Term
| six major coastal settings |
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Definition
Littoral Zone
Estuary
Lagoon
Salt Marsh
Mangrove swamp
Coral Reef |
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Term
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Definition
-amount of time the area is submerged
-ability of the organism to survive the stress of exposure |
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Term
| 3 parts of the littoral zone. |
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Definition
Supralittoral-always exposed
Eulittoral-sometimes exposed
Sublittoral-never exposed |
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Term
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Definition
Semi-enclosed body of water where fresh
water mixes with salt water |
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Term
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Definition
Drowned river valley Estuary
Fjords Estuary
Bar-built Estuary
Tectonic Estuary |
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Term
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Definition
Found at any latitude
Calm shallow bodies of water
Salinity varies: brackish- hypersaline
Sediments usually sand or mud |
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Term
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Definition
Intertidal flats covered by grassy vegetation
Commonly found in protected areas with moderate
tidal range, such as landward sides of barrier islands
Most productive environments on the planet! |
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Term
| 4 important facts about salt marshes |
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Definition
Trap sediments and reduce sedimentation in the main estuary
Absorb excess nutrients & contaminants
Prevent coastal erosion & flooding
Productivity supports estuarine food webs –provide plenty of habitat |
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Term
| how do plants tolerate salt |
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Definition
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Term
| benefits of mangrove trees |
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Definition
Alleviate predation pressure
Daytime refuge for nocturnal fish species
Lots of food for fish!
Shoreline protection
Trap sediments from shore that could smother coral reefs
Cleanse nearshore water by uptake of nutrients |
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Term
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Definition
The animal is the coral polyp.
The corallite is the exoskeleton formed by the polyp |
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Term
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Definition
The animal is the coral polyp.
The corallite is the exoskeleton formed by the polyp |
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Term
| Corals share a mutualistic relationship (mutually beneficial) with zooxanthallae (unicellular algae); called mutuallsm |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
Corals can be either solitary or colonial.
Coral reefs flourish in water that is warmer than 20º C
They are found in tropical and subtropical latitudes.
Corals cannot survive in fresh, brackish water or highly turbid water.
Corals do best in nutrient poor water.
They are easily out-competed by benthic filter feeders in nutrient-rich water (where phytoplankton and seaweed are abundant). |
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Term
| the morphology of coral reefs |
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Definition
| Coral reefs consist of several distinct parts developed in response to their exposure to waves |
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Term
| forms of coral reefs (examples) |
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Definition
Encrusting coral
Branching coral
Brain Coral |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| When the lagoon begins to separate the fringing reef from the shoreline |
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Term
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Definition
| In the final stage, the land vanishes below the sea and the reef forms a ring of islands surrounding a shallow lagoon. |
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Term
| importance of coral reefs |
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Definition
tourism
storm protection
biodiversity
stabilize social structure |
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Term
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Definition
coastal development and pollution
dynamite and cyanide fishing
overfishing
coral bleaching |
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Term
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Definition
coastal development and pollution
dynamite and cyanide fishing
overfishing
coral bleaching |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
Monera
bacteria, including cyanobacteria (blue-green algae)
Protista
single-celled organisms with a nucleus
Fungi
abundant in the intertidal zone and are important in decomposition
Chromista
Plants, free-floating or attached to the sea floor
Metazoa
all multicellular animals in the ocean |
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Term
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Definition
| marine organisms that float in the water and have no ability to propel themselves against a current |
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Term
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Definition
active swimmers and include:
fish,
Reptiles
mammals
birds |
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Term
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Definition
organisms that live:
on the bottom (epifauna)
within the bottom sediments (infauna) |
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Term
| examples of environmental factors in a marine environment |
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Definition
Temperature
Salinity
Pressure
Nutrients
Dissolved gases
Currents
Light
Suspended sediments
Substrate (bottom material)
River inflow
Tides
Waves |
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Term
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Definition
the total environment including the:
biota (all living organisms)
non-living physical and chemical aspects |
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Term
| temperature can control (3 things) in an organisms life |
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Definition
distribution
degree of activity (Generally, rate of biological activity of marine organisms tend to double for every 10 degree rise in water temperature.)
