Term
| What is an animal? How is an animal different from an autotroph? |
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Definition
| Animals are active multicellular organisms incapable of synthesizing their own food. |
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Term
| What was the oxygen revolution? What caused it? |
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Definition
| During the oxygen revolution photosynthetic autotrophs changed the composition of the atmosphere from less than 1% free oxygen to its present oxygen-rich mixture of more than 20%. |
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Term
| Why was the oxygen revolution necessary for the evolution of animals? |
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Definition
| Heterotrophs (animals) cannot make their own oxygen and must obtain it from their surroundings.It also allowed for animals to survive on land, because the oxygen in the atmosphere protected the animals from harsh UV rays. |
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Term
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Definition
| A phylum is a group of animals that shares similar architecture, level of complexity, and evolutionary history. |
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Term
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Definition
| Invertebrates are generally soft-bodied animals that lack a rigid internal skeleton for the attachment of muscles. |
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Term
| What is a suspension feeder? |
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Definition
| Suspension feeders strain plankton and tiny organic food particles from the surrounding water. |
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Term
| What feature is unique to cnidarians? Name some cnidarians. |
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Definition
| Cnidarians take their name from the large stinging cells called cnidoblasts, deployed on tentacles that bend or retract toward the mouth. Jellies and sea anemones are examples of cnidarians. |
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Term
| How is bilateral symmetry different from radial symmetry? |
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Definition
| Radially symmetrical organisms are round and have no right or left sides. The bodies of bilaterally symmetrical creatures have a left side and a right side that are mirror images of each another. |
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Term
| What evolutionary advances characteristics of higher organism are first seen in the worm? |
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Definition
| Worms have some concentration of sensory tissue in what may be termed a head, and many have flow-through digestive systems and systems to circulate fluids and eliminate waste. They often show complex organ system integration and many have eyes. |
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Term
| Which group of animals is Earth’s most successful by nearly any definition of success? |
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Definition
| Arthropods are by far the most successful of Earth’s animal phyla, occupying the greatest variety of habitats, consuming the greatest quantities of food, and existing in almost unimaginable numbers. |
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Term
| Clams and squid are in the same phylum. How can that be? |
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Definition
| Mollusks share a common origin—possibly a type of ancestral segmented worm—and therefore share a few basic characteristics. All mollusk eggs develop in similar ways, and those ways differ from the embryonic development of all other phyla. |
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Term
| Provide an example of each of the major group of molluscs. |
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Definition
| Gastropods include snails; bivalves include the clams and mussels; cephalopods include squid and octopuses. |
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Term
| It has been said that arthropods “grow without getting bigger” and “get bigger without growing.” What’s meant by that? |
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Definition
| Arthropods do not grow steadily; instead, their external growth progresses in a series of steplike jumps as the animal molts and replaces its exoskeleton. In a sense, the arthropod grows without getting bigger between these jumps in size – their flesh gets “meatier” without increasing in bulk. |
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Term
| What structural system is unique to the phylum Echinodermata? |
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Definition
| Many echinoderms possess a unique water-vascular system, a complex of water-filled canals, valves, and projections used for locomotion and feeding. |
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Term
| What makes up the greatest biomass of any species on Earth? |
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Definition
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Term
Which animal is considered to be a suspension feeder?
Fish, sea stars, sponges or crabs |
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Definition
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Term
| Which animial is the most recent marine mammal in respect to evolution? |
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Definition
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Term
| What do the simplest vertebrates lack? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which suborder include the largest animals to ever inhabit the earth? |
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Definition
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Term
| What comprises an arthropod's exoskeleton? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which animal is the least successful vertebrate in the marine environment? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is considered the most advanced animal phyla? |
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Definition
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Term
| What class includes bony fish species such as mackerel? |
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Definition
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Term
| What are the three characteristics of an arthropod? |
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Definition
| Exoskeleton, articulation of appendages, striated muscle. |
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Term
| Which worm has a segmented body plan? |
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Definition
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Term
True or False:
Cnidarians are considered the most primative true animal. |
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Definition
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Term
True or False:
Barnacles are molluscs. |
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Definition
| False, they are arthropods. |
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Term
| What is an example of an invertebrate chordate? |
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Definition
| Tunicates, salps, Amphioxus |
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Term
| What class is comprised of nautiluses, octopuses and squid? |
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Definition
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Term
| Chondrichthyese are characterized by what? What are some examples of this type of animal? |
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Definition
| They have cartilage instead of bone. Examples include sharks, skates, and rays. |
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Term
| Teeth of Mysticetes are made out of what? |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| The notochord is a stiffening structure (a “scaffold”) on which a complex embryo may be constructed |
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Term
