Marine ecology Flashcards
(30 cards)
What is the branch of biology that studies the relationship between living organisms and their environment?
Ecology
Ecology focuses on understanding how organisms interact with each other and their surroundings.
What are the factors that can influence the traits of an organism?
- Growth
- Abundance
- Distribution
- Fecundity
These factors can be affected by both biotic and abiotic influences.
What type of factors affect organisms?
Biotic and abiotic
The interactions between these factors and the organism’s habitat are complex.
What is a community in ecology?
All populations of organisms living in a defined area
A community includes various species interacting within a specific environment.
Define habitat.
The physical place in which an organism lives
A habitat provides the necessary conditions for an organism’s survival.
What is a niche?
The resources that an organism uses to grow, survive, and reproduce and the role it plays in its environment
A niche encompasses the organism’s interactions with both biotic and abiotic factors.
What is an ecosystem?
A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment
Ecosystems include the living and non-living components of an environment.
What limits all populations?
Availability of at least one resource
This limitation is crucial for understanding population dynamics.
What is carrying capacity?
The maximum size of a population that an environment can sustain
Carrying capacity is often denoted as ‘k’.
What are r-selected species characterized by?
- Large number of offspring
- Little or no parental care
- Low juvenile survivorship
- Early sexual maturity
- Short life expectancy
- Small size
- Often unstable environments
These species tend to thrive in unpredictable environments.
What are k-selected species characterized by?
- Small number of offspring
- High parental investment
- High juvenile survivorship
- Later maturity
- Longer-lived
- Large size
- Often stable environments
K-selected species are adapted to stable environments with competition.
What does pelagic mean?
Lives and moves in water
Pelagic organisms are often referred to as swimming organisms.
What does benthic mean?
Lives and moves on the sea bed
Benthic organisms can be sessile or mobile.
What is plankton?
Lives in the water column and drifts at the mercy of currents
Plankton is divided into phytoplankton (plant-like) and zooplankton (animal-like).
What is nekton?
Lives in the water column and can swim against the current
Nekton includes fish, squids, and turtles.
What is neuston?
Lives on, at or near the surface of the water
Neuston can be influenced by winds and currents.
What are the major subdivisions of the marine environment based on?
- Distance to land
- Water depth
- Whether organisms are benthic or pelagic
These factors help classify different marine habitats.
What is the neritic zone?
The marine zone above the continental shelf
This zone is typically rich in biodiversity.
What is the oceanic zone?
The marine zone above the deep sea beyond the shelf break
It is further divided based on light penetration.
What is the intertidal zone?
Also called the littoral zone, it is exposed to air when the tides go out
This zone experiences fluctuating conditions.
What is the subtidal zone?
The continental shelf below the intertidal, always submerged
Sometimes referred to as the sublittoral zone.
What does energy flow in ecosystems refer to?
Transfer of energy and matter, giving rise to trophic structure
This includes food webs, chains, and pyramids.
What are autotrophs?
Primary producers that usually use photosynthesis or chemosynthesis
They form the base of the food web.
What are heterotrophs?
Consumers that do not produce their own food
They rely on other organisms for energy.
