What is Marine Ecology? Flashcards
What is marine ecology?
A branch of marine science that studies the interactions between organisms and their biotic and abiotic environments, and the effects these interactions have on patterns of distribution and abundance of organisms.
It is studied from the level if individuals up to whole ecosystems and over varying spatial and temporal scales.
What are the two types of evolution?
- Microevolution
2. Macroevolution
What is microevolution?
Change in the genetic composition of a population over multiple generations. This can result in phenotypic change (e.g. colour, morphology, anatomy, behaviour) and/or changes in life history of a population/species (e.g. growth rates, age/size at maturation.
What is macroevolution?
If genetic changes take place over a long enough period of time period (usually many generations), it can result in new species being formed (speciation).
What does evolution also incorporate?
Extinction (loss of all populations and species)
What is the meaning of life history?
An organism’s life history is the sequence of events related to survival and reproduction that occur from birth through death. Populations from different parts of the geographic range that a species inhabits may exhibit marked variations in their life histories.
What is marine ecology and evolution?
The branch of marine science that tests concepts and hypotheses stemming from ecological and evolutionary principles/observations.
What is an example of marine ecology and evolution?
How/why do interactions between organisms and their biotic and abiotic environments affect the genetic composition of marine populations?
Or vice versa….. (sometimes called evolutionary ecology)
What are the abiotic factors in the marine environment?
- Light
- Temperature
- Salinity
- Water depth (pressure)
- Tides (immersion/emersion)
- Waves
- Currents (velocity)
- Density
- Substratum
- Oxygen
- pH
- Nutrients
What are the biotic factors in the marine environment?
+ = increase/benefit pop. / - = decrease/harm pop. / 0 = no effect
- Predation (+/-)
- Parasitism (+/-)
- Competition (+/- or -/-)
- Territoriality (+/- or -/-)
- Commensalism (+/0) - benefit one organisms but won’t effect the other
- Mutualism (+/+) - both organisms benefit)
- Facilitation/succession
- Species richness
- Functional diversity
- Evolutionary history
- Human impact
What are the levels over which marine ecology can be studied?
- Individual
- Population (same species)
- Community (populations of different species)
- Ecosystem (communities in their physical environment)
- Over long evolutionary time scales (Palaeo-marine ecology)
- All of the above can be studied from local to regional and global scales
What is individual level marine ecology?
How organisms survive under varying biotic and abiotic conditions - i.e. how do individuals find shelter, mates and food?
What is an ecological niche?
Range of environments over which a species is able to live
What is an ecological niche dependent on?
- Abiotic factors such as temperature and salinity, which affects the physiology of the organism
- Biotic factors such as predation, parasitism etc.
What are examples of studying marine ecology at individual level?
- Cleaner wrasse picking parasites off reef fish (example of mutualism)
- Owl limpet (Lottia gigantea) shell can be secondary substrate (home) for other organisms e.g. algae (example of commensalism/parasitism)
