Test Flashcards
Name 2 differences between El Nino and La Nina. How does each affect MICHIGAN?
El nino
- Trade winds weaken, - Causes less water to move west
Michigan – Hits warmer and drier in the winter
La Nina
- Trade winds east to est strengthen, warm water move west
Michigan - cold and snowy
What are the 3 types of marine organisms?
———Plankton
a) Drifters
b) Includes all organisms that drift with the ocean current, they cannot determine their horizontal position
c) Algae, animals, bacteria
—– Nekton
a) Swimmers
b) Includes the animals of moving independently of the ocean current by swimming or other means of propulsion
c) Sharks, penguins, fish
———Benthos
a) Bottom dwellers
b) Describes organisms that live on or in the ocean bottom
c) Epifauna, Infauna, Nekton benthos
List the 7 types of plankton. Write a short description for each. Include one example. Be able to recognize other examples.
- Phytoplankton - Autotrophs undergo photosynthesis can range in size (EX - Green algae)
- Zooplankton - Heterotrophs includes drifting marine animals (EX - Krill)
- Bacteria plankton - Free- ;living bacteria more abundant and widely distributed (cyanobacteria
- Viro Plankton Smaller than bacterioplankton, viruses ( Tupan virus)
- Holoplankton - Organisms that spend their entire lives as plankton (Krill)
- Meroplankton - Many organisms that spend their adult lives as nekton or benthos but spend their young lives as plankton ( Diatom)
- Macroplankton large floating animals and algae such as jellies
List a few reasons why nekton are not able to move throughout the entire ocean.
Temperature: some can only adapt to certain temperatures.
Salinity: some nekton species are adapted to specific salinity levels.
Food some Nekton need to stay in areas where they can find prey
List the 3 types of benthos. Write a short description for each. Include one example.
Epifauna: Live on the surface of the sea floor, either attached to rocks or moving along the bottom
Infauna: live buried in the sand, in discarded shells, or within the mud
Nekton Benthos: Live on the bottom yet also have the ability to swim or crawl through the water above the ocean floor
How many marine and terrestrial species inhabit Earth? What percent are terrestrial? What percent are marine?
How many marine and terrestrial species inhabit Earth? What percent are terrestrial? What percent are marine?
How many species are discovered each year?
2000 new species
Why don’t we know more about the ocean?!
Because of its immense size and inaccessibility
If the ocean is such a prime habitat for life and if life originated there, why do so few of the world’s organisms live in the oceans? (3 reasons)
- The marine environment is more stable than the terrestrial environment
- The relatively uniform conditions of the open ocean do not pressure organisms to adapt, so therefore fewer species live there
- Ocean temperatures are not only table but also relatively low low below the sunlight surface waters
What are the 2 major divisions in the oceans? Give a brief description of each.
- The water itself is called the PELAGIC ENVIRONMENT where drifters and swimmers play out their lives in a complex food web
- The ocean bottom is called the BENTHIC ENVIRONMENT where marine algae and animals that do not float or swim spend their lives
The oceanic province is subdivided into four zones. Name each and give a brief description of each. Know depth (in meters) of each zone.
Study the diagram that Mrs. Portenga skillfully drew for you. Be able to label a similar diagram
Epipelagic- 200m, photosynthesis occurs, minimal pressure, sea turtles, sharks, whales
Mesopelagic- 1000m, sperm whale, squid, cuttlefish, cold dimly lit
Bathypelagic- 4000m, octopus, sea spiders, intense pressure, dark
Abyssopelagic- 6000+m, perpetual darkness, cusk eel, deep sea anemone
The benthic environment is divided into 2 zones. Give a brief description of each.
photic zone- light and things can undergo photosynthesis
aphotic zone- complete darkness
How many known marine species exist? (this is an exact number!) What % of those species inhabit the pelagic environment? Why?
242,000
Study the pairs of contrasting statements that describes the pelagic and benthic environments
Pelagic- lighter and warmer, open sea, not more than the atmospheric pressure, sunlight and plants
Benthic- darker, colder, bottom of the ocean, depend on decaying matter, area of immense pressure, scavengers, and detrivores
Define the following: euphotic zone, disphotic zone and aphotic zone. Know how far down (in meters) each goes.
euphotic zone- The first layer the photic zone is the uppermost layer of a body of water that receives sunlight, allowing phytoplankton to perform photosynthesis.
disphotic zone- there is enough light for visual predators to see, and even for some photosynthesis
aphotic zone- The aphotic zone is the portion of a lake or ocean where there is little or no sunlight
