Marine test 1 Flashcards
(40 cards)
Ecology
Ecology is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment.
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a group of living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) things that interact with one another in a particular habitat
Habitat
A habitat is an area in which a particular group of organisms live. Terrestrial (land), Aquatic (freshwater), Marine (saltwater)
Aquatic
An aquatic animal is any animal, whether vertebrate or invertebrate, that lives in water for all or most of its lifetime.
Marine
Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea.
Abiotic factors
Abiotic factors in aquatic ecosystems refer to any non-living component of an ecosystem. Some examples of abiotic factors in aquatic ecosystems include light, salinity, oxygen content, rate of water flow, depth, temperature, and acidity.
Biotic
Biotic factors of a marine ecosystem typically include algae, plankton, bacteria, seaweed, corals, fish, sharks, seals, whales, penguins and jellyfish.
producer
These are organisms that can produce their own food. Plants are the prime example as they produce food via photosynthesis from sunlight.
Consumer
These are organisms which eat other living organisms, rather than make their own food. The organisms that eats the producer is known as the
first order consumer. The organism that eats the first order consumer is known as the second order consumer.
Decomposers
Decomposers are important to break down any dead plant and animal matter. Examples of decomposers are bacteria and fungi. Decomposers help maintain a cycle of energy flow within the ecosystem.
Explain the difference between a pyramid of numbers & pyramid of biomass
Pyramids of numbers are a quantitative way of representing food chains. They record the number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain. A pyramid of biomass is a graphical portrayal of biomass present in a unit of the territory of different trophic levels.
Types of coral reefs
- Fringing reef- form around a land mass reefs off beaches on continent islands.
- Barrier reef- parallel to the shore but is separated by a channel of water.
- Atoll reef- a ring shaped coral reef that surrounds a lagoon, mainly found in pacific regions.
Hard corals characteristics
- Tentacles in multiples of 6 (subclass hexacorallia)
- Created limestone skeleton.
- Majority are reef builders.
- Both colonial and solitary
- Bleach when stress.
- Skeleton remains after death
Soft corals
- Tentacles in multiples of 8 (subclass octocorals
- No limestone skeleton
- Non-reef builders
- Both colonial and solitary
- Bleach when stressed
- No trace after death
Coal reef structure
- Corals are invertebrates and belong to Phylum Cnidaria
- Majority live in colonies where thousands of polyps live together and share nutrients.
- Polyps sit in cavities in the skeleton.
Anatomy and energy gain
- Corals have a symbiotic relationship with plant like algae called zooxanthelle
- Day time: zoox, photosynthesises passing sugars to the coral.
- Night time: coral uses tentacles which have stinging cells (nematocyst) to capture prey (plankton)
What is a mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. Mangroves occur naturally in most coastal areas of Western Australia from Shark Bay northwards.
Describes threats to mangroves environments
Greater pressure is placed on the mangrove environment from both direct and indirect sources such as dumping of waste, trampling by humans, climate change and sea level rise and many other factors.
Describes the adaptations of mangroves
They have developed particular ways of dealing with concentrations of salt that would kill or inhibit the growth of most other plants as they experience large fluctuations in salinity: being inundated by seawater (high salinity) during high tides, while at low tide, or during heavy rains or floods, they can be exposed to open air or fresh water (low salinity).
Explains how mangroves are useful/important
They are also the popular home and habitat and hiding location from prey for of the estuarine crocodile, as well as birds, snakes and mollusks.
Explain what seagrass is
Seagrass belong to group called monocotyledons (grasses, lilies, palms).
Seagrass have roots, rhizomes, veins, leaves, flowers and seeds.
Describes the locations where seagrass is found
Seagrasses are found in shallow salty and brackish waters in protected coastlines. Depends on light for photosynthesis. Shallow depths 1-3 meters.
Describes conditions seagrass needs to grow
Depend on light for photosynthesis. Shallow depths 1 to 3 meters, but the deepest growing seagrass (Halophila decipiens) has been found at depths of 58 meters. Can form dense meadows, large enough to see from space.
Describes the adaptations of seagrass
- Physical environment: produce oxygen, absorb excess nutrients, slow water flow, capture sand, dirt and silt particles. Roots stabilise sediment (improves water clarity and reduce coastal erosion).
- Habitat: nursery for juvenile fish, crustaceans, molluscs ect., protection for small organisms.
- Producer: foundation of coastal food webs, feeding grounds for thousands of species around the world (dugongs, turtles eat the blades)
- Blue carbon: absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis.
