extend offshore of eastern Canada?
Up to 40 kilometres
26
What is the largest animal on the planet?
Blue whale whose heart is the size of a small car
27
How much of human-caused carbon dioxide emissions do Ocean plants absorb?
Nearly one-third
28
What percentage of the world's total fisheries catch is ground up into fish meal and oil which is fed to farmed fish, chicken and pigs?
36%
29
What does exploited mean?
Used to their maximum amount
30
True or False? Sunlight is the basis of the marine food chain for most animals in the ocean.
True:)
31
What types of plants are in the Euphotic zone?
Tiny phytoplankton, some types of algae, seaweeds and corals.
32
What are phytoplankton and what do they do?
Phytoplankton are microscopic plants. Their blooms for the base of the food chain for larger animal populations.
33
What have some other species evolved to have, so they can eat larger prey morsels as they come by?
They have evolved to have expandable jaws and stomachs.
34
When some minerals precipitate the vent fluid when it encounters the cold surrounding sea water they form large structures called __________ that can be ____ metres tall.
They form chimneys which can be 10 metres tall.
35
What are Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV)?
Used for deep water observatories to pick up instruments.
36
According to the Status of Coral Reefs of the World (2008) \_\_\_% of the worlds reefs are seriously threatened, \_\_\_% are under threat and \_\_\_% are destroyed.
15% are seriously threatened, 20% are under threat and 19% are destroyed.
37
What is Alice O. V. Bui's job called?
Scientific Data Specialist on Ocean Networks Canada
38
What has the IODP brought from around the world?
Cores
39
What is another ecosystem at great depths of the sea?
Hydrothermal vents.
40
Why does synchronous spawning work?
Because with the millions of gametes released in the water at the same time there is a greater chance that fertilization will occur and the fish will not eat them all.
41
How much of the planet does the ocean take up? a) 1/4 b)7/8 c)3/4 d)2/3
c) 3/4
42
How is the data from these instruments sent back?
Via fibre optic cables.
43
What is hydrosphere?
The combined mass of water found on, under and over the surface of the planet.
44
What are hydrothermal vents?
Cracks in the seafloor where hot water comes out.
45
How do corals reproduce?
One or two nights a year the entire coral reef (including various coral species) spawns at the same time, releasing millions of gametes in the water at the same time.
46
How deep is the Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean?
11 kilometres deep.
47
Describe Ocean currents-
Ocean currents are continuous directed movements of ocean water generated by forces acting upon it, such as waves, wind and tides, caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun.
48
How many eukaryotic species are there globally? How many are found in the Ocean?
8.7 million eukaryotic species 2.2 found in Ocean.
49
What is this food source known as?
Marine snow.
50
What do giant tubeworms and small bacteria do for each other?
The giant tubeworms house bacteria inside their guts that convert toxic hydrogen sulfide into energy through a process known as chemosynthesis. The worms use the energy to survive and in exchange give the bacteria a safe place to live.
51
True or False? As you go deeper in the ocean the environmental conditions become less extreme?
False, they become more extreme.
52
Why do lower levels of salinity occur in temperate oceans (closer to the north and south poles)?
Less evaporation.
53
What are some examples of high frequency and low frequency sounds in the ocean.
High frequency- dolphins. Low frequency- blue whales, earthquake.
54
What can the spectrograms do to help the scientists?
They can help scientists sift through data as they look for specific frequency signals and patterns that are known to be representative of a particular species, event or object.
55
What are these great temperature fluctuations due to?
due to the different amounts of sunlight, heat absorption due to latitude, ice cover and clearness of the water.
56
The Ocean contains the 2nd most active carbon in the world, what has the most?
The lithosphere (the earth's crust)
57
What other marine animals are corals closely related to?
Jellyfish and Sea anemones.
58
What are Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
Areas that are officially protected. They consist of only one percent of oceans compared to 12 percent of land masses.
59
What is the average salinity of seawater in the ocean?
3.5% which means that for every kilogram of seawater there is approx 35 grams of dissolved material. Salts make up the greatest fraction of dissolved material.
60
Why is the Red Sea the most saline open sea?
Higo rates of evaporation, low precipitation and river inflow account for its unusually salty water.
61
What are coral gametes?
coral eggs and sperm.
62
Are zooxanthellae unicellular or multicellular?
Unicellular.
63
What is one way scientists are studying the deep ocean?
