Course Introduction
Biological Oceanography Test
Questions
Biological Oceanography explores the complex interactions between marine organisms and their environment, focusing on the distribution, abundance, and dynamics of marine life from microscopic plankton to large marine mammals. The course examines foundational concepts such as primary production, food webs, biogeochemical cycles, and the ecological roles of different species within ocean ecosystems. Emphasis is placed on how physical and chemical oceanographic processes influence biological patterns, as well as on the impacts of human activities and climate change on marine biodiversity and ecosystem health.
Recommended Textbook
Marine Biology 9th Edition by Peter Castro
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Science of Marine Biology
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Sample Questions
Q1) One of the following is outside the realm of science:
A)Observations made using extrasensory perception (ESP).
B)Data collected from an experiment.
C)Data collected from the field.
D)Anything that can be obtained by our senses.
E)Observations made by satellites.
Answer: A
Q2) How much of the Earth's oxygen is generated by marine organisms?
A)25%
B)50%
C)75%
D)90%
E)95%
Answer: B
Q3) When can a hypothesis be accepted as absolutely 100% true?
A)After one experiment or observation
B)After ten experiments or observations
C)After numerous experiments or observations over many years
D)Never
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: The Sea Floor
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of these places is an example of an island arch along a trench:
A)Aleutian Islands.
B)Hawaiian Islands.
C)Australia.
D)Galápagos Islands.
E)Bermuda.
Answer: A
Q2) The thinnest layer of the earth is the:
A)Inner core.
B)Outer core.
C)Crust.
D)Mantle.
Answer: C
Q3) Which of the following is true about lithospheric plates?
A)Only contain continental crust
B)Only contain oceanic crust
C)Collide with one another at the mid-ocean ridge
D)Float on the upper mantle
E)Are directly connected with the inner core of the earth
Answer: D
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Chapter 3: Chemical and Physical Features of Seawater
and the World Ocean
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Sample Questions
Q1) The factor that most affects wind patterns in the atmosphere of the earth:
A)Depth of the sea.
B)Clouds.
C)Temperature.
D)Volcanoes.
E)Gravitational pull of sun and moon.
Answer: C
Q2) Hydrogen bonds in water molecules are formed between:
A)Ions in solution between the molecules.
B)Nuclei of adjacent molecules.
C)Hydrogen and oxygen atoms of adjacent molecules.
D)Two hydrogen atoms of the same molecule.
E)Two oxygen atoms of the same molecule.
Answer: C
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5
Chapter 4: Fundamentals of Biology
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Q1) What is the role of ATP in organisms?
A)Serves as an energy storage molecule for direct use by the cell
B)Serves as a structural molecule for cell walls and membranes
C)Serves as a genetic storage molecule for storage of genetic mutations
D)Serves as a genetic transfer molecule in subsequent generations
E)Speeds up chemical reactions and reduces enthalpy
Q2) Marine organisms whose internal salt concentration varies with that of their environment are examples of:
A)Osmoregulators.
B)Fresh-water organisms.
C)Ion-concentrators.
D)Osmoconformers.
E)Urea-concentrators.
Q3) Primary production results in which of these?
A)The oxygen utilized by animals is greater than the oxygen produced by plants.
B)Carbon dioxide is released into the water.
C)Oxygen is utilized by plants.
D)Organic matter is produced in excess of organic matter broken down by respiration resulting in a net gain.
E)Proteins are manufactured by animals increasing their biomass.
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Chapter 5: The Microbial World
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following can be dangerous to human health?
A)Diatoms
B)Dinoflagellates
C)Radiolarians
D)All answers are correct
E)Diatoms and Dinoflagellates only
Q2) A survival advantage of __________________ is the ability to withstand exposure to air for long periods of time during tidal cycles.
A)Diatoms
B)Dinoflagellates
C)Radiolarians
D)Foraminiferans
E)Lichens
Q3) Which of the following are not protists?
A)Dinoflagellates
B)Cyanobacteria
C)Diatoms
D)Foraminiferans
E)Ciliates
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Chapter 6: Multicellular Primary Producers: Seaweeds and Plants
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which one of these groups of algae is found mostly in fresh water and on land,thus,only a small number of this group are actually marine:
A)Green algae.
B)Brown algae.
C)Kelps.
D)Red algae.
E)Coralline red algae.
Q2) Macroalgaes can be best differentiated from the phytoplankton because the marcoalgaes:
A)Are eukaryotic.
B)Are photosynthetic.
