Marine Ecology
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Course Introduction
Marine Ecology explores the complex interactions among organisms and their environments in the ocean, encompassing habitats from coastal shorelines to the deep sea. This course examines the ecological processes that shape the structure and dynamics of marine communities, including nutrient cycling, energy flow, and food web interactions. Students will analyze the adaptations of marine organisms to their physical and biological environments, investigate the impacts of human activities such as pollution and climate change, and discuss conservation strategies for marine biodiversity. Through lectures, case studies, and practical activities, students gain a comprehensive understanding of the principles and current issues in marine ecology.
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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Sample Questions
Q1) The following marine biologist was aboard the HMS Beagle in 1831:
A) Edward Forbes.
B) Charles Wyville Thomson.
C) Alexander Agassiz.
D) Charles Darwin.
E) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.
Answer: D
Q2) The thinking process of drawing specific statements from a general principle or idea is called:
A) scientific method.
B) deductive reasoning.
C) inductive reasoning.
D) logical reasoning.
E) logical-positivist reasoning.
Answer: B
Q3) Deductive reasoning
A)an orderly pattern of gathering and analyzing information
B)proposing general explanations from a few observations
C)proposing specific explanations from a general principle
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: Fundamentals of Ecology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Osmoconforming animals, such as the spider crab, that live in the open ocean show little ability to withstand large variations in salinity, while coastal animals, such as the closely related fiddler crab, show great ability to withstand large salinity changes. Explain why this is the case, considering the relevant abiotic features of both habitats. Answer: In the open ocean where the spider crab lives, salinity does not change drastically. Therefore, these animals do not need adaptations that allow them to withstand salinity changes. In contrast, the fiddler crab lives in muddy coastal estuarine areas where salinity fluctuates greatly. These animals have adaptations that allow them to survive in hyposaline or hypersaline waters.
Q2) The movement of water across a membrane in response to a gradient of solute concentration is called:
A) salinity.
B) osmosis.
C) solubility.
D) diffusion.
E) pressure. Answer: B
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Chapter 3: Geology of the Ocean
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Sample Questions
Q1) Continental slope
A)landscape change between components of the continental margin
B)transition to the deep ocean floor
C)shallow extensions of the continents
D)gentle slope beyond the shelf break
Answer: B
Q2) Inner Core
A)dense, hot, rich in iron and nickel
B)granite or basalt
C)magnesium - iron silicates
Answer: A
Q3) Lithosphere
A)liquid mantle
B)upper mantle and crust
C)floats on the mantle
Answer: B
Q4) Seamounts are formed from underwater volcanoes.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Page 5
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Chapter 4: Water, Waves, and Tides
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Sample Questions
Q1) Capillary waves are small.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Tsunamis are usually:
A) deep-water waves.
B) shallow-water waves.
C) wind waves.
D) capillary waves.
E) the result of winter storms.
Q3) Shallowater wave
A)a wave that bends
B)water depth <a wave's length
C)water depth >a wave's length
Q4) The pH scale is a measure of:
A) how many degrees a professor has.
B) the temperature of water.
C) concentration of hydrogen ion in a volume of solution.
D) concentration of hydroxide ions in a volume of solution.
Q5) What is capillary action of water and how does it occur?
Q6) Define the term "evaporite".
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Chapter 5: Biological Concepts
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Sample Questions
Q1) Mitochondrion
A)protects DNA
B)energy powerhouse
C)selects what enters the cell
D)propels cell through liquids
Q2) Genetic information is translated into ____, which direct(s) the chemical activity of an organism.
A) DNA
B) carbohydrates
C) lipids
D) proteins
E) inorganic material.
Q3) Random genetic change
A)Only populations
B)Only individuals
C)Individuals and populations
Q4) What processes gave rise to the reproductive isolation between Caribbean and Pacific marine organisms on either side of Central America? Discuss both biotic and abiotic processes in your answer.
Q5) Briefly describe at least 4 levels of biological organization in organisms.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Marine Microbes
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Sample Questions
Q1) You are a virologist studying a particularly pathogenic virus that infects sea turtles. In the course of your research, you discover that the virus is destroyed by a protein-digesting enzyme. The structure most vulnerable to this enzyme must be the viral
A) membrane.
B) envelope.
C) DNA.
D) capsid.
Q2) The deposits of the following phytoplankton are used commercially in polishes and filtering devices:
A) dinoflagellates.
B) foraminiferans.
C) coccolithophores.
D) diatoms.
E) radiolarians.
