Marine Biology Terms

Question 1

Abrasion

Answer 1

(L:a/ab=towards/ away from;radere= to scrape) reduction in rock particle size by wearing away.

Question 2

Abyssal

Answer 2

(Gk:a=not;byssos=depth; plumbless depth) living between 4000-6000m, the abyssal zone.

Question 3

Acclimatization

Answer 3

(French:a= to;climat= climate) the adjustment of an organism to new living conditions.

Question 4

Acquired characters

Answer 4

(L:ac/ad=towards/for;quaerere=seek;acquirere= to obtain) variations in an organism caused by environment or activity but which is not inherited

Question 5

Adaptation

Answer 5

(L:ad=towards/for;aptus=fit) modification of an organism which fits it for its environment. Genetic of phenotypic response by individuals or populations to an environment, so as to enhance fitness.

Question 6

Adipose fin

Answer 6

(L:adipis= fat) small, lobelike fleshy fin.

Question 7

Aerobic

Answer 7

(Gk:aero=air;bios=life) using free oxygen in gaseaous or dissolved form, the opposite of anaerobic. In aerobic exercise or work, the organism takes up as much oxygen from its environment as it uses for producing the energy. Consequently, aerobic work can be sustained for long periods. Inanaerobicexercise, energy comes from processes that do not need oxygen, but which get exhausted quickly

Question 8

anaerobic

Answer 8

environments with little oxygen due to minimal bioturbation resulting in non productive mudflats in the environments around here.
(a=not + aeros+ bios) see aerobic.

Question 9

Aestivate

Answer 9

(L:aestus= heat;aestivare= to sleep through the summer heat, in a state of torpor) being dormant during summer or dry season, much likehibernationwhich is being dormant during winter.

Question 10

Agar

Answer 10

a polysaccharide obtained from the cell walls of some red algae. Used much the same as alginates

Question 11

Age structure

Answer 11

structure of a population determined by the age of individuals, as in human demographics.

Question 12

Agroecology

Answer 12

(agriculture+ecology) the study of agricultural land uses and practices in relation to their impact on soil, water and other resources

Question 13

alga/algae

Answer 13

(L:alga= water plant) the simple photosynthetic plants (uni or multi-cellular, not having specialised organs such as leaves, stems, and roots), found in seas and freshwater. Seemicroalgaeandmacroalgae.Algae= plural;algoralga= singular

Question 14

Alginates

Answer 14

(Malay word) gelatin-like substances extracted from seaweed. A salt or ester of alginic acid, an insoluble carbohydrate found in many brown seaweeds. They are used as thickeners, emulsifiers, stabilisers and gels in a wide range of food, biomedical and industrial products.

Question 15

Allee effect

Answer 15

Warder Allee observed that some species find it very difficult to breed successfully once the population falls below a certain number or density. Some species need to congregate in thousands, before the level of security by numbers, or physical excitement is reached to start reproducing. Most animals are not sexually active all year round, but need to be brought up to that state by interacting/courting with many others. It may explain the sudden demise of the passenger pigeon in the USA.

Question 16

Alleles

Answer 16

(Gk:allel= one another) alternative forms of the same gene which can mutate into each other. They lie on the same place on a particular chromosome and affect the same processes.

Question 17

Allelopathy

Answer 17

(Gk:allel= one another;pathos= suffering) the chemical inhibition of growth in one organism by another.

Question 18

Allopatric

Answer 18

(L:allo=other;patria= fatherland) referring to populations, species or other taxa occupying different and disjunct geographical regions. Allopatric organisms are also referred to asstraysorstragglers. They have arrived by accident, and do not form breeding populations.

Question 19

Alternation of generations

Answer 19

a form of lifecycle when a generation with sexual reproduction reproduces, not a similar generation , but an asexual one. This later then reproduces to give a sexual generation again. The alternating forms are often very different from one another. Alternation of generations occurs in both animals (e.g. jellyfish) and plants (e.g. ferns, seaweeds).

Question 20

Amphipod

Answer 20

(Gk:amphi= both;podos= foot) a small crustacean with sideways compressed abdomen and two kind of limb, like sand-hoppers. Common in sediments and seaweeds.

Question 21

Ampullae of Lorenzini

Answer 21

Flask-shaped electro-sensory organs that are found on the heads of sharks and rays, used to detect the weak electrical fields generated by other animals and by the shark’s movement through the earth’s magnetic field.