C)Have true roots.
D)Are mostly multicellular.
E)Have true leaves.
Q3) The Sargasso Sea is found in the:
A)Pacific Ocean.
B)Black Sea.
C)Indian Ocean.
D)Atlantic Ocean.
E)Arctic Ocean.
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Chapter 7: Marine Animals Without a Backbone
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Sample Questions
Q1) Beard worms are unique because they lack:
A)Symmetry.
B)A skin.
C)A digestive tract.
D)Cells or tissues.
E)A reproductive system.
Q2) The radula and crystalline style of molluscs are part of their:
A)Reproductive system.
B)Defensive mechanisms.
C)Excretory system.
D)Nervous system.
E)Digestive system.
Q3) Animals,all members of the kingdom Animalia,are characterized by all of the following except one:
A)They can be eukaryotic and mutlicellular.
B)Most are multicellular.
C)Some are autotrophs.
D)Some lack a backbone.
E)Some are eukaryotic and unicellular.
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Marine Fishes
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Sample Questions
Q1) Basking sharks feed on:
A)Plankton.
B)Small fishes.
C)Large fishes such as sharks.
D)Marine mammals such as seals.
E)Dead animals.
Q2) The heart of all fishes has how many chambers?
A)One
B)Two
C)Three
D)Four
Q3) Oxygen is carried in the blood of fishes by what protein?
A)Hemoglobin
B)Urea
C)Salts
D)Myoglobin
E)Chloride ions
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Marine Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals
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Sample Questions
Q1) Convergent evolution means that:
A)Organisms possess similar structures because they have a similar lifestyle
B)Organisms possess similar structures because they descended from a common ancestor
C)Closely related organisms have evolved and do not resemble one another anymore
D)Closely related organisms have different structures for same purpose
E)None of the choices are correct
Q2) Which of the following whale species has a long external tusk?
A)Sperm whale
B)Narwhal
C)Beluga whale
D)Bowhead whale
Q3) Which of these is NOT a function of blubber:
A)Insulation
B)Circulation
C)Buoyancy
D)Food reserve
E)Protection
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11
Chapter 10: An Introduction to Marine Ecology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Competive exclusion may be affected by:
A)Abundance of a resource.
B)Disturbances to habitat.
C)Temperature changes.
D)All answers are correct.
E)Disturbances to habitat and Temperature changes only.
Q2) The difference between food webs and food chains is that food webs:
A)Consist of only one trophic level.
B)Include primary producers as well as consumers.
C)Do not take into account predators.
D)Only outline feeding relationships among consumers.
E)Are more complex.
Q3) Which of the following could be a tertiary consumer?
A)A seaweed
B)A grazer
C)A carnivore
D)An autotroph
E)A herbivore
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Chapter 11: Between the Tides
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Sample Questions
Q1) The lower limit of the intertidal zone is the:
A)Average high tide.
B)Average middle tide.
C)Lowest low tide.
D)Lowest edge of the rocky substrate.
E)None of the choices are correct.
Q2) One of these organisms is typically a very rare component of soft-bottom intertidal communities:
A)Burrowing organisms.
B)Detritus feeders.
C)Seaweeds.
D)Infauna.
E)Deposit feeders.
Q3) Most sessile animals living on rocky shores are:
A)Deposit feeders.
B)Carnivores.
C)Detritus feeders.
D)Filter feeders.
E)Grazers.
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Chapter 12: Estuaries: Where Rivers Meet the Sea
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Sample Questions
Q1) Mangroves belong to one of the following groups:
A)Green algae.
B)Brown algae.
C)Seagrasses.
D)Flowering plants.
E)Kelps.
Q2) Euryhaline species:
A)Are less common in estuaries than stenohaline species.
B)Need less oxygen to survive.
C)Tolerate only a narrow range of salinities.
D)Can survive changes in salinity.
E)Only tolerate small temperature changes.
Q3) Blood rich in hemoglobin is an adaptation to:
A)Fluctuating salinities.
B)Wide variations in temperature.
C)Soft sediments.
D)Feeding in detritus.
E)Low oxygen concentrations.
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14
Chapter 13: Life on the Continental Shelf
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Sample Questions
Q1) Deposit feeders would be most likely to be found on which substrate?
A)Coral reefs
B)Muddy bottoms
C)Gravel bottoms
D)Rocky shores
E)None of the choices are correct
Q2) The plankton and nekton that inhabit the water column over the continental shelf are said to live in what zone?