Q3) Diatoms
A)disc-shaped calcareous scales
B)membranous sacs
C)silicon frustules
Q4) What is the importance of nitrogen-fixation to autotrophic organisms?
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Multicellular Primary Producers
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Sample Questions
Q1) All of the following are hydrophytes except:
A) turtle grass.
B) Zostera.
C) surf grass.
D) cordgrass.
Q2) What advantage does phycoerythrin confer upon red algae?
Q3) What is the dominant photosynthetic pigment found in all types of algae?
A) Chlorophyll b
B) Chlorophyll c
C) Chlorophyll a
D) Phycoerythrin
E) Chlorophyll d
Q4) Seagrasses do not produce pollen.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Marsh plants
A)Culms
B)Pneumatophores
C)Rhizomes
Q6) What are two functions of mucilage in algae?
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Lower Invertebrates
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Sample Questions
Q1) Cnidarians
A)Proboscis
B)Nematocysts
C)Collar cells
Q2) Turbellarians detect small prey items using chemoreceptors.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Ctenophora
A)bilateral symmetry
B)many types are asymmetric
C)radially symmetric
Q4) A flagellated cell involved in bringing water into the spongocoel of sponges is called a(n):
A) spicule.
B) choanocyte.
C) osculum.
D) ostium.
E) pinocyte.
Q5) What are 2 functions of naturally produced chemical defenses in sponges?
Q6) What characteristics of sponges allow sexual reproduction by fragmentation?
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Chapter 9: Higher Invertebrates
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Sample Questions
Q1) The lancelet looks like a fish but is considered an invertebrate because it:
A) lacks lungs.
B) lacks a nerve cord.
C) lacks a backbone.
D) both b and c
Q2) Polyplacophora
A)eight plates
B)head foot
C)stomach foot
D)gills strain seawater to collect plankton
Q3) Echinodermata
A)benthic filter feeders; live as infauna
B)all types of feeding represented
C)benthic filter feeders; live as epifauna
Q4) The invertebrate phylum having the greatest species diversity is Arthropoda.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are the 2 main anatomical adaptations that contributed to the evolutionary success of arthropods?
Page 11
Q6) Describe the method by which nautiloids regulate their buoyancy.
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Chapter 10: Marine Fishes
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Sample Questions
Q1) Sequential
A)Changing from females to males
B)Having both male and female gonads simultaneously
C)Changing from males to females
D)Changing from one sex to another
Q2) The following are all main points about toxic fish poisoning except:
A) ciguatera poisoning is not usually fatal.
B) ciguatera is due to blooms of dinoflagellates.
C) puffer fish poisoning can be fatal.
D) there are safe and effective antidotes for ciguatera poisoning.
Q3) Bright colors
A)blend with environment
B)aposematic
C)vertical lines/eyestripes
Q4) Hagfish are caught commercially for their
A) oil.
B) mucus.
C) meat.
D) hide.
E) scales.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Reptiles and Birds
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Sample Questions
Q1) Flatback Sea Turtle
A)Invertebrates and seaweeds
B)Sponges
C)Invertebrates and fish
D)Jellyfish
Q2) Terns, skuas and jaegers are all related to the ____ group.
A) gull
B) pelican
C) tubenose
D) penguin
E) shorebird
Q3) Which of the following is not generally considered to have contributed to the success of reptiles on land and in the sea?
A) amniotic egg
B) skin covered by scales
C) specialized copulatory organs
D) ventral nerve cord
E) efficient kidneys
Q4) Outline at least 3 of the causes that have led to all the sea turtles being listed as endangered species.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Marine Mammals
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Sample Questions
Q1) Male animals that mate with and control more than one female at a time are called:
A) hermaphroditic.
B) heterogenous.
C) polygynous.
D) androgynous.
E) monogamous.
Q2) List the 3 major groups of baleen whales and give their major features.
Q3) Whales
A)Fur
B)Fur and fat
C)Blubber
Q4) 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
Q5) Compare sirenians and cetaceans, describing 4 ways that they are similar.
Q6) Why must sea otters consume 25% of their body weight in food every day?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Intertidal Communities
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Sample Questions
Q1) The organisms of the intertidal are subject to daily changes in all except:
A) exposure to air.
B) desiccation.
C) wind and waves.
D) low light levels.
E) heat.
Q2) List the zones that comprise rocky shores. Which of the zones would you expect to have the highest species diversity and which would have the lowest species diversity? Explain your answer.
Q3) Ghost crabs predominate in:
A) sandy supratidal.
