Final Review Flashcards
Net primary production
Gain of organic matter through phytoplankton production minus phytoplankton respiration
Seasonal plankton succession in temperate latitudes
- light limited in winter
- nutrient limited in summer
(fall + may are best)
^fall storms increase nutrient availability
Plankton
drifting organisms MOVED ALONG BY CURRENTS, central to all marine ecosystems
*some plankton are capable of vertical migrations
Nekton
organisms that can swim against currents, they are typically larger than plankton + multicellular
Ex. tuna, whales, big fish
Benthos
organisms that live on, in, or attached to sea floor
ex. crabs, starfish
Where does 50% of the 02 we breathe come from?
the ocean
Cyanobacteria
- thrives in stratified, low nutrient waters
- only bacteria under the phytoplankton : chlorophyll is organized in membranes, not chloroplasts
Inorganic Nutrients
- carbon
- macronutrients - phosphate + nitrate
- micronutrients - iron, zinc, manganese
- silicate (diatoms)
diatoms
- centric (mostly planktic_ + pennate (mostly benthic) forms, some species form chains
- frustule is primarily composed of SILICA
-prefers high nutrient waters: most abundant in temperate to high latitudes
Meroplankton
organisms that are only planktic for part of their live (larvae stage) and then graduate to either nekton or a benthic existence (larvae of sea urchins, starfish, crabs)
Phytoplankton blooms occur when
phytoplankton growth conditions are favorable (abundant nutrients + sunlight)
what is an example of a region with high primary productivity?
the western coast continents
^bc of coastal upwelling
- this brings a lot of nutrients
Nutrients + light =
high productivity
photosynthesis zones
photic zone is the region with sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis to occur
- nutrients are more abundant deeper in water where its dark, but few algae can photosynthesize + respiration dominates
Dinoflagellates
- cellulose cell walls, armored + unarmored species
- some autotrophic, some heterotrophic
- calm stratified waters, low nutrient environments
photic zone
upper level of water (phytoplankton + zooplankton)
aphotic zone
lower level of water, twilight + no light
eutrophic
- high nutrient concentrations
- high primary production
oligotrophic
regions with low concentrations of essential nutrients
- many small, competing phytoplankton species coexist
^low primary production
- subtropical gyres (blue + purple on ocean chlorophyll concentration map )
primary production
rate of organic matter production from inorganic nutrients
zooplankton
heterotrophic: nutrient recycling
- major part of the nutrient cycle because they eat a lot
* takes a long time to reproduce
holoplankton
spend their entire life in zooplankton
red light
only penetrates in the upper meters of the water column
blue light
penetrates to greater depths
- think of primary colors; if light is red it gets reflected green.
orange –> blue
violet –> yellow
euphotic zone
the depth of the water that is exposed to sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis to occur
where do phytoplankton like to live
they are nutrient limited in surface waters, but where light availability is high
^ removal of nutrients due to production of organic matter (photosynthesis dominates )
autotrophs
plants, phytoplankton, bacteria
heterotrophs
animals (big fish)
bacteria
shoaling behavior in fish (when they clump together)
- protects from predators
- ehanced foraging success
- higher success for finding a mate
anadromous fish
live in the sea mostly, breed in fresh water
ex. salmon
catadromous fish
live in fresh water, breed in the sea
ex. American eel
new production
based on nitrate being brought up from
deep waters by storms and ocean circulation, as well as small
amounts introduced through nitrogen fixation at the sea surface
regenerated production
based on nitrogen that is recycled
within the water column: NH4+ and urea (CO(NH2 )2 )
supralittoral or supratidal
SPLASH ZONE
- smallest benthic zone
littoral or intertidal
- immersed at high tides, exposed at low tides
-filter feeders - herbivores support a diverse and abundant carnivore population
sublittoral or subtidal
- lies below low tide mark to outer edge of continental shelf
characteristics of benthic algae
holdfast is used to attach to the ground, NOT A ROOT
- doesn’t produce seeds or flowers
-
algae color zones
shallowest = green
intermediate = brown
deepest = red
^this is because the green algae absorbs RED light and red algae absorbs BLUE + GREEN light
sea grass
- NOT ALGAE
- produces flowers, seeds, has roots
- vascular plants
sessile benthic
- attached to sea floor
- waits for food to pass by
- planktic larvae is important for colonizing new areas and avoiding overcrowding
ex. barnacles
motile benthic
lives on sea floor
- pursue their prey, graze, scavenges over the bottom
ex. crabs
macrofauna
starfish, mussels, most clams
meiofauna
often found in mud or sand - tiny worms,
scavengers
animals that consume already dead animals + plants: zooplankton, sea birds
filter feeders
clams + worms, filter tiny foods through their “eyelashes”
deposit feeders
deposit feeders
decomposers
breaks down the remaining of living things - bacteria + fungi
rocky shore environment
rocky shore environment
Epifauna
living on hard substrate (rock or pier) or attached to seafloor
- corals, mussels, barnacles, starfish
infauna
living in soft substrates (sand)
- clams + worms
thermal gas exchange pump
cold high latitude waters take up CO 2 from the
atmosphere and sink to greater depths
soft tissue pump
organic matter produced in the surface ocean is
exported to the deep sea where it is
consumed and adds respired CO 2
to the deep sea DIC-pool
carbonate pump
CaCO 3 production by foraminifers, coccolithophores and
pteropods; sinking shells dissolve in the
water column or sediment and release
HCO 3- , only a small fraction of the shells
gets buried in the sediment
organic matter exporters
phytoplankton - diatoms, dinoflagellates etc.
produce organic matter, sink to the
seafloor in fecal pellets and/or
as marine snow
inorganic CaCO3 exporters
zooplankton:
foraminifers and
pteropods produce
CaCO 3 -shells
high nitrate - low chlorophyll areas
southern ocean
equatorial Pacific
North Pacific
^few phytoplantkon blooms because of low iron
moving bloom
as the ice edge retreats, the bloom follows
iron fertilization
add iron sulfate to the ocean in order to encourage
phytoplankton growth and ocean carbon sequestration
(i.e., the biological pump
