Ecology of Marine Systems
Chapter Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Ecology of Marine Systems explores the complex interactions among organisms and their physical environments within marine ecosystems. The course examines the biological, chemical, and physical factors shaping life in oceans and coastal areas, including topics such as food webs, nutrient cycling, primary productivity, and the adaptations of marine organisms to different habitats. Human impacts on marine systems, such as pollution, overfishing, and climate change, are discussed alongside strategies for conservation and sustainable management of marine resources. Students gain an understanding of both the diversity of marine life and the intricate ecological processes that maintain healthy ocean environments.
Recommended Textbook
Introduction to Marine Biology 4th Edition by George Karleskint
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Chapter 1: Science and Marine Biology
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Q1) Marine biology is the study of:
A) the living organisms that inhabit the sea.
B) the oceans and their phenomena.
C) the oceans and living organisms.
D) the chemical makeup of the oceans.
E) biogeochemical processes.
Answer: A
Q2) Fridtjof Nansen
A)Voyage of the Beagle
B)American-led marine biology expeditions
C)Challenger expedition
D)expedition to the North Pole
Answer: D
Q3) Fridtjof Nansen contributed greatly to our knowledge of the Arctic regions.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Ecology
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Q1) Habitat refers to where an organism:
A) lives.
B) feeds.
C) reproduces.
D) forages.
E) All of the above.
Answer: E
Q2) The largest group and most important marine photosynthetic organisms are:
A) kelp.
B) seagrasses.
C) macroalgae.
D) phytoplankton.
E) giant kelps.
Answer: D
Q3) CO<sub>2</sub>
A)Hydrologic
B)Carbon
C)Nitrogen
Answer: B
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Geology of the Ocean
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Q1) A flat expanse of an ocean basin is called:
A) a seamount.
B) an abyssal plain.
C) an abyssal hills.
D) an abyssal prairie.
E) an underwater delta.
Answer: B
Q2) Bathygraphic features are features associated with land.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Why is continental crust much older than oceanic crust? Explain in terms of continental drift.
Answer: Continents do not sink in subduction zones. Rather, when two continents collide, they cause uplifting of the Earth to form mountain ranges. As a result, continents are much older.
Q4) Faults are regions where lithospheric plates are moving toward one another.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Page 5
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Chapter 4: Water, Waves, and Tides
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Q1) The salinity of seawater at the poles is:
A) high due to evaporation.
B) low due to precipitation.
C) high due to freezing.
D) low due to river input.
E) similar to the open ocean.
Q2) Forced wave
A)no longer influenced by wind from a storm
B)wind generated and restored by gravity
C)increasing in size due to winds from a storm
Q3) The property of water whereby molecules tend to stick to objects is called:
A) cohesion.
B) surface tension.
C) dissolving ability.
D) adhesion.
E) viscosity.
Q4) What is capillary action of water and how does it occur?
Q5) Define the term "evaporite".
Q6) Describe the physical factors involved in the layering of the oceans.
Q7) List the most abundant ions in seawater, from most to least abundant.
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Chapter 5: Biological Concepts
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Q1) Flagella
A)protects DNA
B)energy powerhouse
C)selects what enters the cell
D)propels cell through liquids
Q2) Structural proteins
A)muscle
B)biological catalysts
C)semi-rigid body parts of animals
Q3) How are the processes of artificial selection and natural selection similar and how are they different?
Q4) Evolution
A)Only populations
B)Only individuals
C)Individuals and populations
Q5) Sucrose
A)glucose & fructose
B)basic fuel for living cells
C)glucose & glucose
Q6) What is a gene? How are genes involved in the evolutionary process?
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Marine Microbes
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Q1) A structure formed from the combination of cyanobacterial microbes and sediments is called:
A) a coral reef.
B) a bacteria reef.
C) a stromatolite.
D) a stalactite.
E) a stalagmite.
Q2) The pigment ____ is commonly found in bacteria but not land plants.
A) chlorophyll a
B) chlorophyll b
C) xanthophyll
D) phycocyanin
E) carotene.
Q3) Toxic dinoflagellates can directly harm other organisms during bloom periods by secreting their toxins in the water or by being consumed and concentrated in the tissues of filter-feeding organisms. Can you think of ways in which blooms of non-toxic dinoflagellates may harm other organisms in the water?
Q4) Briefly describe 3 ecological roles of viruses.
Q5) Describe the feeding behavior and biology of amoeboid protozoans.
Q6) What is diatomaceous earth? How is it used commercially?
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Multicellular Primary Producers
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Q1) The following are all main points of the article Seaweeds and Medicine, except:
A) Seaweeds have been used for thousands of years for therapeutic purposes.
