Module 3 Flashcards
A mammal that has adapted to aquatic life and relies on the ocean to maintain a healthy , livable experience
Marine mammal
Where can you find marine mammals
All of the world’s major oceans
Common characteristics found in marine mammals
- Marine mammals breath air
- Marine mammals are warm-blooded
- Marine mammals give birth to their offspring
- Marine mammals produce milk
Why do marine mammals need to come up to the surface to breath air?
They’ll drown
How do marine mammals maintain their body heat?
a. consume large quantities of calories
b. develop thick layer of fat (blubber)
What animas do not lay eggs?
Whales
Help marine mammals produce milk which they use to feed their children
Mammary Glands
Composition of milk of marine mammals
Full of fat and nutrients
How many recorded marine mammal species are inhibiting the ocean and native aquatic environments of the world?
125
Marie mammal species with sub groups
- Cetaceans
- Fissipeds
- Pinnipeds
- Ursidae
- Sea otters
- Sirenians
Cetaceans include?
whales, dolphins, and porpoises
Pinnipeds include?
seals, fur seals, sea lions, walruses
Ursidae inclue?
polar bears
Sirenians include?
manatees, dugongs
What marine mammal group/s live in the ocean?
Cetaceans and Sirenians
What marine mammal group/s live in the land (land dwellers) but rely on the ocean for food and water supply?
bears, pinnipeds, and fissipeds
Fish and aquatic animals are directly influenced by what?
chemical, biological, and physical characteristics of their aquatic environment.
In natural environments (coral reefs) water is chemically, biologically, and physically ___?
Stable; due to the presence of large volume of water and currents
Subjected to quick and large changes in water conditions?
Aquarium
Aquariums, compared to lakes or oceans have _____ that cause a much easier affected habitat due to the potential fluctuations of the ideal water parameters?
Relatively small water volumes
Changes in aquatic environment are the result of what?
- various biochemical processes
- metabolic activities of all living things living in the aquarium (fish, invertebrates, algae, bacteria)
What will happen if chemicals are allowed to accumulate to levels above what aquarium inhabitants can tolerate?
Death
Toxicity of chemicals are lethal in what concentrations?
Low concentrations
How to avoid toxicity in the aquarium?
Constant attention must be given to the ideal water conditions
A physical characteristic that greatly influence the organisms living in it
Temperature
Why are fish and invertebrates directly affected with water temperature?
They are cold-blooded species
How does water temperature affect fish and invertebrates?
a. activity
b. feeding habits
c. immune system
d. other metabolic functions
Marine fish and invertebrates are very sensitive to?
Rapid temperature fluctuations
How to avoid or minimize rapid temperature fluctuations
Maintain the right consistent temperature range
At higher temperatures;
↑ of fish metabolism
↑ need of food
↑ metabolic waste = ↑ toxic levels
O2 dissolves more readily in?
Cooler water
A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of water
pH
Range of pH
0-14
Neutral range of pH
pH 7
Acceptable pH for marine water
8.0-8.3
pH range of freshwater
6.5-8.5 (depending on fish species)
Not all freshwater fish are compatible in the same aquarium due to the ranges of pH
TRUE
If the pH in an aquarium if lower?
Water is acidic
Chemicals that occur naturally and stabilize fluctuations in pH
Buffers
Are widely available and used to keep the water at the desired pH by adding it to the water
Buffers
Why should you have a correct pH for the livestock of your aquarium
It is important for surival
pH of water affects?
vital biological chemical processes
What happens if the pH is not right?
vital biological process cannot occur; life cannot be sustained
Most toxic product in water
Ammonia
How is ammonia formed
Naturally formed from the biological processes in the aquarium
Two forms of ammonia
NH3 (un-ionized) and NH4 (ionized)
What do you call the sum of the two forms of ammonia
Total ammonia
Both forms of ammonia exist in water
TRUE
The proportion of each form of ammonia is dependent on what factors?
pH, temperature, and other factors
What form of ammonia is extremely toxic?
NH3
↑ pH (alkaline)
↑ concentration of NH3
How is ammonia broken down
It is broken down naturally into Nitrite and Nitrite by beneficial bacteria
Ammonia is converted into Nitrite by what beneficial bacteria?
