Marine Organisms Flashcards
Why are there fewer marine species than land species?
The oceans conditions stay relatively the same so there is less of a need to adapt and make new adaptations. This causes there to be less species.
Benthic vs Pelagic percentage distribution?
98% benthic and 2% pelagic
How are living things classified?
o By whom they are?
o By where they live?
o By size?
o By what they do?
o By trophic level?
What are the taxonomic units/groups?
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Benefit of scientific names
A universal name so no confusion
What is plankton?
Organisms that float around and make up most of the Earths biomass
Nekton
Organisms that can independently swim
Benthos
Organisms that live on the ocean floor
4 major types of plankton
Phytoplankton, Zooplankton, Holoplankton, Meroplankton
What type of organisms are responsible for Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB)?
Dinoflagellates (a microscopic algae) by making toxins or growing too dense.
What type of plankton is thought to produce ~50% of marine photo synthesizers?
Phytoplankton
Epifauna
Live on the surface of the seafloor; generally attached to a rock
Infauna
Live in buried sediments
Nektobenthos
Crawl or swim on the seafloor
Which environment is more stable, land or ocean?
Ocean, because it experiences less change
What is an example of how phytoplankton have adapted to cold vs warm waters?
Phytoplankton in warm waters have grown feathery appendages to stay afloat.
Phytoplankton in cold waters don’t need as many appendages
What is the purpose of streamlining?
Less pressure on the body, easier to move in water. Better for smaller organisms. Harmful to larger organisms
Stenothermal
Organisms that can only handle a small variation in temperature - better suited for open ocean
Eurythermal
Organisms that can handle a large variation in temperature - better suited for coastal ocean
Stenohaline
Organisms that can only handle a small variation in salinity - better suited for open ocean
Euryhaline
Organisms that can handle a large variation in salinity - better suited for coastal ocean
Describe why oceans have smaller temperature changes than land.
Because of the high heat capacity of water which makes it take time to change temperature thus slowing the changes
What is osmosis?
When water molecules move from low salinity to high salinity
Isotonic
Organisms have the same salinity than the water around them
Hypertonic
Organisms have higher salinity levels than the water around them
Hypotonic
Organisms have lower salinity than the water around them
Do marine fish or freshwater fish drink water?
Marine fish need to constantly drink water because the water keeps flowing out of their gills due to the high salt content. Freshwater fish don’t drink water because their bodies are saltier than the water around them.
Do colder waters have more or less dissolved gas?
They have more dissolved gas in cold water because its molecules move slower allowing gas to settle.
Name an adaptation of marine organisms as a result of the high transparency of water.
Many organisms become transparent to avoid to predation
What is the Deep Scattering Layer?
A layer in the ocean in which there is vertical migration of organisms that want to feed but want to avoid predation
When do the following predators feed: daytime, crepuscular, nocturnal predators
Daytime - during the day
Crepuscular - day and night
Nocturnal - only at night
How have marine organisms adapted to the extreme pressure of the deep ocean?
Collapsible rib cage
No inner air pockets, meaning they don’t feel the pressure.
Whats the difference between pelagic and benthic
Pelagic is the upper layers of the ocean and benthic is the lower layers of the ocean.
Depth ranges of Epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, and abyssopelagic.
Epipelagic - 0-200m
Mesopelagic - 200-1000
Bathypelagic - 1000-4000
Abyssopelagic - >4000
Depth ranges of euphotic, disphotic, aphotic.
Euphotic - 0-100m, enough for photosynthesis
Disphotic - 100-1000m, twilight zone
Aphotic - >1000m, no light at all
