apologia marine bio mod 13 | Baamboozle - Baamboozle

What are two major strategies planktonic species use for staying afloat in the epipelagic?

They either create drag and or use a gas or air bubble to create buoyancy

What is so beneficial about cyanobacteria?

They are picoplankton that are nitrogen fixers.

What is the most common reason for vertical migration?

nocturnal vertical migration, organisms ascend to the surface around dusk, remaining at the surface for the night to feed

What is the most abundant group of zooplankton in the epipelagic?

copepods - a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat.

Why is primary production so high at the equator?

The prevailing winds that blow parallel to the equator continuously bring up nutrient rich water, providing the nutrients needed for primary production(and sun)

Why did scientists in the past believe that diatoms and dinoflagellates were the main source of primary production in the open ocean?

because standard plankton nets did not catch any of the microplankton.

What is a Pteropod? What does Pteropod mean?

a member of the Mollusca phylum, it means winged foot

What is the difference between the prefixes 'mero" and "holo"?

"mero" means part and "Holo" mean whole

Describe the differences in appearance between a nektonic organism and a planktonic organism.

A planktonic organism will have something to hinder its descent in the water column, a nektonic organism will be streamlined to prevent drag.

What causes equatorial upwelling?

constant wind blowing parallel to the equator, pushing surface water away

Why can cyanobacteria survive in nutrient poor water?

They are nitrogen fixers, gaining nitrogen from N2 gas dissolved in the water.

As a rule, most overturn occurs where? When is primary production the highest?

temperate and warmer polar latitudes, during the winter. however spring has the most primary production because that is when there is more sunlight

Larvaceans are important predators in the epipelagic, as well as providing an important food source for other organisms. What do they eat and what do they provide?

a. they eat the pico and nano plankton b. they produce and shed mucous coverings many times as they grow.

Why are picoplankton important for the cycling of nutrients in the epipelagic?

They eat the DOM and in turn are eaten, bringing the organic material in the DOM back into the food web.

The microbial loop is sometimes referred to as a food web within a food web. Why?

The microbial loop is a small food web that utilizes DOM that leaks out of other organisms.

Name a large nektonic organism in the epipelagic that is not a carnivorous predator.

Baleen whale, whale shark or basking shark

How is the weather in India connected to the weather in Peru and Chile?

They are part of a phenomenon called El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-a sea saw effect of barometric pressure, resulting in extreme weather in both areas

what happens in polar regions where all the water is cold, and there is no thermocline?

Continuous mixing, however, primary production is limited by the sunlight which varies depending on the season(salt)

What happens in tropical regions where it doesn’t cool, has a distinct thermocline and doesn't have a steady wind blowing?

limited mixing

What is the difference between overturn and upwelling?

Upwelling occurs where there is a steady blowing wind. (coastal areas and equatorial upwelling)and is the process that carries colder nutrient rich water upward

Why is primary production so much higher near the equator?

Constant wind blowing parallel to the equator, which pushes surface water away, bringing up nutrient rich deep water up to the surface,

Which epipelagic creatures undergo vertical migration and why?

Zooplankton daily leave the photic zone to deeper depths to escape predation.

What is a form of camouflage used in the epipelagic and why?

Counter shading, because it is open sea, with nothing but the sky and the deep ocean to blend in with

What is unique about the muscles of the nektonic organisms in the epipelagic?

They have red myoglobin rich interior muscles that are kept warmer for long distance swimming and white outer muscles for bursts of speed.

How do the mechanisms used to stay afloat differ between the nekton and the neuston?

Nekton need to move so drag hinders them. The neuston are planktonic so they can use drag as well as buoyancy

The violet shell is a predator that suspends itself upside down at the surface of the water using air-filled bubbles. What type of organism does it feed on? Plankton, nekton or neuston?

neuston

What is the difference between neuston and pleuston?

Neuston live near but not out of the surface of the water, pleuston project part of their body out of the water.

How does the sea slug stay at the surface of the water?

By swallowing a bubble of air.

What is Meroplankton?

species of zoo plankton that spend only part of their lives as part of the planktonic community.

What is the Neritic zone?

epipelagic waters lying over the continental shelf

What is the Microbial loop?

The flow of energy and nutrients in the epipelagic, beginning with the phytoplankton and DOM and the smallest zooplankton and making energy available to the maj

What is vertical migration?

Daily movement of small marine organisms between the photic zone and deeper depths.

What is DOM

Dissolved organic matter, Organic material dissolved in ocean water (sugars, lipids,, cellulose)which picoplankton feed on