A)Neritic zone
B)Shelf break
C)Benthic zone
D)Abyssal zone
E)Hadal zone
Q3) The distribution of the infauna of soft-bottom subtidal communities is often closely related to:
A)Temperature.
B)Particle size of sediment.
C)Salinity.
D)Distribution of seaweeds.
E)Light.
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Chapter 14: Coral Reefs
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Sample Questions
Q1) In addition to zooxanthellae,what is the other important primary producer in a coral reef?
A)Turf algae
B)Benthic diatoms
C)Kelps
D)Coralline algae
E)Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae)
Q2) Reef-building corals are classified as:
A)Zooxanthellae.
B)Metamorphic.
C)Ametamorphic.
D)Hermatypic.
E)Ahermatypic.
Q3) A toxicity that can develop when herbivorous fish ingest too many dinoflagullates is:
A)Obligate symbiosis.
B)Parasitosis.
C)Undulate fever.
D)Ciguatera.
E)Tularemia.
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Page 16
Chapter 15: Life Near the Surface
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Sample Questions
Q1) Most animals in the epipelagic are omnivores.This means that they eat:
A)Producers and consumers.
B)Part of the neuston.
C)Zooplankton only.
D)Detritus.
E)Phytoplankton only.
Q2) Zooplankton that migrate vertically:
A)Hibernate at night and feed during the day.
B)Feed at the surface during the day,and migrate below the photic zone at night.
C)Feed in the photic zone during the day,and migrate to the surface at night.
D)Stay below the photic zone during the day,and feed at the surface at night.
E)Migrate up and down but always stay below the photic zone.
Q3) Where is the rate of primary production the least?
A)Coasts
B)Upwelling along coasts
C)In the middle of the current gyres
D)Around Antarctica in the summer
E)Along the Equator
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17
Chapter 16: The Ocean Depths
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Sample Questions
Q1) Hermaphroditism and male parasitism is most common in:
A)Fishes.
B)Tube worms.
C)Clams.
D)Crabs.
E)Shrimp.
Q2) The condition that creates the largest problem for animals in the deep sea:
A)Salinity changes.
B)Temperature changes.
C)Pressure changes.
D)Food availability.
Q3) Which of these groups of planktonic organisms would be least likely to be living in the mesopelagic?
A)Arrow worms
B)Ostracots
C)Copepods
D)Diatoms
E)Pteropods
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Chapter 17: Resources From the Sea
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Sample Questions
Q1) The maximum sustainable yield is best defined as the:
A)Highest catch that can be taken without overfishing.
B)Maximum fishing effort allowed after overfishing is reached.
C)Highest catch that will pay the minimum cost of the fishing effort.
D)Minimum catch that will still allow the population to grow.
E)The annual size of the catch that will balance natural death and predation.
Q2) A fishery is regarded as collapsed when catches fall below what percent of historic high catches?
A)50%
B)40%
C)30%
D)20%
E)10%
Q3) Potential sources of energy that can be obtained from the sea include all of the following except:
A)Tides.
B)Waves.
C)Currents.
D)Differences in temperature between deep and shallow water.
E)Polymetallic nodules.
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Chapter 18: The Impact of Humans on the Marine Environment
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Q1) Sludge is best defined as:
A)Raw sewage.
B)Semi-liquid material that results from sewage treatment.
C)Industrial sewage.
D)Water removed during sewage treatment.
E)Decay bacteria in sewage.
Q2) Furans are pollutants that belong among the:
A)PCBs.
B)Chlorinated hydrocarbons.
C)Heavy metals.
D)Thermal pollutants.
E)Radioactive wastes.
Q3) Sustainable development refers to development that:
A)Remains stable year after year.
B)Safeguards natural resources for future generations of people.
C)Does not alter ocean currents,salinity or any other physical or chemical factors in the environment.
D)Does not significantly affect the growth of wildlife.
E)Changes depending on the importance given by future generations of the use of particular resources.
Page 20
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Chapter 19: The Oceans and Human Affairs
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Q1) Which of the following duties may be performed by the Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage?
A)Construct intercontinental agreements to protect biodiversity
B)Develop clear sea travel routes using current gyres
C)Monitor the effects of climate change on ocean life
D)Coordinate efforts related to handling of maritime archeology and ship wreck exploration
E)Monitor and recommend changes to worldwide fishing quotas
Q2) Perhaps the most remarkable example of reclamation of land from the sea bottom is found in:
A)France.
B)China.
C)Italy.
D)The Netherlands.
E)Norway.
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21