Reproduction |
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Term
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Definition
Can control the distribution of organisms
–Many marine invertebrates have similar salt content to that of seawater
–Most marine fishes body fluids are lower in salt content than seawater |
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Term
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Definition
exerted by a column of water above an organism
On average, hydrostatic pressure increases with water depth at a rate of ~ 1 atm/10 m of water column
Fishes of the mesopelagic and shallower
have a gas bladder and can be killed by
a sudden change in hydrostatic pressure |
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Term
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Definition
Includes both phytoplankton (plants) & zooplankton (animals)
More than 90% of ocean plant species are algae—simple plants—no roots, stems, leaves, flowers or seeds—
Most algae are phytoplankton—free floating, virtually invisible plant life |
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Term
| terrestrial vs. marine plants |
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Definition
Plants on land are relatively large.
They transfer nutrients and water to their leaves through a vascular system.
Marine plants are typically microscopic and unicellular.
They absorb nutrients from seawater through their cell walls. |
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Term
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Definition
| zone in which plants must reside to photosynthesize (make their own food from sunlight) |
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Term
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Definition
single-celled plants enclosed in a rigid frustule (shell) composed of silica that is shaped like a pillbox—when silica concentrations low, diatom growth is limited.
is an example of phytoplankton |
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Term
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Definition
single-celled plants with two whip-like tails (flagella)
Their theca or cell wall is composed typically of cellulose, an inert carbohydrate that is a common cellular ocmpoent of plants and wood
Some dinoflagellates are naked—have no protective theca |
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Term
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Definition
| single-celled animals which build shells of calcium carbonate. |
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Term
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Definition
| small herbivores (plant-eating organisms) that filter diatoms from the water. |
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Term
| what are the 3 types of drag a fish's body must overcome? |
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Definition
The fish’s body must overcome three types of drag (resistance):
surface drag- body and water
form drag- water that must be moved for fish to move
turbulent drag-turbulance around body as it moves |
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Term
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Definition
the ratio of the square of the caudal fin height to caudal(tail) fin area:
AR = (Caudal Fin Height)2/Caudal Fin Area |
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Term
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Definition
1. Torpedo shape: (tuna) ideal for efficient high speed cruising
2. Elongated shape (pike) ideal for sudden lunging motion
3. Wide shape (butterfly fish) ideal for great maneuverability and delicate movements. |
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Term
| speed of a fish is dependent upon |
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Definition
body length
beat frequency
the aspect ratio of the caudal fin |
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Term
| Benthic Community Distribution |
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Definition
–recall the vertical zonation of the rocky intertidal
-Intertidal benthic communities generally are arranged in distinctive bands, termed vertical zonation
–Intertidal zonation of mud and sand bottoms reflects the amount of time the area is submerged & the ability of the organisms to survive the stress of exposure |
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Term
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Definition
| animals that burrow into soft substrates, such as sand and mud |
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Term
| Challenges faced by infauna include(3) |
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Definition
Displacing sediment (digging/burrowing)
Constructing structurally sound burrows
Protecting their tissues from abrasive sediment |
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Term
| Benefits of being infaunal include: (3) |
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Definition
Protection from predators
Protection from wave energy
Protection from desiccation |
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Term
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Definition
| nutritional connections among organisms |
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Term
| An ecosystem is the totality of the environment encompassing all parts: (4) |
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Definition
Chemical
Physical
Geological
Biological
-Ecosystems function by the exchange of matter and energy |
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Term
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Definition
NH3 + 2 O2 → H+ + NO3- + H2O
Ammonia is oxidized to nitrate
Nitrate is a vital plant nutrient (animals can’t use it, but algae can)
Bacteria are vital for the primary production-to-consumer food chain
Think of bacterial decomposition as the starting point (regenerating nutrients for primary production) and the end point (decay of organic matter) |
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Term
| 2 basic types of bacteria |
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Definition
aerobic-require oxygen
anaerobic-don't require oxygen-Instead of O2, use SO4-2 (sulfate)
and release H2S (hydrogen sulfide
gas) as a by-product of decay |
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Term
| 2 types of autotroph bacteria |
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Definition
cyanobacteria (blue-green algae)
chemosynthetic bacteria |
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Term
| The two major food chains in the ocean are: |
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Definition
the grazing food chain
the Detritus food chain (non-living wastes form the base of the food chain) |
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Term
| General Marine Productivity |
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Definition
Primary production is the total amount of carbon (C) converted into organic material per square meter of sea surface per year
(gm C/m2/yr) |
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Term
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Definition
Phytoplankton generally require carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in the ration of 116:16:1
N and P are typically limiting factors |
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Term
| Annual primary production |
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Definition
Annual primary production (APP) is equal to primary production rate (PPR) times the area for which the rate is applicable.
