Marine Bio Quiz 3

Question 1

Pinniped

Answer 1

an aquatic, fin-footed animal, such as a sea lion, walrus, or seal

Question 2

swim bladder

Answer 2

a soft air-filled sac near the spinal column in many fishes that helps maintain buoyancy

Question 3

lateral line

Answer 3

sensitive receptor system that enables fish to detect gentle currents and vibrations in the water

Question 4

operculum

Answer 4

A protective flap that covers the gills of marine creatures

Question 5

lunger

Answer 5

Fish (such as grouper) that sit motionless on the ocean floor waiting for prey to appear. A lunger uses quick bursts of speed over short distances to capture prey.

Question 6

crusier

Answer 6

Fish (such as the bluefin tuna) that constantly cruise pelagic waters in search of food.

Question 7

myoglobin

Answer 7

An oxygen-storing, pigmented protein in muscle cells.

Question 8

Cetacean

Answer 8

a member of the order of marine mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises

Question 9

overfishing

Answer 9

harvesting fish to the point that species are depleted and the value of the fishery reduced

Question 10

Otariidae

Answer 10

an example of an “eared seal” are sea lions

Question 11

Phocidae

Answer 11

“true seals”

Question 12

Odontoceti

Answer 12

suborder of cetacean called “toothed whales,” such as dolphins, porpoises, orcas

Question 13

Mysticeti

Answer 13

suborder of cetacean called “baleen whales” such as humpbacks, minke, and gray whales

Question 14

echolocation

Answer 14

the process of using reflected sound waves to find objects; used mostly by the toothed whales

Question 15

Melon

Answer 15

fatty organ found in the forehead of all toothed whales used to process sound for echolocation

Question 16

baleen

Answer 16

thin plates that hang from upper part of a whales mouth, used for straining out water to get krill and plankton

Question 17

mammalian dive reflex

Answer 17

Most highly developed in marine mammals and triggered by cold water to face. To prevent mammals drowning.
-Bradycardia (slowing of the heart rate)
-Peripheral vasoconstriction (blood limited to important organs)
*Blood concentrated in viscera and brain

Question 18

Spectrogram

Answer 18

a graphic representation of the three major parameters that describe the acoustic characteristic of any sound: time, frequency, and intensity

Question 19

What adaptations do fish (and other pelagic organisms) have to stay afloat and/or control their position in the water column?

Answer 19

Rigid gas containers or swim bladder

Question 20

What are the general features of fish?

Answer 20

pelvic and pectoral fins for steering and breaking
Dorsal and anal fin for stability
Lateral line helping with schooling
Operculum (gill governing)

Question 21

Describe the diversity of fin shapes in fish and how the shape of the fins (form) influences their mobility (function)

Answer 21

Rounded - are flexible and useful for accelerating and maneuvering at slow speeds.
Truncated - moderately flexible, good for propulsion and maneuvering
Forked - faster fish, moderately rigid and better for propulsion and maneuvering
Lunate - fast cruising fish, rigid, useless for maneuvering, efficient propulsion
Heterocercal - very rigid, tremendous lift, sacrifice maneuverability are swim in board circles.

Question 22

What adaptations and strategies do fish (and other pelagic organisms) have for seeking prey?

Answer 22

Lungers (wait patiently for prey), truncate caudal fins for speed and maneuverability, white muscle tissue
Cruisers (actively seek prey), red tissue (longer fibers and higher myoglobin with affinity for oxygen

Question 23

What adaptations and strategies do fish (and other pelagic organisms) have to avoid predators?

Answer 23

Warm-blooded have more efficient metabolic rates, are faster, and physiological processes.
Schooling and symbiosis (commensalism - smaller of less dominate participant benefits without harming the host, mutualism - both participants benefit , parasitism - one participant benefits at the expense of the host)

Question 24

What are some key characteristics of marine mammals?

Answer 24

Warm-blooded, breath air, hair/fur, bear live young, females produce milk

Question 25

What adaptations do pinnipeds have to survive and thrive in the marine environment?

Answer 25

Skin-covered flippers make them well-adapted for propelling through water, and special wavy whiskers for moving through the water

Question 26

What are the defining characteristics of a pinniped & what are some representative species from each?

Answer 26

What’s a pinniped? (feather/wing - foot: fin-footed animal)
Odobenidae (walrus), otariidae (sea lion), phocidae (seals).

Question 27

How can you distinguish a seal from a sea lion?

Answer 27

Seals lack prominent ear flaps, have less prominent front flippers. Seals have longer, prominent claws and different hips structure. They do not move around well on land (unlike sea lions who can walk).
Their mating strategies differ, and so does their way of swimming. (Sea lions propel themselves through the water using their front flippers)

Question 28

How can you distinguish a Steller sea lion from a California sea lion?

Answer 28

California Smaller than Stellers.
CSL are less fuzzy, with a sagittal crest on their forehead (tuff of blond hair). Stellers are much bigger, coloration is different. Stellers are redder and have a blunt snout. Steller sea lions low grunts and growls, they also have a main. California sea lions: loud and eye pitched. California is darker in color and smaller.

Question 29

What is a cetacean and how do they differ from pinnipeds?
What adaptation do cetaceans have to survive and thrive in the marine environment?

Answer 29

Cetacean - whales, dolphins, porpoise
Streamlined bodies, elongated skull with blowhole on top, lack hair and sweat glands, blubber and horizontal fluke.
Echolocation

Question 30

What are the two major orders of cetaceans? What are some defining features and representative species for each?

Answer 30

Mysticeti (baleen whales) - two blowholes, baleen, no echolocation
Humpback, Minke Whale, Gray Whale: 40-45ft

Odontoceti (toothed whales) - one blowhole, teeth, rely on echolocation
Dall’s porpoise, Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lags), Killer whales

Question 31

How can you distinguish a porpoise from a dolphin?

Answer 31

Porpoises are smaller, more stout body shapes. Blunt snout and smaller, more triangular dorsal fin. (Dolphin dorsal fin: falcate). They have differently shaped teeth.

Question 32

How does the feeding strategies of mysticete whales compare to odontocetes?

Answer 32

Mysticeti (baleen whales) filter feed through their baleen. Odontoceti (toothed whales) can swallow prey whole.

Question 33

How does echolocation work?

Answer 33

Very long explanation for the nerds: phonic lips and air sacs. Compress sacs to vibrate tissue and make sounds. Sounds pass through fatty organs: the melon. Sound reflects off surroundings and deflects back to lower jaw. Sound travels through the fatty lower jaw and reaches the inner ear, passing through an organ that sends sound to the brain.

For the people who can remember that much bs: air sacs, phonic lips, the melon, lower jaw, brain

Question 34

What adaptations do marine mammals have to stay underwater for long periods of time?

Answer 34

INCREASING OXYGEN STORES
thicker blood, more hemoglobin (higher blood volume, more red blood cells), myoglobin (more oxygen in the muscles), efficient lungs

USE OXYGEN EFFICIENTLY
Strong peripheral vasoconstriction (more blood to core), extreme bradycardia (slowing of the heart rate), reduced metabolism, Mammalian dive reflex

Question 35

What role does sound play in the lives of marine mammals?

Answer 35

Effecting hunting and communication (predator-prey interactions). Echolocation. Orienting self. Identification and used to avoid inbreeding.
You can’t see underwater (murky), sound travels 4x times faster.