| Do all chordates have backbones? |
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Definition
| Not all chordates have backbones. Some, like sea squirts lack this structure. |
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Term
| How are vertebrates different from invertebrates? |
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Definition
| About 95% of chordates retain their notochord (or the vertebral column that forms from it) into adulthood. These are the familiar vertebrate chordates (fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals). Invertebrates lack this structure. All animals except vertebrate chordates are invertebrates. |
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Term
| How are vertebrates related? |
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Definition
| The line to modern vertebrates probably passed through an Amphioxus-like predecessor that lived in the ocean more than 500 million years ago. Besides the backbone, vertebrate chordates differ from the invertebrate chordates by having an internal skeleton of calcified bone or cartilage (or both). |
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Term
| What are the classes of living fishes? Which class of living fishes is considered most primitive? What is most advanced? |
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Definition
| Listed from primitive to advanced, fish classes include the hagfishes of class Agnatha, the sharks and rays of class Chondrichthyes, and the bony fishes of the class Teleostei. |
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Term
| Which class of fish has the largest individuals? Which is the most economically important? |
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Definition
| The largest fishes are the whale sharks of class Chondrichthyes, but the most economically important fishes are the bony fishes. |
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Term
| Are fishes warm blooded (endothermic) or cold blooded (ectothermic)? |
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Definition
| The great majority of fishes are cold blooded (ectothermic). The internal temperature of some of the faster-swimming fishes (tuna, for example) may rise above ambient, but their internal temperature is not as stable as that of a true endotherm. |
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Term
| Are most sharks dangerous to human swimmers? |
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Definition
| Only a few sharks are dangerous to humans, and in a typical year stings by jellies kill more people than sharks. On the other hand, we’re pretty dangerous to the sharks, killing more than 100 million of them every year in commercial and recreational fishing. |
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Term
| How do fishes move effectively through such a dense medium as water? |
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Definition
| Most actively-swimming fishes are streamlined (tear-drop shaped). Fast fishes have a scythelike tail to couple muscular energy to the water. The fish’s body can be shorter and can face more squarely in the direction of travel; so the drag losses are lower. Some species secrete a small amount of friction-reducing mucus or oil onto their surface to minimize turbulence, and some can tuck maneuvering fins into body recesses. |
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Term
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Definition
| Fish take in water containing dissolved oxygen at the mouth, pump it past fine gill membranes, and exhaust it through rear-facing gill slits. The higher concentration of free oxygen dissolved in the water causes oxygen to diffuse through the gill membranes into the animal; the higher concentration of CO2 dissolved in the blood causes CO2 to diffuse through the gill membranes to the outside. |
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Term
| How does schooling behavior benefit fishes? |
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Definition
| Schooling behavior confuses predators which can have difficulty selecting one fish from the swirling mass. Also, if fishes are clumped together, a predator must spend more time searching for lunch than if the fishes were randomly distributed within the predator’s environment. |
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Term
| Which marine reptile is especially noted for its navigational abilities? |
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Definition
| Sea turtles are skilled navigators. They can return to their home beaches for decades after their initial departure. |
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Term
| From what group are birds thought to have evolved? |
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Definition
| Birds probably evolved from small, fast-running dinosaurs about 160 million years ago. |
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Term
| How are seabirds different from land birds? |
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Definition
| True seabirds generally avoid land unless they are breeding; they obtain virtually all their food from the sea and seek isolated areas for reproduction. |
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Term
| Which marine birds are the world’s most efficient flyers? |
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Definition
| The 100 species of tubenoses are the world’s most oceanic birds. The largest of the tubenoses are the magnificent wandering albatrosses. The key to these birds’ success lies in their aerodynamically efficient wings. Albatrosses can cover great distances in search of food with very little expense of energy, flying continuously for weeks or months at a time. |
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Term
| How do penguins differ from other marine birds? |
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Definition
| Penguins have lost the ability to fly, but they use their reduced wings to swim for long distances and with great maneuverability. Their neutral buoyancy is an advantage as they forage for food underwater. |
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Term
| What characteristics are unique to marine mammals? |
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Definition
| Marine mammals share a streamlined body shape, endothermy (they are warm-blooded), highly modified respiratory systems, and osmotic adaptations (they do not require an intake of fresh water). |
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Term
| What are the largest animals ever to have lived on Earth? From what animals are they thought to have evolved? |
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Definition
| Mysticete whales are the largest animals ever to have lived on Earth. They are thought to have evolved from an early line of ungulates (leading to today’s horses and sheep). Intermediate fossils outlining this progression exist. |
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Term
| What is echolocation? How do whales use it? |
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Definition
| Toothed whales search for prey using echolocation, the biological equivalent of sonar. The sharp clicks and other sounds they generate bounce off prey species and return to be recognized. Reflected sound is also used to build a “picture” of the animal’s environment and to avoid hitting obstacles while swimming at high speed. |
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Term
| How is a seal different from a sea lion? Which animal is feature in “seal shows” at oceanaria? |
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Definition
| True seals have a smooth head with no external ear flaps, the external part of the ear having been sacrificed to further streamline the body. Seals look like watermelons with a face. Sea lions, familiar to many as the performers in “seal” shows, have hind limbs with a greater range of motion and are thus more mobile on land. They have a streamlined head with small external ears. |
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