Marine Animal Adaptations

Question 1

What principles is evolution by natural selection based on?

Answer 1

-Individuals that form a population of a species are not identical
-Some variation between individuals is inherited
-All populations could grow to a size that overwhelms the environment- but most individuals die before reproduction
-Different ancestors leave different numbers of descendants and do not all contribute equally to subsequent generations
(Townsend et al. 2008)

Question 2

What is the definition for an adaptation?

Answer 2

A trait that increases an individual’s reproductive success in a particular environment in comparison to individuals without that trait (Singer 2016)

Question 3

What is variations in species?

Answer 3

Variations in characteristics that can help or hurt an animal’s chance to survive

Question 4

How can variation affect an animal?

Answer 4

-Animals can adapt better to a new environment
-Allows an animal to blend into the environment
-Provides greater opportunity for an animal to reproduce

Question 5

Why must autotrophic organisms act a certain way in the photic zone?

Answer 5

-They must stay in the photic zone but cannot be too close to surface (photoinhibition)
-What depth that they can must effectively utilize available light

Question 6

What is compensation depth?

Answer 6

The depth at which primary production equals respiration

Question 7

What ways have diatoms adapted to floating in the water column?

Answer 7

-Aeration
-Turbulent mixing
-Viscosity

Question 8

Describe aeration

Answer 8

Gases becomes trapped in silicate tests

Question 9

Describe turbulent mixing

Answer 9

Transports phytoplankton within surface waters

Question 10

Describe viscosity

Answer 10

Buoyancy increases in denser media

Question 11

What are accessory pigments?

Answer 11

Accessory pigments are light-absorbing compounds, found in photosynthetic organisms (work with chlorophyll a)

Question 12

What has pigmentation in macroalgae adapted to do?

Answer 12

They have adapted to the photosynthetic opportunities underwater

Question 13

What are the two wavelengths of light that chlorophyll a absorb the most?

Answer 13

400-500 nm and 650 - 700 nm

Question 14

What wavelengths of light does chlorophyll b absorb the most?

Answer 14

400 - 500nm

Question 15

What wavelength range do caroteniods absorb?

Answer 15

400 - 500 nm

Question 16

What wavelengths does phycoerythrin absorb?

Answer 16

400 - 600 nm

Question 17

What wavelengths does phycocyanin absorb?

Answer 17

Highest absorbance at 600 nm

Question 18

What is green algae’s accessory pigment?

Answer 18

Chlorophyll b

Question 19

What is charophytes accessory pigment?

Answer 19

Chlorophyll b

Question 20

What is euglenoids accessory pigment?

Answer 20

Chlorophyll b

Question 21

What is brown algae’s accessory pigments?

Answer 21

Chlorophyll c1 + c2, Fucoxanthin

Question 22

What are the accessory pigments for yellow-brown or golden-brown algae?

Answer 22

Chlorophyll c1 + c2, fucoxanthin

Question 23

What are the accessory pigments for dinoflagellates?

Answer 23

Chlorophyll c2, Peridinin

Question 24

What are the accessory pigments for cryptomonads?

Answer 24

Chlorophyll c2, physcobilins

Question 25

What accessory pigments do red algae have?

Answer 25

Phycoerythrin, phycocyanin

Question 26

What are the accessory pigments for blue-green algae?

Answer 26

Phycocyanin, phycoerythrin

Question 27

Does red light have a lot of energy?

Answer 27

No, red has the lowest and violet has the higheest

Question 28

Why are red algae red?

Answer 28

Due to phycoerythrin

Question 29

Why can red algae survive deeper than other algae?

Answer 29

Due to phycoerythrin. This pigment has highest absorbance at 400 - 600 nm range. Blue light penetrates deepest in water. This allows red algae to photosynthesis deeper in the water

Question 30

Why is a large surface area advantageous for autotrophs?

Answer 30

Can achieve greater levels of nutrient diffusion

Question 31

How does access to nutrients affect phytoplankton?

Answer 31

-Most abundant where there are nutrients
-Nutrient levels are highest near coastal regions and upwelling areas
-Nutrients and waste products must pass through cell membrane