Through underwater cabled observatories.
64
How much more was human consumption of ocean 2resources by 2010 the. In had been in the 1950's?
3 times higher
65
What are three things that need to happen to help coral remain healthier on a global scale?
1. If less fossil fuels are used. 2. If temperatures stop increasing. 3. If ocean pH stops declining.
66
What are up welling systems?
Complex circulation features of ocean currents. They bring cold nutrient rich waters to the surface which encourages the growth of plant life.
67
Can the ocean be classified by the amount of light penetration?
YES!!!!!!
68
Overall global production of wild fisheries continue to be stable at how much how many tones per year?
90 million tons
69
What percentage of the planets water does the ocean contain?
97%
70
What is trawling?
Trawling is a method of fishing where a huge net is held upon and dragged across the sea floor with heavy rollers.
71
What have several species in the deep-sea evolved to have?
dwarfism.
72
Why do corals need to find a different way to reproduce?
Because there are so many animals in the coral reef that would like to eat coral gametes the have to come up with a unique way to overcome having their gametes eaten.
73
True or False? Depending on the type of MPA, corals cannot be collected, damaged, fished or polluted.
True:)
74
Where does the shimmer in many cosmetics often come from?
Crushed up fish scales
75
What are the abyssal plains?
Know as the deserts of the Ocean.
76
Name 3 animals that have calcium carbonate in their shells.
Crabs, clams and snails.
77
True or False? Marine mammals use their sense of hearing instead of their sense of light to communicate with friends, find prey and know their surroundings.
TRUEEEE::))))))))
78
What is depleted?
Used up
79
What is a Symbiotic Relationship?
A mutually beneficial relationship between two species.
80
What do seismometers do?
Measures motions from the ground generated by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, etc.
81
What is a nursing ground?
A place where young animals mature.
82
What are hydrothermal vents?
They are when cracks in the seafloor provide channels for heated water to escape.
83
What does economically viable mean?
Something that's worth money to people.
84
What does VENUS stand for?
Victoria Experimental Network Under the Sea.
85
What are cores?
Cylinders of material dug from the ground.
86
Methane hydrates like the ones found along Canada's coast are also known to, what?
Bubble
87
Ocean ingredients are used in the making of which household products?
Shampoo, cosmetics, medicines,
88
What does IODP stand for?
Integrated Ocean Drilling Program.
89
What are hydrophones?
Underwater microphones.
90
What is reason for the declines in fish stocks?
Overfishing, pollution, unintentional capture of fish in fisheries also known as by catch.
91
What is bycatch?
Stuff that is caught, but isn't what was fished for.
92
What does MPA stand for?
Marine protected area.
93
What is The Continental Shelf?
occurs tens to hundreds of kilometres off the coast. At the edge of the shelf it drops off steeply. The continental shelf is where the Ocean transitions between its shallow parts and the deep Ocean.
94
What types of instruments do the networks use?
Ocean property sensors, cameras, hydrophones and seismometers.
95
Which foods are algae and kelp used in the making of?
Peanut butter, ice cream, salad dressing.
96
NEPTUNE Canada enables research on the hydrothermal vents through the use of what?
Cameras, seismometers, temperatures probes and other ocean property sensors.
97
Hydrothermal vents are rich in dissolved minerals. What are some examples?
Sulphur, iron, zinc and copper.
98
What is Oceanography?
Study of all aspects of the physics, chemistry,geology, and biology of the sea.
99
What is the range of the pressure in the deep-sea?
20-1, 100 atmoshperes.
100
What are two adaptations deep-sea creatures have made due to their harsh living environment?
1. A lower metabolic rate. 2. A slower breathing rate.
101
What are some effects of trawling?
The rollers can weigh up to thousands of pounds and leave deep scars on the sea floor. Since the net is open as it is being dragged, everything in its path gets collected. Millions of animals die every year by becoming bycatch.
102
What are the stinging cells in a corals tentacles called?
nematocysts
103
What does word ocean mean?
A interconnected body of saline water that makes up the bulk of the hydrosphere.
104
Where are corals most commonly found?
Sunny tropical areas.
105
What is the most saline open sea in the world?
The Red sea.
106
What does the finding of microbial life under the seabed suggest?
That there is a huge unknown biomass within the sediments that may offer clues about genetic material and how to live under extreme conditions.
107
Is the Aphotic zone the deepest zone?
