Marine Conservation Flashcards
Pelagic Zone
the water
benthic zone
the ocean floor
pelagic habitats
open ocean, deep sea, sea ice
plankton
float and drift in ocean currents
zooplankton (small animals)
Phytoplankton (algae)
Nekton
can actively move in the current
vertebrates (fish, marine mammals)
Invertebrates (squid)
Benthos
species ecologically linked to the sea floor
Sometimes attached to the seafloor (coral)
Can be free moving too (crab)
Primary productivity
the rate at which primary producers capture and store energy in given interval
Gross primary productivity
the total rate of photosynthesis for an ecosystem during specified interval
Net Primary Productivity
the rate of energy storage in plant tissues minus metabolic activities that use energy (energy left for higher levels)
Photosynthesis - respiration
______ have one of the lowest production rates per square meter
open oceans
_______ have one of the highest rates of productivity per square meter
estuaries
open oceans cover about____ of the earth’s surface
71%
Conservation issues in Marine Ecosystems
pollution
habitat loss
climate change
overharvest
Point Source Pollution
specific source identified - sewage major source of point pollution
1977 Clean Water Act
many pollutants from point sources have been reduced in US coastal waters
No regulations in many other countries
Non-point source pollution
Unregulated runoff from land
fertilizers, gas, oil, antifreeze, pesticides, fossil fuels
Results of non-point pollution
eutrophication from fertilizers
Loss of wetlands which filters for pollution
How marine debris enters the ocean
illegal dumping or accidental loss
indirectly by way of wind, rivers, streams, and storm drains
80% of debris originates from onshore
Plastics
90% marine floating debris
46,000 pieces/sq. mile of ocean
concentrated areas = 1 million/square mile
mylar balloon breakdown
centuries
plastic bag breakdown
centuries
aluminum can breakdown
200-500 years
6-pack holder breakdown
400 years
fishing gear breakdown
decades to centuries