B) Vitamin C, iodine, and agar are substances found in seaweeds.
C) Phycocolloids are used in the pharmaceutical and biomedical industries.
D) It is extremely expensive to extract useful substances from seaweeds.
Q2) Seagrasses
A)Stipe and blade
B)Aerenchyme
C)Filamentous
D)Pelagic
Q3) Those green algae that have large cells with multiple nuclei are termed:
A) multinucleate.
B) coenocytic.
C) entronucleate.
D) diploid.
E) haploid.
Q4) What are at least 3 adaptations of salt marsh plants for withstanding salty conditions?
Q5) Describe the life cycle of the giant kelp (Macrocystis), including both the gametophyte and sporophyte stages.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Lower Invertebrates
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Sample Questions
Q1) Sponges feed on attached algae.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Common octocorals are the:
A) sea pens.
B) gorgonians.
C) sea anemones.
D) fire corals.
E) sea nettles.
Q3) A sponge body type consisting of one spongocoel having many folds is called:
A) asconoid.
B) syconoid.
C) leuconoid.
D) hexactinellida.
E) demospongoid.
Q4) Porifera
A)bilateral symmetry
B)many types are asymmetric
C)radially symmetric
Q5) What are 2 functions of naturally produced chemical defenses in sponges?
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Higher Invertebrates
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Sample Questions
Q1) Many gastropods have external shells composed of:
A) two valves.
B) eight overlapping valves.
C) a series of internal chambers.
D) one valve.
E) chitin.
Q2) Which is not a typical food item for polychaetes?
A) live capture of fish
B) live capture of invertebrates
C) detritus
D) suspension feeding on plankton
Q3) Epitokes of polychaetes are:
A) feeding structures.
B) respiratory structures.
C) reproductive individuals.
D) excretory structures.
E) feeding individuals.
Q4) Why is it especially important that some echinoderms, like the sea stars, maintain an aboral surface free of debris and settling larvae?
Q5) Describe the symbiotic relationships of tube-dwelling and burrowing worms.
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Chapter 10: Marine Fishes
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Sample Questions
Q1) The forward thrust of swimming sharks is created by:
A) the pectoral fins.
B) the pelvic fins.
C) the dorsal fin.
D) the caudal fin.
E) the anal fin.
Q2) What advantage does bright coloration confer upon venomous fishes?
Q3) The claspers of cartilaginous fishes are used for:
A) clasping onto prey.
B) clasping onto the sediment.
C) reproduction.
D) propulsion.
E) balance.
Q4) Pigments
A)iridophores
B)chromataphores
C)obliterative
Q5) Outline how bony fish regulate their osmotic balance lower than the salinity of the surrounding seawater.
Page 12
Q6) How does human activity drastically affect the reproductive success of salmon?
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Chapter 11: Reptiles and Birds
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Q1) Birds
A)Four-chambered heart
B)Plastron
C)Lost limbs
D)Gular pouch
Q2) Loggerhead Sea Turtle
A)Conches, clams, crabs
B)Jellyfish
C)Seagrasses
D)Sponges
Q3) Puffins
A)Aerial pursuit
B)Pursuit diving underwater with feet as propulsion
C)Surface plunging
D)Pursuit diving underwater with wings as propulsion
Q4) Many sea snakes have adapted to a completely marine existence. What are 3 adaptations of sea snakes that have allowed this lifestyle?
Q5) Compare the worldwide distribution of seabirds to that of marine reptiles. Which is more widely distributed at all latitudes? Why do you think this is so?
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Chapter 12: Marine Mammals
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Q1) Adaptations for deep diving in cetaceans include all the following except:
A) expelling air from the lungs.
B) large lungs with large number of air sacs.
C) rib cage that can collapse.
D) sonar for detecting the depth.
E) high red blood cell count
Q2) Sea lions and seals belong to the suborder:
A) Carnivora.
B) Sirenia.
C) Cetacea.
D) Pinnipedia.
E) Odontoceti.
Q3) The cetacean body is covered with fine hairs.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Toothed whales use low frequency clicks to make out the outline of potential prey.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Why must sea otters consume 25% of their body weight in food every day?
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Chapter 13: Intertidal Communities
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Q1) Unlike rocky beaches, sandy beaches have vertical zonation of organisms that live in the sediment.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Barnacles such as Balanus are most common in the ____ zone of the rocky intertidal.