APP = PPR x Area
Transfer efficiency (TE) is a measure of the amount of carbon that is passed between trophic levels and is used for growth.
Transfer efficiency varies from 10 to 20% in most food chain. |
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Term
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Definition
Potential production (PP) at any trophic level is equal to the annual primary production (APP) times the transfer efficiency (TE) for each step in the food chain
PP = APP x TE (for each step) |
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Term
| Extreme Environments–Deep Sea Vents |
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Definition
Black smoker hydrothermal vents
Cold methane seeps
Carbonate hydrothermal vents |
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Term
| Black Smoker Hydrothermal Vents |
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Definition
Oasis of life in a highly toxic environment!
Found in the central rift of deep sea spreading zones
Existed for millions of years, but each independent community is highly ephemeral due to the volcanic activity of the vent itself |
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Term
Depending on the fluid temperature and minerals it contains,
the smoky precipitate can look black or white: |
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Definition
Black smokers emit hot water containing sulfides of iron and other metals
White smoker fluid is cooler and contains dissolved compounds of barium, calcium and silicon. |
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Term
| How black smoker vents form: |
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Definition
Water mixes with magma to 200 to 400°C, leaches metals from basalts as it leaks out of cracks
As mineral-laden hydrothermal fluid cools, minerals precipitate out of solution, thus a dense cloud that looks like smoke |
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Term
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Definition
performed by chemoautotrophic bacteria:
CO2 + H2S + O2 + H20 → CH20 + H2SO4
The oxidation of hydrogen sulfide to sulfate provides vent bacteria the energy needed to produce organic matter
Analogous to photosynthesis in that carbon is “fixed” From CO2
Origins for biogenesis and perhaps initial life on the planet |
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Term
| Basis of the vent food chain: |
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Definition
Thiotrophic: sulfur oxidizing
Methanotrophic: methane oxidizing |
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Term
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Definition
| no digestive system or mouth uses 2 kinds of gill structures to 1) extract O2 out of the water & 2) holds chemosynthetic bacteria for making sugars |
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Term
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Definition
May not be true “seeps” exposed to
ground water, but areas of sediment
Erosion after landslides or strong currents
-longer lived than hydrothermal vents
-release methane gas and H2S |
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Term
| Carbonate Hydrothermal Vents |
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Definition
-Spreading and faulting occurred ~1 million years ago
-Water permeates deep into the earth and reacts with the mantle rock to form serpentinite and other compounds, resulting in a basic fluid (high pH), about 200°C, rich in calcium carbonate which forms the towers.
-abiotic hydrocarbon production
-microbes live off of methane
and hydrogen |
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Term
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Definition
Collectively referred to as introduced species
Once the organism begins to displace native species, it is often referred to as an invasive species |
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Term
| Not all non-natives are nuisances: |
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Definition
Fisheries biologists have introduced striped bass to many inland lakes across the U.S.
In most cases this has provided a benefit to humans and not disrupted the balance of native species.
However, introducing species is a job for professional biologists and not the general public. |
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Term
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Definition
any material used to weight and/or balance an object.
Ballast water is carried by ships to ensure stability, trim and structural integrity–been used since the 1880s |
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