UQ Marine Bio Flashcards
T/F: All oceans are connected and in constant ciruclation
True
Name 3 barriers to water exchange
Salinity
Temperature
Depth
What does pelagic zone refer to?
Basic water column in the ocean
What does benthic zone refer to?
the lowest level of a body of water
T/F: australia has large continental shelves that support growth of marine ecosystems (i.e. coral reefs)
True
Surface circulation are driven by winds that are deflected by ____
the rotation of the earth
Name the two CCW gyres of straya
East aussie current EAC
Leeuwin current
What does the EAC drag to australia? What happens to it eventually?
It drags warm wair (warm water) and then it eventaully pinches off into warm water eddies
Describe the waters of eddies (made by the EAC)
clear warm water that is low in nutrients
What does the Leeuwin current flow and what does it do?
Western Australia and brings warm water down past Perth
How deep is the photic zone?
about 200 meters deep
3 mechanisms for wave creation
gravity (tides)
wind
seismic (tsunami)
Size range for sand
2 mm to 62.5 microns
3 mechanisms for sediment transport in the water column
suspension (light particles in water)
bouncing/saltation
rolling
Describe longshore transport of sand (in near-shore currents)
tide rolls in pulls sand out rolls in again little farther down deposits previous sand (all in direction of the wind down the shore)
Sediment composition (mix) depends on what 2 factors?
current velocity
wave energy
How does sediment influence water?
Movement of water chemical interactions (ie. burrowing, bioturbation, binding, baffling)
T/F: Reef sediments are a mix of abiotic and biogenic deposits
FALSE - completely biogenic
How does the cyclic immersion and emersion influence organisms?
influences feeding and reproduction
In respect to orientations of the moon/sun, what position are they in a spring tide? in a neap tide?
spring = sun/moon lined up with each other neap = moon and sun make a right angle with Earth
Name the groups related to these terms:
microalgae
macroalgae
angiosperms (3)
phytoplankton
seaweed
3: seagrasses, mangroves, saltmarshes
What is primary productivity?
rate at which photosynthesis performs
Gross primary productivity =
Net photosynthesis =
total photosynthesis
photosynthesis - respiration (light rxn-dark rxn)
What is the most abundant microalgae? (common and scientific name). What percent of the worlds primary productivity do they have?
Diatoms (Bacillariophyta)
20-25%
What are the two shapes of diatoms?
Pennate (plane-based: rod like) and centric (orb)
Where do the pennate diatoms reside? Centric?
Benthic pennate
pelagic centric
Group responsible for red tides and also symbiotic relationships with anemone/coral
Dinoflagellates (Dinophyta)
What are rhodophyta and where do they reside?
Red macroalgae
Predominantly marine
What is the importance of Rhodophytes?
- source of food (Nori)
- high vitamin/protein content
- easy cultivation
- has many uses