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marine bio lectures

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Hydrothermal vents
Occur at
ocean-spreading centers worldwide
What are hydrothermal vents
⬢ Fissures or chimneys in ocean crust where geothermally heated water released
-undersea hot sprigs
⬢ Dense chemosynthetic bacterial assemblage at vents
– Autotrophs use O2 to oxidize H2S, fix CO2
– S and carbohydrates produced
⬢ Stable isotope data suggests
more than one carbon fixation pathway at vents and that carbon not from photosynthesis
δ13C of suspension-feeding vent clams = -32.6, Riftia = -11 and non-vent benthos = -8
Cold seeps
Methane oxidation pathway (coupled with sulfate reduction) is useddd by bacteria at seeps
-H2s produced and may be used.
Seeps are cold and may be found in very shallow water
How does Riftia provide the needed raw materials for its symbiotic bacteria?
⬢ Hemoglobin binds O2 and a protein binds sulfide in the blood in the red plume
⬢ Circulatory system delivers oxygen and sulfide to tissues
⬢ Internal, symbiotic bacteria reside in the trophosome and account for 60% of the total mass of the animal
What is a reef?
⬢ Massive deposit of CaCO3 (limestone) produced by algae, coral and other invertebrates
reef Importance to humans
⬢ Reefs create harbors and protect mangroves and seagrass beds
⬢ Significant fisheries
⬢ Aesthetic appeal and tourism
⬢ Biodiversity high and chemical ecology complex
-potentially important pharmaceutical and consumer products await discovery
Reef-building (stony) corals
Hermatypic or Scleractinian
⬢ Corals limited to seas > 20o C isotherm
-optimal 23-25 C
⬢ Light is necessary for photosynthesis
⬢ Water depth limited to 50-70 m with the majority < 25 m
Compensation depth at 15-20% of surface light
⬢ Grow fastest at 35⬰ but tolerate higher salinity better than lower
⬢ Non-reef building corals
(ahermatypic or soft corals) are found worldwide, but are mostly solitary
-deep water soft corals are more prominent than soft
⬢ Growth/shape of corals varies
– massive, branching, foliose or laminar
Planula larvae
⬢ A ciliated ball of cells with variable dispersal (perhaps days) before settlement and metamorphosis to a polyp
⬢ Larval settlement may require coralline algae
⬢Time to sexual maturation is relatively long (7-10 y)
Reef builders include
⬢ Corals, sponges, erect coralline algae (a type of red algae that resists grazing due to heavy calcification) and large molluscs precipitate massive amounts of calcium carbonate
⬢ Encrusting algae in crevices cement the reef
Acanthaster planci
Crown-of-thorns sea star
⬢ Predator that feeds by digesting away the whole coral head after everting its stomach over it
Corals and reefs threatened by
• Overfishing – destructive techniques including cyanide and explosives

• Eutrophication- nutrients make regulation or zooxanthellae difficult and they may grow too abundant and migrate

• Global warming – corals live near their upper lethal limit for temperature
⬢ Clupeids
anchovies, herring, menhaden; #1 in tons
-shallow continental shelf fisher
-phytoplankton feeders
-large purse seines used
-fish meal and fertilizer
⬢ Gadoid
cod, pollack, hake, #2 in tons
-bottom dwelling predators
-continental shelf and shallow coastal waters
-bottom trawls
-used in fish burgers and artificial crabmeat
⬢ Tuna and mackerels
#4 in tons
– Top carnivores in oceanic food webs; 7-8 trophic levels below them
– Active, cruising fishes that prey on clupeids
– Purse-seine and long-line fishery
– Human consumption
– Dolphins may drown in seines although regulations have reduced mortality
⬢ Crustaceans
mostly estuarine-dependent shrimp
⬢ -bottom trawls cause disturbance to benthos
⬢ -TEDS and by-catch
⬢ Flatfishes
flounder, halibut
-shallow water fishery
-Hook and line
What fish are most
susceptible to overfishing?
⬢ Fish with long generation times, small clutches of eggs, and fewer spawning times are most susceptible to overfishing
important sources of pollution
⬢ Nutrients, pesticides, hydrocarbons, metals and chlorinated hydrocarbons
Poly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)
⬢ < 20% of crude oil
⬢ Toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic
⬢ Contain C=C double bonds and from 1-6 benzene rings
⬢ Some are highly hydrophobic and long lasting in sediments, especially near contaminated harbors and industrial areas

⬢At the cellular level, PAH are a narcotic that disrupts membrane function
cytochrome p450 enzymes
metabolize hydrocarbons

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