A) upper midlittoral
B) middle midlittoral
C) lower midlittoral
D) subtidal
E) splash
Q3) White zone
A)Fuzzy chiton
B)Knobby periwinkle
C)Nerites
Q4) Infralittoral fringe
A)Laminaria
B)Lichens
C)Rockweeds
Q5) List at least 3 adaptations of rocky intertidal animals to resist desiccation.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Estuaries
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Sample Questions
Q1) What causes tidal overmixing in estuaries?
A) strong tidal currents.
B) strong river flow.
C) an unstable water column.
D) downwelling.
E) animal migrations.
Q2) Estuaries are immune from larger temperature variations.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Tectonic
A)glacial formed
B)land movement
C)inter-glacial periods
Q4) The energy base on mud flats is:
A) phytoplankton.
B) detritus.
C) marsh plants.
D) algae.
E) chemosynthesis.
Q5) Outline 3 human uses of estuaries that impact their ecology.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Coral Reef Communities
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe at least 3 physical factors that limit coral reef distribution.
Q2) Elkhorn coral
A)reef crest
B)calm areas
C)reef front
D)deep areas
Q3) Fringing
A)[shore-reef]
B)[reef-lagoon-reef]
C)[shore-lagoon-reef]
Q4) Parrotfish
A)buries into sand
B)retreat into crevices for the night
C)sudsy mucus
D)mucus envelope
Q5) Black band
A)affects only certain species of Montastraea
B)combination of bacteria and cyanobacteria
C)kills elkhorn corals
Q6) What are the three categories of coral reefs and how do they develop?
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Chapter 16: Continental Shelves and Neritic Zone
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Q1) Whelks
A)feed on other molluscs
B)damage kelp by burrowing into holdfast
C)builds fecal mounds
Q2) Kelps are a major source of detritus to kelp forest dwellers.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Patchiness of the soft-bottom benthos is a result of:
A) uneven distribution of food.
B) uneven distribution of sediments on the bottom.
C) low concentrations of nutrients on the bottom.
D) uneven distribution of predators.
Q4) Describe how population size of lobsters affects the extent of kelp forests on the North Atlantic coast of North America.
Q5) Epibenthic
A)sandy bottom
B)muddy bottom
C)hard bottom
Q6) Describe 3 adaptations of benthic fishes for living on the continental shelf.
Q7) Briefly describe the ecological importance of coastal seas.
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Chapter 17: The Open Sea
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Q1) Bacteria play an insignificant role in the pelagic realm.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Squids are dominant nektonic predators in the open ocean.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Nanoplankton
A)0.02 \(\mu\)m
B)2.0 \(\mu\)m
C)0.2\(\mu\)m
Q4) Common megaplankton of the open ocean include all but A) cnidarians.
B) mollusks.
C) gelatinous zooplankton.
D) diatoms.
E) salps.
Q5) Mesozooplankton
A)copepods
B)krill
C)foraminiferans
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Chapter 18: Life in the Oceans Depths
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Q1) Alvin
A)bathyscaphe
B)ROV
C)manned submersible
Q2) Describe at least 3 functions of bioluminescence in deep-sea fishes.
Q3) Deepest regions
A)tiny, only slightly functional
B)small and less functional
C)large - tubular
Q4) All of the following are involved in light production of bioluminescent bacteria except:
A) luciferin.
B) luciferase.
C) cellulose.
D) oxygen.
Q5) Anglerfish
A)attract prey
B)confuse predator
C)mate selection
Q6) What physical features characterize the deep sea? Describe three factors.
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Chapter 19: Harvesting the Oceans Resources
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Q1) Sustainable resources
A)oil and gas
B)renewable resources
C)non-renewable resources
Q2) Caution
A)mahi-mahi
B)salmon-natural caught
C)farmed Atlantic salmon
Q3) Oil and natural gas are predominantly composed of the remains of
A) multicellular animals.
B) phytoplankton.
C) fungi.
D) multicellular plants.
E) gelatinous zooplankton.
Q4) Polyculture
A)hatchery reared juveniles
B)carp and mullet ponds in Israel
C)Atlantic salmon pens
Q5) Describe the impact of the incidental catch of the U.S. trawl fishery on marine ecosystems.
21
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Chapter 20: Oceans in Jeopardy
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Q1) Eutrophication occurs when
A) species diversity increases.
B) coliform bacteria counts go up.
C) nutrient levels decline.
D) nutrient levels increase.
E) sea surface temperature decreases.
Q2) The community effect of oil pollution is
A) increased biomass.
B) reduced diversity.
C) longer food chains.
D) increased trophic complexity.
E) greater stability.
Q3) Eutrophication
A)prevention and treatment of urban run-off
B)treatment of sewage
C)phasing out production of single-use plastic items
Q4) Organic wastes
A)chlorinated toxin
B)heavy metal
C)garbage
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