B) sandy intertidal.
C) sandy subtidal.
D) rocky shores.
E) splash zones.
Q4) Exposed
A)plunging, surging
B)none
C)spilling
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) Why are estuarine environments ideal locations for the development of juveniles of many species of marine animals?
Q2) Which factor currently tends to regulate abundance of commercially valuable estuary species such as oysters and crabs?
A) Competition
B) Predation
C) Human activities
D) Normal seasonal die off
E) Disease
Q3) When dense seawater sinks below lighter fresh water we observe a condition called: A) downwelling.
B) salt wedge.
C) tidal overmixing.
D) upwelling.
E) convection current.
Q4) What horizontal part of an estuary would you expect to show the greatest species diversity?
Q5) Outline 3 human uses of estuaries that impact their ecology.
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Chapter 15: Coral Reef Communities
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Sample Questions
Q1) Fast-growing algae are prevented from out competing corals due to:
A) low nutrients inhibiting their growth.
B) grazing on algae by herbivores.
C) sensitivity to pressure increasing with depth.
D) damselfish activity.
E) b and d
Q2) Coral reefs form in areas where seawater temperatures average no less than:
A) 10° C.
B) 18° C.
C) 30° C.
D) 40° C.
E) 45° C.
Q3) Describe the process of reef formation, including the destructive and constructive phases.
Q4) Hermit crab
A)shelter
B)protective covering
C)cleaners
D)internal commensal
Q5) What are the three categories of coral reefs and how do they develop?
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Continental Shelves and Neritic Zone
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Sample Questions
Q1) Suspension
A)sandy bottom
B)muddy bottom
C)hard bottom
Q2) Larger baleen whales feed on:
A) demersal fish.
B) krill.
C) suspension feeders.
D) sea stars.
E) other marine mammals.
Q3) Laminaria is the genus of kelp that dominates in:
A) the Pacific coast.
B) the South Atlantic.
C) the Tropical Pacific.
D) the North Atlantic.
E) the Indian Ocean.
Q4) Epibenthic
A)sandy bottom
B)muddy bottom
C)hard bottom
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Chapter 17: The Open Sea
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Sample Questions
Q1) The most abundant plankton are the:
A) phytoplankton.
B) bacterioplankton.
C) viriplankton.
D) zooplankton.
E) macroplankton.
Q2) Mesoplankton
A)2.0 mm
B)0.02 mm
C)200 mm
D)20 mm
Q3) 3<sup>rd</sup> level consumer
A)krill
B)diatoms
C)copepods
D)squid
Q4) Pyrosomes are gelatinous zooplankton composed of a colony of individual pelagic tunicates.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 18: Life in the Oceans Depths
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe what is known about the lifespan of hydrothermal vent communities and how organisms may have adapted to these factors.
Q2) Describe at least 3 adaptations of deep-sea fishes for improving feeding efficiency.
Q3) A male fish that uses bright lights at the top of its tail fins to identify itself to females when breeding is a type of:
A) an anglerfish.
B) a lanternfish.
C) an opossum shrimp.
D) a viperfish.
E) a gulper eel.
Q4) Anglerfish
A)attract prey
B)confuse predator
C)mate selection
Q5) Abundance
A)number of individuals
B)number of species
C)how long a community persists
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Page 20
Chapter 19: Harvesting the Oceans Resources
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Sample Questions
Q1) How is salt extracted from the sea?
Q2) Desalination plants are currently in operation in several countries, providing inexpensive water for agricultural purposes.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Resources derived from microorganisms
A)oil and gas
B)renewable resources
C)non-renewable resources
Q4) In tropical areas about ____% of the mangroves remain.
A) 5
B) 10
C) 15
D) 35
E) 50
Q5) Avoid
A)mahi-mahi
B)salmon-natural caught
C)farmed Atlantic salmon
Q6) Describe at least 3 effects of mangrove destruction on marine habitats.
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Chapter 20: Oceans in Jeopardy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Coastal pollution
A)land runoff
B)jetties, breakwaters
C)draining and filling
Q2) DDT breaks down in the environment fairly quickly.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Medical waste
A)Fishing nets, buoys, and traps
B)Building materials
C)Food and beverage containers
D)Condoms and tampons
Q4) Sewage pollution is especially problematic in coastal areas
A) that are sparsely populated.
B) after drought.
C) after prolonged rains.
D) having fast moving currents.
Q5) Lead pollution has been on the rise since the 1970s.
A)True
B)False
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