YES:)
108
How much has tuna, swordfish and sharks declined?
As much as 90%
109
In shallower regions of the deep sea extensive ________ occurs.
trawling.
110
Finish this sentence: Rather than saying the 'deep ocean', it is more common for scientists to refer to the depths of the Ocean as the ____ \_\_\_.
Deep sea.
111
What are the earths largest aquatic ecosystems?
Maine (ocean) ecosystems
112
The sounds from a hydrophone can be listened to and also transformed into \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
visual pictures called wave forms or spectrograms.
113
What is a Spreading Ridges?
Spreading Ridges are where two tectonic plates are moving apart from one another. When plates move apart new oceanic crust is formed, creating new seafloor structures and features like hydrothermal vents.
114
Many species spend their time right at the bottom of the ocean or even buried in the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
Sediment.
115
To tolerate the crushing pressure, most marine creatures have bodies filled with \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
Water.
116
Where is and how deep is the Disphotic zone?
It's right underneath the Euphotic zone and is 200-700 metres deep.
117
What do Corals provide?
Healthy coral reefs provide vital ecosystem services, homes to thousands of different species, they provide excellent nursing and spawning grounds, they provide food to millions of animals, especially ones who are economically viable. They protect coastlines from storms and help prevent erosion. In tropical countries they attract tourists and snorkelers and scuba divers. Some say corals may also be a source of medicine.
118
What can you see in the Aphotic zone?
Nothing it's pitch black. The only light you can see is from animals twinkling through bioluminescence.
119
True or False? The temperature in the deep-sea stays relatively constant.
True:)
120
Your now on the last page of questions
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW???!!!!!!
121
The temperature 250 metres below the surface has increased to what?
51 degrees Celsius.
122
How hot is the water?
450 degrees Celsius.
123
How much does the pressure rise in the ocean every ten metres?
1 atmosphere.
124
How much of the Ocean is unexplored?
95%
125
What are plume dynamics?
Movement of the columns of hot water.
126
How do humans impact Coastal Marine areas?
Humans have a large impact on coastal areas as we live so close by. Shipping traffic and chemicals entering the water through runoff are of primary concern in this area
127
How much ocean covers the northern hemisphere? (area north of equator)
61%
128
On very rare occasions a whale carcass may reach the deep sea. What happens when this happens?
It provides a smorgasbord for creatures of all shapes and sizes. Larger animals will eat the tissue of the whale and jawless fish will burrow into the bones to eat the marrow.
129
What else do the species with red lights have and how do they use it?
They have special eyes that have adapted to seeing the red light. That way they can communicate without alerting other predators.
130
What is it called when corals reproduce?
Synchronous spawning.
131
What do Halibut, sole and flounder all have in common?
They have a flat ventral side (tummy) and both their eyes are on the same side of their head (facing upward). They carve little holes in the sea floor and rest. When they move from their holes, sediment is sent upwards, which provides nutrients for other animals to eat.
132
Where is the Endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca spreading ridge situated?
In one of the first Marine Protected Areas in Canada.
133
How far does a grey whale migrate each year?
16,000 kilometres, longest migration of any mammal.
134
Buried in the sediment are remains of ________ as well as _________ that help us learn about the history of the ocean, including _______ and ______ changes.
Buried in the sediment are remains of animals as well as chemicals that help us learn about the history of the ocean, including climate and environmental changes.
135
What is this?
Circulation of ocean currents.
136
What is aquaculture?
The farming of aquatic organisms
137
What is dwarfism?
When an animal is smaller than their normal size.
138
What are some coral reefs being designated as?
MPAs
139
Where does the Red Sea lie?
Between Africa and Asia.
140
How is the Ocean classified?
Into regions based on depth and topography.
141
What is a metabolic rate?
The energy expended by animals.
142
Are corals plants or marine animals?
Marine animals.
143
What are eukaryotic species?
Complex organisms including plants, animals and fungi.
144
What are Coastal marine areas?
are those just off the coast and relatively shallow
145
Sometimes a foreign object can reach the deep sea, what happens when this happens?
Sometimes it can become a home or some type of substrate but other times it can be a hazard. Once during a maintenance dive on the NEPTUNE Canada network, a rice cooker was found several hundred metres down in the ocean. It had become a home for an octopus but still shouldn't have been there in the first place.
146
Some core holes now have instruments where the sediment had been removed, what are these instruments called?
