Exam 2

• What are phytoplankton?


  Plant-like, photosynthetic plankton that form the base of the food chain.
• Types of phytoplankton?


  Diatoms, dinoflagellates, cyanobacteria.
• Photosynthetic pigments of phytoplankton?


  Chlorophyll a + b + c, carotenoid pigments, phycobilin pigments.
• All algae have what pigment?

  Chlorophyll a
• All plants have what pigment?


  Chlorophyll a + b
• What are xanthophylls?


  The brown color that is in carotenoid pigments
• What color is carotenoid pigments?

  Orange (xanthophylls make it brown)
• What has phycobilin pigments?

  Cyanobacteria and red algae.

  • These pigments reflect different wavelengths of light
• What are the four types of plankton sizes?

  1. Nanoplankton: viruses + bacteria
  2. Picoplankton: viruses + bacteria
  3. Net Plankton: diatoms, dinoflagellates, zooplankton
  4. Large: some jellies
• What are the two types of plankton?


  Holoplankton and Meroplankton
• What are holoplankton?


  Holoplankton are planktonic organisms that spend their entire life cycle as plankton.
• What are meroplankton?


  Spend only part of their lives as plankton.
• What are distinguishing features of diatoms?

  .

  1. Siliceous frustule
  2. Have chlorophyll a + c, fucoxanthin pigments
  3. 2 body shapes: centric + pennate
• Fucoxanthin pigments: golden brown pigments
• What are components of centric diatoms?

  • circular in valve view
  • like petri dish / barrel
  • pelagic
• What are components of pennate diatoms?

  
  

  • elongated in valve view
  • like submarine-shaped
  • often benthic
  • has a central raphe
• What is a central raphe?


  It is a groove that the pennate diatoms have that is used in gliding/locomotion by secreting mucilage.
• What does the phylum ochrophyta / chromophyta contain?

  Diatoms, brown algae (both having golden-brown coloration)

  • class bacillariophyceae
• How do diatoms reproduce?

  Asexually by splitting their cells -> their valves get smaller and smaller as they keep reproducing
• Diatom Ecology:

  • important in food chains + primary production

  Habitats

  • freshwater + marine
  • planktonic + benthic
  • temperate oceans, tidal flats, surf zones, Antarctic sea ice
• What feeds on diatoms?

  Grazing animals (like gastropod snails)
• What are defining features of dinoflagellates (dinophyta)?

  • unicellular
  • 2 flagella
  • 1 transverse in groove
  • 1 trailing
  • plates of cellulose
  • armored
  • naked
• What do trailing flagella help dinoflagellates with?

  Movement. They act as a propulsion device / a way of steering.
• What is armored cellulose plates?

  Distinct plates for structural support + defense.

  • dinoflagellates
• What are naked plates of cellulose?

  No distinct plates.

  • dinoflagellates
• Harmful Algal Blooms / Algae?

  .

  • Alexandrium: produces toxins + concentrated in shellfish
  • Pseudo-nitzschia: diatom that produces diamic acid
  • Pfiesteria: toxins kill fish, blooms in estuaries
• Cyanobacteria (blue-greens)

  • type of phytoplankton
  • very small
  • marine species:
  • very small single-celled open water
  • encrusting on upper intertidal rocks
• What plankton type is zooplankton?

  Holoplankton: spends entire life in plankton stage

  • ex. copepods
• Foraminifera: a type of zooplankton

  • single-celled organisms
  • most are benthic
  • CaCO3 tests
  • fossilize well
• What are radiolaria, meroplankton, and foraminifera?

  Types of zooplankton
• Radiolaria: a type of zooplankton

  • glass silica houses
  • many spines
  • fossilize well (radiolarian ooze)
• Meroplankton: part-time residents in plankton stage

  • ex. barnacle nauplius
• Zooplankton: animal plankton
• Photosynthesis Process


  carbon dioxide + water -sunlight-> carbohydrates + oxygen
• What are primary producers?

  Primary producers are organisms, such as plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, that convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis.
• How much energy is passed up each level of the food chain?

  10%
• What are ways we can measure primary productivity?

  1. Standing Crop
  2. Net Primary Productivity
  3. Gross Primary Productivity
• What does standing crop measure?

  The around of biomass out there

  • measured through chlorophyll (satellite images)
• What does net primary productivity measure?

  The gross - the respiration
• What does gross primary productivity measure?

  The amount of oxygen given off