Intro to marine bio Flashcards
Which boat did we do our trip on?
John Strickland
Pelagic
in the water column
benthic
on or in the bottom
neritic or coastal
< 200m deep
oceanic or “open ocean”
> 200m deep
How much marine life lives in the top 200m of the ocean (the epipelagic zone)?
90%
where does life at the lower/bottom parts of the ocean get its nutrients?
things falling from upper layers (death)
Areas of super high productivity:
west coast of south america, california, and africa
How much (%) of the global fish does the 4.5% of the ocean that is super productive account for?
50% of fish!
Which population is more open/connected?
terrestrial or marine
marine
marine primary production can vary alot more than terrestrial because:
primary producers in marine ecosystems are very tiny, short-lived. so….
marine primary producers are easier to eat directly, carbon moves through system faster, short-term environmental fluctuations can have significant effects on energy production in food chain
“Classic” marine foodchain
diatoms –> copepods –> larval fish
keystone species are
species that have a larger role in the overall productivity of the ecosystem
example of trophic levels:
phytoplankton → herbivorous zooplankton → carnivorous zooplankton → zooplanktivorous fish
Trophic pyramid
- used by ecologists to follow the flow of energy from one trophic level to the next
- relative size of each layer represents the relative biomass of organisms in that trophic level