French horns lolol jkkkkkk. They're called CORKS.
147
What is erosion?
Rock being worn away by water.
148
Where do zooxanthellae live?
Inside the coral.
149
What are Polyps?
Polyps are spineless animals with tiny tentacles surrounding a mouth opening.
150
What is it called when corals lose their colours and become white or brown?
Coral bleaching.
151
What does almost everything on this planet need?
food, shelter, oxygen, light and a liveable temperature.
152
What percentage of the earths surface does ocean cover?
71%
153
What are the 5 large oceanic areas that are divided by the continents?
Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Antarctic Ocean, Arctic Ocean
154
What does unicellular mean?
A single-celled organism.
155
What does substrate mean?
Something for animals to live on.
156
Describe the abyssal Plains.
deepest parts of the Ocean and are usually quite flat and barren.
157
What happens when tectonic plates move apart?
New oceanic crust is formed, creating new seafloor structures and features like hydrothermal vents.
158
How deep is the deepest part of the ocean.
11km.
159
What does NEPTUNE stand more?
North-East Pacific Time-series Undersea Networked Experiments.
160
What produces half the world's oxygen?
Ocean plants such as mangroves and phytoplankton.
161
What is another name for the Disphotic zone?
The twilight zone.
162
One cubic metre of gas hydrate under water expands to roughly ___ cubic metres of gas on land... a) 10 b)1000 c)200 d)100
d) 100
163
Does pressure increase or decrease the farther down you go in the ocean?
Increase
164
What percentage of species in the Ocean and on earth have yet to be identified?
91% in Ocean 86% on Earth
165
What does pressure mean?
Describes force in a given area.
166
What happens when corals become stressed out?
They kick out their symbiotic zooxanthellae, which means they no longer have a food source and began to die. Also with no zooxanthellae, corals lose their bright colours and turn white or brown.
167
What's the deal with the bubbles that the methane hydrates release?
Scientists are studying these bubbles to determine why they occur and they think that there might be a connection between bubbles being released and seismic activity.
168
How much of the global population lives within coastal areas?
40%
169
How much ocean covers the Southern Hemisphere(area south of equator)?
80%
170
Chimneys are home to thriving communities what?
Giant tubeworms, scale worms, snails, limpets, sea spiders and bacteria.
171
What are hydrophones?
Hydrophones are like ears of the sea. They sit underwater and listen to the sounds around them. There are usually several of them arranged on one platform in order to collect sound from any direction.
172
What is responsible world wide for a large percentage of the coral that has been killed?
Coral bleaching.
173
Differences in salinity can occur due to what?
Evaporation and precipitation
174
What types of natural noises can the hydrophones pick up in the ocean?
Low frequency and high frequency.
175
What does unsustainable mean?
Levels which cannot be maintained at current rate.
176
What is saline water?
Water that contains a significant concentration of dissolved salts.
177
What do zooxanthellae do for the coral?
The zooxanthellae convert the sun's energy through photosynthesis into food for the coral. They also contribute to the corals radient colours.
178
Research is currently going on to see if these hydrates could be used as a.... a) Natural energy resource b) Heating energy resource c) All of the above d) None of the above
a) Natural energy resource
179
What are coral classified within?
Phylum Cnidaria.
180
What does coral have a symbiotic relationship with?
zooxanthellae.
181
What kind of light is in the Disphotic zone?
It has some light, but not very much.
182
What does ecosystem services mean?
Benefits to human
183
Where is and how deep is the Euphotic zone?
The Euphotic zone is near the top of the ocean and is 200 metres deep.
184
CORKS measure the pressure and temperature up to _____ metres below the sea floor.
250 metres
185
What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?
Area where marine litter including plastics such as plastic bags and bottle caps sludge and other debris have been trapped in the central North Pacific Ocean
186
What does the Oceans Networks Canada do?
They operate underwater cables observatories that stream data continuously in real time rom hundreds of different instruments.
187
What kind of light is in the Euphotic zone?
The Euphotic zone is where light can fully penetrate.
188
How do the nematocyst in the tentacles work?
They shoot out harpoon-like devices to catch small fish and plankton.
189
How much as the Earths surface do Abyssal plains cover?
Abyssal plains cover more than 50 percent of the Earth’s surface.
190
How is the Ocean important to the economies of many countries?
It provides employment (fishing crews, fish processing, ect), transportation, shipping routes, and recreation.
