Lecture 26- Diversity of Marine Fauna Flashcards
What are the two main currents going around Australia?
-warm water and nutrient poor
How is the sea around Australia unique?
-it straddles many different latitudes -tropical, subtropical etc. -covers a diversity of habitats -has the largest coral reef in the world -and 3rd largest mangrove forest
What are the zones in the ocean? -this is surface-wise
- intertidal zone (influenced by water)
- neritic zone (200m in depth)
- oceanic zone (the deep blue)

What are the zones in the sea (3D wise) so depth?
- amount of light: photic zone to about 1000m, everything below that where light does not penetrate is the aphotic zone
- deeper part is pelagic zone (deep ocean)
- benthic zone= this is everything that is connected to the bottom

What are the types of habitats in the intertidal zone?
-the intertidal zone is a nearshore habitat and is influenced by wave action -have some sort of substrate and can have 3 types: -have rocky shores, sandy shores, mud flats
What is the rocky shore like?
-Animals need firm aIachment • sessile (fixed) – barnacle, mussel • use sucCon foot – limpet, snails Grazers and filter feeders
What is the sandy shore like?
-don’t have substrate for animals to attach to -Animals burrow easily in the sand -Deposit feeders and filter feeder
What are mud flats like?
-Animals either form burrows (infauna) or move over the mud (epifauna) - Deposit feeders and filter feeders -here most drill into the mud
What is the subtidal (neritic) zone?
-it is a nearshore habitat, extends all the way to the end of the continental shelf -have warm or cold water -if have warm water = Low nutrients, corals dominate, form complex habitat for animals to live in and on. -if have cold water = high nutrients Kelp (macroalgae) dominates; provides shelter and habitat for fauna; more phytoplankton and zooplankton in water .
What is the global distribution of coral reefs and kelp forest?
-kelp and coral are limited by temperature

What are sea grass beds like?
-it is a subtidal (neritic) zone nearshore habitat -Sea grass beds: -Found at all latiudes Important habitat for many species • nursery habitat • feeding ground • shelter -Natural filtering systems for terrestrial inputs, filters the inputs
What are the offshore environments?
-pelagic zone and benthic zone
What is the pelagic zone like?
• photic zone: <150m, enough light for plants • so have lot of phytoplankton: microscopic drifting plants (algae) • zooplankton: tinny dribing animals that feed on phytoplankton -all are highly susceptible to currents -nekton: all the fishes, squid, manta rays, etc. that feed on zooplankton; active swimmers (not drifting) …and the predators that feed on smaller fish
What is the benthic zone like?
• benthos = “bottom”, it can be on the: continental shelf: <200 m, the slope • or can be abyssal=extremely deep (up to 11km!), no light, freezing temperatures, and immense pressure
What is the angler fish like?
-lives in the abyssal benthic zone, the deep ocean -has little appendage that has a bioluminescent properties that attracts prey -males are 1/100 size of the female -angler fish males attaches itself to the female permanently, becomes part of the female
What is the viper fish like?
-lives in the abyssal benthic zone, the deep ocean -huge jaws and teeth -can eat large things
What are some more examples of deep benthic zone fauna?
-gulper eel: huge jaw, can eat fish much larger than itself -bioluminiscent jellies -blob fish= has vestigal skeleton, the depth keeps its shape -dumbo octopus= has ear like flaps, one of the deepest occurring octopi
What are the Chordata in the Australian sea?
- occur in abundance, turtles, sharks etc…
What are the marine animal phyla in Australia?
• Porifera: Sponges • Cnidaria: Corals, Hydroids • Annelida: Polychaetes (segmented worms) • Arthropoda: Crustacea e.g. crabs • Mollusca: Gastropods e.g. snails, cowries, seaslugs Cephalopods e.g. squid • Bryozoa (Ectoprocta): Lace corals • Echinodermata: seastars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins • Subphylum of Chordata: Urochordata: ascidians (sea squirts or tunicates)
What are the Porifera (sponges) like?
-simplest unicellular organisms, single layer of cells, many colours -don’t have anything that could be considered organs -cells are more specialized for some functions but can migrate and do almost everything -feed by sucking in water, eat the plankton, bacteria etc.
What are the Cnidaria?
-Corals, Hydroids, jellies, sea anemones -more complex -have stinging cells -occur in two forms= polyps and medusa forms -some occur in both forms but at different stages in their life -corals are massive colonies of little polyps -include box jellies, has lot of poisionous cells
What are the Annelida : Polychaetes?
-segmented worms -increased complexity -deposit feeders, burrowers -lot of these in mudflats -have bristle worms, fan worms: have leathery tube and from there extend fans with which they ear -can live in extreme environment
What are the Arthropoda?
-the marine ones are usually crustaceans -shrimp, prawns, crabs, lobsters etc. -lot of zooplanktons -some are tiny, some are massive -largest is the japanese tiger crab
What are the Molluscs like?
-the most diverse marine phyla -include abalone, octopus, nautilus, muscles, clams… -most molluscs have shells, some have the shell internalized like the octopus -the octopus are very intelligent and can change their colour very quickly, the change involves migration of pigment through the body, very fast! (cephalopods)


