Quiz 2 Flashcards
Services provided by marine ecosystems
Temperature moderation, nutrient cycling, habitat, commercial fishing, storm protection, water purification, medicine, CO2 absorption
Photic Zone
Area where sunlight reaches, upper 200M of ocean, most productivity occurs here
Pelagic Zone
Open water, Epipelagic Zone = where sunlight reaches, 90% of ocean life, low nutrients
Benthic Zone
Ocean floor - starfish, mollusks, sponges
Mesopelagic (Twilight) Zone
low temps, increased water pressures, species have thin bodies, bioluminescence, go to epipelagic layer at night
Bathypelagic (Midnight) Zone
No primary production, 1% of animals live here, fish have slim, weak bodies, bioluminescence, slow metabolic rates, may not have eyes
Abyssal
Unique organisms adapted to lack of light live here. Very cold, few nutrients, high pressures
Hadal
Deepest part of marine environment
Threats to Marine Ecosystems
Overfishing, Pollution, Climate Change, Habitat Loss, Invasive Species, Sedimentation
Bottom Trawling
Large nets are dragged behind trawler ships. Destroy sea floor habitats for coral, sponges, starfish, etc. As a result, smaller species have become more dominant
“Fishing down the food chain”
Apex predators like cod or tuna are overfished, leaving lower-trophic level species to overpopulate and compete with the young of more desirable species
“dead zone” or hypoxic area
Area where organisms cannot survive
Euthrophication
Nutrient pollution - fertilizers wash into water, algae flourishes too much, blocks sunlight from other plants
Food chains vs. Food webs
Sequence of organisms that feed off each other and acquire energy and organic molecules
A linked set of food chains that show the connections within a community
Approx. how much energy is passed to each Trophic level? Where does the rest go?
10%. Most energy is lost as heat.
Primary Consumers
Herbivores. Eat Primary Producers
Secondary Consumers
Eat Primary Consumers
Detritovores
Organisms that feed on dead plants and animals: Crabs, Worms, Insects
Decomposers
Organisms that break down material into inorganic components: bacteria, fungi
Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)
The total amount of solar energy that producers capture via photosynthesis
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
The energy captured from the sun minus the energy respired by producers
Ecosystem Richness
Variety of Species
Ecosystem Evenness
Relative abundance of each species
Edge Species
Before habitats with forest and field edges
Core Species
Prefer inner areas of forests
Ecotones
When two distinctive ecosystems meet. Creates edge effects that attract or repel species
Competition for Limited Resources: 3 Major Ecological Problems
- Space to live
- Acquiring Resources
- Avoiding Predation
Intraspecific Competition
among members of a species
Interspecific Competition
among members of different species
Law of Competitive Exclusion
No two species will occupy the same niche and compete for the same resources in the same habitat for very long
Commensalism
One member benefits while the other is unaffected.
Mutualism
Both members benefit
Parasitism
One member benefits, the other is harmed
Intrasexual Competition
Male competing with other males for mates (sometimes female v. female)
Predator
Any organism that feeds off another organism
How are predators and prey adapted to each other?
Predators: Intelligent, highly alert, fast, muscles, binocular vision
Prey: swift escape, can detect predators, plants have thorns/defensive chemicals
Incisors
Front teeth, edges good for cutting
Canines
Conical, pointed, good for gripping and tearing
Premolars
Pointed, good for gripping and tearing
Carnassials
Present in carnivores. Top molar, bottom premolar. Cutting blade, bone crushing tooth
Molars
May be flat or serrated, for grinding or crushing
Indicator species of the everglades
Wood Stork
Keystone species of the everglades
Alligator
Keystone species of Chesapeake Bay
Oyster
What is the primary reason codfish populations of NA collapsed since the late 1960s
Overfishing
What is the primary type of pollutant found in the great garbage patches of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean
Plastic
