exam 2.1

• gyre


  • ring of current water around each of the major ocean basins
  • Open-ocean current: E/W direction
  • Boundary current: N/S direction
• seas


  • open water and fairly nutrient poor
• westward intensification


  • western boundary current flow faster and deeper than eastern boundary
  • around 5 mph
• holoplankton


  • live in the water column their entire life
• meroplankton


  • live only a portion of their lives in the water column then move to the bottom of the intertidal
• plankton


  feebly swims in the water column for a length of time or drifts with the water currents, tides, and waves
• neuston


  live on the water surface their entire lives
• pleuston


  live in the top few centimeters of the water column their entire lives
• nekton


  live majority in the water column and are efficient swimmers
• teleplanic larvae

  • organisms live in the larvae stage for a long time
  • phytoplanktonic
  • long lives, sometimes predators, and unlimited gestation from having good eyes
  • lecithotrophic: carry food around with them and will morph into their adult forms when the yolk is consumed
• broadcast sperm

  • large spawning when temperature changes
  • buckshot generates a ton of sperm/eggs and releases all into the water for fertilization
• indo-west pacific

  • most productive dispersal area in the world
  • Hawaiian islands are formed and then shoved off the hotspot due to sea floor spreading
• stepping stones


  • islands that act as steps to dispersion of organisms
  • the closer the islands are, the easier dispersion will be
• dinoflagellate characteristics

  • shells are light
  • link together for surface area
  • shelled pseudopods
  • big eyes
  • bioluminescent
  • sticky cells
  • pellicule (protection of cell wall)
  • 2 flagella: 1 for swimming, 1 for stability
• viruses


  • DNA viruses infect bacteria
  • RNA viruses infect eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms
  • regulate population by lysing
  • 10 times more abundant
  • alter biochemical cycles of cells
• viral control

  • susceptible to UV light, mucus and organic materials
  • bacteria produces a lot of enzymes for a counter attack
  • can be filtered and consumed
  • can be carried on plants without causing problems
• bacteria


  • primary producers and decomposers
  • change pH by altering biogeochemical cycles
  • symbiotic and pathogenic
  • shapes: spiral, spherical, rod
  • live in sediments or fungi
• nitrogen fixation

  • recycle waste products when organisms excrete nitrogenous waste
  • convert ammonia into nitrates
• cyanobacteria

  • store starch and generate free oxygen
  • UV protection from photoprotective pigments
  • secretes mucus
  • link up and form chains to increase surface area to stay on water column
  • looks like green beads that form together
• Green and purple sulfur and nonsulfur

  likes mud and anaerobic areas since sulfur requires no oxygen levels
• chemosynthetic bacteria

  • lives with inorganic compounds
  • tolerates minimal amounts of oxygen
  • access to plenty of nutrients
• heterotrophic bacteria


  • secretes enzymes and decomposition
  • breaks down oil
  • generates plastic from sugar
  • consolidation: cells held together using musilage
  • lithification: change pH and break participles apart
  • sedimentation: sink through water column forming sediment (snow formation)
• symbiotic

  • help with chemosynthesis to organic matter
  • bioluminescent
• archaebacteria

  • prokaryotic
  • different cell wall and lipids
  • live in extreme environments
• methanogens

  • anaerobic environment with methane
  • high salinity
• fungi


  • microscopic, food source, pathogens, symbiotic, decomposers
  • obligate: grow and reproduce in ocean water
  • facultative: start in freshwater and move to marine environment
  • lichens: relationship between fungi and cyanobacteria
• Aspergillus fungi


  • toxic
  • chitin found in cell walls
  • causes death in soft corals
• stramenopiles

  • unicellular with 2 flagella where one is short and light sensitive
  • related to dinoflagellates but some diatoms
  • have brown accessory pigments
• phytoplankton


  • algae
  • unicellular
  • less than 60 nanometers
  • move on demand
  • large internal vacuoles
  • 95% of productivity
  • usually in upper layers with sun
• phytoplankton ironization


  • limited iron and phosphorus (needed for photosynthesis)
  • chelated iron to increase carbon emissions
  • guano (bird poop) for phosphorus
• compensation depth

  • photosynthesis = cellular respiration
  • trophogenic: above it has higher photosynthesis
  • tropholiphic: below it has higher cellular respiration
• biological pump

  • when phytoplankton sink into the abyss, carbon is removed from contact with the atmosphere until currents bring the carbon back up
• Coccolithophores

  • nanoplankton
  • single flagella
  • produces dimethyl sulfide that forms cloud coverage
  • large food source
  • cell wall is attached outside
• marine snow

  • fall of organic remains from the top of the water column down to the bottom
  • often held together with mucus
  • can be homes for smaller zooplankton
• zooplankton


  • feeble swimmers
  • highly gelatinous
  • mucus
  • big eyes
• diatoms


  • store most food as lipids
  • pennate or centric
  • outer shell with silica
  • asexual reproduction
  • unicellular or colonies
• protista


  • responsible for special forms of marine sediments and mud
  • shelled form
  • cilia and flagella
• ciliates


  • cilia for movement
  • benthic or float in open waters
  • eat diatoms, dinoflagellates, etc
  • wine glass shape
• choanoflagellates


  • similarities between sponge cells
  • independently living cells and can live in colonies
  • lorica: rods of silica that form outside shell
  • one flagellum
• foraminifera


  • shelled amoeba form where the shell forms a series of coiled and progressive chambers (looks like a snail shell)
  • extends pseudopod like feet for feeding
  • CaCO3 gets secreted that makes things easier to decay, leading to globigerina ooze