Marine Module 1

• Marine biology


  A diverse subject, with main elements of functional biology and ecology
• Major subdivisions/subdisciplines of marine biology

  • Functional biology
  • Ecology
• Functional biology


  The study of how an organism carries out basic functions such as reproduction, locomotion, feeding, and the cellular and biochemical processes related to digestion, respiration, and other aspects of metabolism
• Ecology


  The study of the interaction of organisms with their physical and biological environments and how these interactions determine the distribution and abundance of the organisms
• Early biologists were "natural philosophers" who made general observations about anatomy and life habits
• Aristotle (384–327 B.C.)


  • Described the anatomy of the octopus and other marine creatures
  • Noticed that some sharks give birth to live young
  • Observed that some whales have structures that resemble hog bristles instead of teeth
• Carl Linnaeus | Carl von Linné (1707–1778)


  • Developed the modern means of naming species
  • Formalized binomial nomenclature
• Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier | George Cuvier (1769–1832)


  • Classified animals into four classes: Articulata, Radiata, Vertebrata, and Mollusca
  • Founding Father of Paleontology
  • Introduce Phyla in the Taxonomic Ranking
• The eighteenth century was an important era of oceanic exploration
• Expeditions


  • The voyage of French Captain Nicolas Thomas Baudin
  • Captain James Cook supervised the mapping of eastern Australia in 1770
• Until the nineteenth century, most marine biology consisted of the description of anatomy and the naming and classification of species
• Edward Forbes (1815–1854)


  • Proposed that number of creatures decrease with increasing depth
  • Formulate the Azoic Theory
  • Participated in a number of expeditions in which a bottom dredge was used to dig into the seabed and collect organisms
• In 1850, Norwegian marine biologist Michael Sars disproved the azoic theory by collecting and describing 19 species that live deeper than 300 fathoms in Norwegian fjords
• Michael Sars (1805–1869)


  • Inspired a new interest in deep-sea biology
  • The first plankton net and crude submersibles were developed and used in this period
  • Pave way for marine biology
• Charles Robert Darwin (1809–1881)


  • Wrote "The Voyage of the Beagle"
  • Made extensive collections of marine animal
  • Classification of barnacles
  • Coral Reef Theory
• William Benjamin Carpenter & Charles Wyville Thompson led a major expedition in 1868-1869 that foreshadowed the later Great Challenger Expedition
• These expeditions set the stage for the great Challenger expedition (1872–1876) that circumnavigated the globe and provided the first global perspective on the ocean's biotic diversity
• Toward the end of the nineteenth century, marine stations began to spring up over the world, starting in 1875 with the Stazione Zoologica in Naples, Italy
• Marine biology was now a full-fledged science with a proud history of exploration and theorization
• Terms to describe life habits of marine organisms

  • Plankton
  • Neuston/Pleuston
  • Nekton
  • Benthos
  • Infaunal
  • Epifaunal
  • Demersal
• Marine habitats


  • Intertidal zone
  • Subtidal zone
  • Continental shelf/Neretic
  • Epipelagic zone
  • Mesopelagic zone
  • Bathypelagic zone
  • Abyssopelagic zone
  • Bathyal benthic bottoms
  • Abyssobenthic bottoms
  • Hadal zone
• Marianas Trench reaches about 11,000 m depth
• Terms to describe life habits of marine organisms

  • Plankton
  • Neuston/Pleuston
  • Nekton
  • Benthos
  • Infaunal
  • Epifaunal
  • Demersal
• Plankton


  Organisms that live suspended in the water
• Neuston/Pleuston


  Organisms associated with the sea surface and include microorganisms that are bound to the surface slick of the sea
• Nekton


  Usually larger animals that swim in the water column, but they can move against a current or through turbulent water
• Benthos


  Animals and plants associated with the seafloor
• Infaunal


  Burrow within the soft seabed
• Epifaunal


  Live on the seabed surface
• Demersal


  Mobile organisms associated with the seabed that can swim