Nitrosomonas
Intermediate step of the conversion of Ammonia into Nitrate?
Nitrite
What happens to Nitrite once beneficial bacteria have bee established?
Nitrite detection is often impossible
Nitrite is (less toxic / more toxic) than Ammonia
less toxic
Nitrite is somewhat toxic to?
Animals
How can nitrite be toxic to animals?
It binds with RBC, preventing the uptake of DO
A main concern during the set up or cycling of a new aquarium
Nitrite buildup
The last nitrogen compound in the denitrification side of the nitrogen cycle
Nitrate
Not as toxic as Nitrite; far less toxic than Ammonia to fish and invertebrates
Nitrate
Nitrate concentrations in water increases as a result of?
Nitrogen cycle
An essential fertilizer that algae feed on
Nitrate
An abundance of Nitrate enables ___?
Unattractive algal blooms
Convert Nitrate back to Ammonia on the presence of aquariums because of the presence of oxygen in the aquarium environment
Anaerobic bacteria
What is the best way to control Nitrate?
Periodic water changes
Nitrate is stressful to all aquatic animals at?
Elevated levels
Are there some organism that can tolerate elevated Nitrate levels?
YES
What organisms cannot survive elevated nitrogen levels
Invertebrates; corals
Higher nitrate concentrations causes stress to ___?
New animals added to a display
How to reduce nitrate concentration
water changes
Fish and other invertebrates need ____ as part of their respiration process?
oxygen
Plants need ___ in the dark or nighttime phase of their photosynthesis
Oxygen
Incorporate plenty of dissolved oxygen into the aquarium water
Water filtration and aeration devices
It is unlikely that low oxygen levels might occur in the aquarium water
TRUE
More important to the saltwater hobbyist than the freshwater hobbyist
Calcium concentration
Who consumes calcium?
Calcifying plants (coralline algae and corals)
Ideal calcium level in home marine aquarium
400 ppm
What cannot grow wiithout an adequate concentration of calcium
corals
Calcium concentration plays a role in?
Stabilizing the pH of the aquarium
How can you monitor calcium
Test kits
The capacity to buffer against fluctuation in pH
Alkalinity
How is alkalinity provided in the aquarium
various negatively charged ions:
1. carbonates
2. bicarbonates
3. borates
4. hydroxides
Reasons of confusion in alkalinity
- Carbonate Hardness has been used as an interchangeable term for alkalinity
- Other compounds are involved in the contribution to the water’s alkalinity (borates, hydroxides)
Describes the amount of carbonate or bicarbonate dissolved in the water
Carbonate Hardness
What contributes to the undesirable growth of algae and in high concentrations can negatively affect the health of invertebrates
Phosphates
Where do Phosphates come from
a. the digestion of food by aquarium animals,
b. decay of excess food
c. some activated carbon products
Is the major reason for increasing concentration of Phosphates.
Overfeeding
Effective ways to remove phosphates
Water changes and phosphate removing products
Phosphate can occur in both _________ forms and not all testing equipment measures both.
organic and inorganic
Ideal water condition that is applicable to marine aquariums only
Salinity
The ratio of dissolved salt in the water compared to pure water
Specific gravity/density of water
Specific gravity of pure water
1.00
Specific gravity ratio range for marine aquariums
1.018 - 1.025
Is a device that measures specific gravity
Hydrometer
Fish reproductive organs
testes and ovaries
In most species, these are paired organs of similar size, which can be partially or totally fused
Gonads
There may also be a range of secondary organs that increase reproductive fitness
TRUE
Is a small, fleshy tube behind the anus in some fishes, from which the sperm or eggs are released
Genital papilla
How can you determine the sex of a fish?
By the shape of its papilla
Exclusively marine animals have a bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head and a set of arms or tentacles modified from the primitive molluscan foot
Cephalopod
Peculiarity of some cephalopoda
penis elongation may result in a penis that is as long as the mantle, head, arms combined
Cnidarian Lifestyle
egg - planula - polyp - medusae
Characteristics of Phylum Cnidaria and Cnetophora
a. Radial symmetry with true tissues;
b. cup/bell shaped
c. Have stinging cells called nematocysts to help capture food
d. Sting can be fatal to humans
Examples of Cnidaria and Cnetophora
hydra; jellyfish; corals; sea anemones