191
What process do tiny phytoplankton use sunlight in, to make food?
Photosynthesis.
192
What is a biomass?
Biological material from living or recently living organisms.
193
Why are Ocean currents important for marine life?
They transport nutrients across the globe and in certain locations can create complex circulation features known as up welling systems.
194
How deep are the hydrothermal vents at the Endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca spreading ridge?
2, 300 metres.
195
What does virtually incompressible mean?
Difficult to squeeze.
196
In addition to air, what other ecosystem service does the ocean provide?
Food. Oceanso sustain the life that provides the main source of protein for approx 20% of the human population.
197
What is a spawning ground?
A place where certain marine animals lay their eggs.
198
What do deep-sea creatures feed upon, since there is no plant life?
They feed on food particles, such as, plant matter, fecal pellets and decaying organisms that fall from the upper waters.
199
What is the ratio of plastic pieces to phytoplankton roughly in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Roughly the ratio is 10:1
200
Since the ocean can be dark and murky, animals in the ocean rely heavily on their sense of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
Hearing.
201
Through what process do the animals produce this light?
Bioluminescence.
202
What is sediment?
Mud, silt, sand, gravel, ect.
203
Where is the biggest coral reef in the world, what is it called and how big is it?
Just off the Coast of Australia is the Barrier reef and it covers a total of 344, 400 square kilometres.
204
What is Topography?
Shape and features
205
Where are gas hydrates found?
All around the world on the sea floor.
206
How do sea pigs act?
They move very slowly and continuously walk and eat. sifting out nutritious morsels from the sediment.
207
Fill in the blank: Corals form colonies of millions of individual \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
Polyps.
208
What is happening right now that is threatening corals?
The earths temperature is rising with in turn raises the temperature of the ocean. The burning of fossil fuels releases gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The more carbon dioxide the ocean absorbs from the atmosphere, the more pH of the ocean decreases, making the ocean more acidic. When changes in the temperature and pH occurs in the ocean the corals (and other animals) becomes threatened.
209
What is the global volume of the Ocean? & what is its average depth?
1370 million cubic kilometres. Average depth of 3.8 kilometres.
210
When was the Deep-sea Conservation Coalition founded and what do they work towards protecting?
2004 and they work toward protecting deep-sea species, and ecosystems, particularly from deep-sea trawling.
211
What do Ocean Property Sensors do?
Measure temperature, salinity, density, etc.
212
Beyond ______ metres light only comes from \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
Beyond 1000 metres light only comes from animals.
213
Name two human-created sounds hydrophones can pick up.
ship engines and sonar.
214
What does marine conservation involve?
Protecting and preserving physical and biological marine resources and ecosystems in the Ocean.
215
What is kelp?
A type of large seaweed.
216
Located on the edge of land masses, the ocean is very shallow and slopes gently from the shore. What are these areas known as?
Continental Shelfs. Continental Shelfs form only 7-8% of the ocean area.
217
How are these creatures able to survive in such extreme conditions?
Due to mutually beneficial relationships also called symbiosis.
218
What is the range of temperature the deep-sea has?
1 degree Celsius to 4 degrees Celsius.
219
What are the animals like in the Disphotic zone?
They have eyes but some animals also create light in their bodies through a chemical reaction known as bioluminescence.
220
What is at the base of a polyp?
An exoskeleton made of calcium carbonate.
221
What is this?
Sea Pig
222
Why do higher levels of salinity occur in subtropical (closer to equator) oceans?
Evaporation is greater
223
The Ocean supports what percentage of all species on Earth does the Ocean support?
80%
224
Sea pigs are deep-sea ____________ which are related to \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
Deep-sea holothurians and are related to sea cutecumbers.
225
What is blast fishing
Using explosives to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection.
226
How many individual reefs is the Barrier reef made up of.
2, 900
227
What does "sea" mean?
Large body of saline water partly or fully enclosed by land.
228
What are gas hydrates made of?
Gases such as methane that are very cold and under very high pressure.
229
Rather then their sense of light marine mammals... a) Listen b) Vocalize c) Echolocate d) All of the above
d) All of the above
230
What is the total amount of dissolved material in seawater called?
Salinity
231
What is a intertidal area?
The marine area we think of as beaches and climbing rocks. This area is where the tide is noticeable from the shore leaving some animals exposed to the elements for several hours each day.