Question 22

Anadromous

Answer 22

(Gk:ana=up/back/again;dromos=running) fish running up a river to spawn (salmon). See alsocatadromous.

Question 23

Anal fin

Answer 23

(anal= relating to anus) single, unpaired fin positioned on the undersurface of a fish between the anus and the tail.

Question 24

Angiosperm

Answer 24

(Gk:angeion= vessel;sperma= seed) any plant producing flowers and reproducing by seeds enclosed within a carpel, including herbaceous plants, herbs, shrubs, grasses and most trees. A plant having its seed enclosed in an ovary. See alsogymnosperm.

Question 25

Anoxia

Answer 25

(Gk:a/an= not; +oxygen; oxus=sharp;-gen= born of; root ofgignomai= being born of) environmental condition in which there is no free dissolved oxygen.

Question 26

anthropogenic

Answer 26

(Gk:anthropos= human being;generare= to make/beget) created or accomplished by humans.

Question 27

Apatite

Answer 27

(Gk:apatit= deceit, referring to its many deceptive forms) a naturally occurring crystalline mineral of calcium, phosphate and fluoride, the basis of the bones of vertebrates (and humans), and used in ‘blood and bone’ fertiliser. Ca5.(PO4)3.OH

Question 28

Aphotic zone

Answer 28

(Gk;a=not;photos= light) deep sea area of inky blackness whre photosynthesis is not possible. Many organisms living here migrate upward during the night to feed from the euphotic and disphotic zones

Question 29

Appendage

Answer 29

Any considerable projection from the body of an animal. Paired appendages occur in, and are characteristic of, almost allvertebratesandarthropods.

Question 30

Aquaculture

Answer 30

The cultivation or rearing of aquatic plants or animals. Freshwater aquaculture is very much unlike marine aquaculture. Organisms are reared in ponds (Carp, Tilapia, Trout, Shrimp, Prawn). Marine aquaculture almost always happens in the open sea (Salmon, Oyster, Mussel, Scallops). These organisms prefer clean water. The farmer prefers sheltered water. Clear sheltered water is disappearing rapidly because of poor sewage and soil management, made worse by an accelerating growth in population. Farming salmon is detrimental to the environment and inefficient: a predator is raised on organic matter obtained from grazing animals (pig pellets); what rains down needs to be broken down by the environment. Oysters can grow in murky waters, right in the shallows of an estuary. Mussels need clean water with a good plankton supply in the current. Both feed on phytoplankton, thus recycling the nutrients from our sewage effluent and farm run-off. Mussels and Oysters are not only nutritious but also rich in minerals and trace elements.

Question 31

Aquifer

Answer 31

(L:aqua= water;ferre= to bear) a layer of rock that holds water and allows water to percolate through it, horizontally and vertically.

Question 32

Arboreal

Answer 32

(L:arbor=tree;arboreus= connected with tree) adapted for life and movement in trees.

Question 33

Artesian water

Answer 33

(French:Artois= an old French province) a water-bearing stratum lying beneath an impenetrable layer which, when tapped, rises by hydrostatic pressure. Such a water-bearing stratum is often lying at an angle.

Question 34

Arthropod

Answer 34

(Gk:arthron= joint;podos= foot) animal with a hard jointedexoskeletonand paired jointedappendages; a member of the largest phylum of animals in terms of numbers of species. Crabs, insects, spiders and centipedes are all arthropods.

Question 35

Ascidian

Answer 35

(Gk:askos= wine skin;askidion= small wineskin) a group of animals that includes seasquirts (Phylum Tunicata; Class Ascidiacea)

Question 36

Assimilation

Answer 36

(L:ad=for/toward;similis=like; absorption) conversion of digested and absorbed food into body material; growing.

Question 37

Autarchy

Answer 37

(Gk:auto=self;arkho= rule) absolute sovereignty or despotism.

Question 38

Autarkic

Answer 38

(Gk:auto=self;arkeo= to suffice) self-sufficient, especially as an economic system.

Question 39

Autochthonous

Answer 39

(Gk:auto=self;chthonos=earth) sprung from the earth. Native.

Question 40

Autochthons

Answer 40

The original or earliest known inhabitants of a country; aboriginals, natives.

Question 41

Autotrophic

Answer 41

(Gk:auto=self;trophos=feeder; self-feeding) independent of outside sources of food. Most plants containingchlorophyllare autotrophic, and some bacteria. All other (trophic) organisms depend ultimately on the existence and activity of autotrophic ones. (See alsoheterotrophic)