Final Exam - Oceanography
Terms
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- trophic efficiency
- percentage of food ingested by organisms at a particular trophic level that is convereted into biomass at that trophic level
- biological pump
- interplay of biological molecules, organisms etc to move carbon from the surface water into the interior waters
- abyssal
- benthic environment between 4000 m and 6000 m depth
- Compensation depth
- depth at which algae consume oxygen for respiration at the same rate that they produce oxygen by photosynthesis
- epifauna
- animals that live on the surface of the seafloor or other substrate, either moving freely or attached
- maximum sustainable yield
- maximum quantity of fish that can be harvested annually while still allowing the population to be sustained by reproduction
- microbial loop
- as much as 50% of organic matter made by primary producers is released back into solution (sloppy eating, destruction of cells by viruses); bacteria and archaea take in the wasted organic matter, thereby making it reaccessible to higher trophic levels
- respiration
- process by which organisms use organic materials (food) as a source of energy; normally uses oxygen and produces carbon dioxide
- trophic level
- with primary producers as the first level, the number of steps in a food chain to a particular organism; ex. organisms that eat primary producers are the second level, organisms that eat second-level organisms are the third level, etc
- bathypelagic
- pelagic environment between 1000 m and 2000 m; perpetual darkness, high pressure, low temp; all inhabitants feed on detritus or each other
- food chain
- sequence of organisms in which each is the food source for the next in sequence
- phytoplankton
- plankton that photosynthesize
- estuary
- any region where fresh water and seawater mix
- zooplankton
- animal plankton
- bycatch
- fishes and other marine animals caught in fishers' nets that are not the target of the fishing; generally thrown overboard as waste
- nekton
- pelagic animals that are active swimmers and thus can overcome currents and determine their position in the ecosystem; fishes, marine mammals, squid, etc
- global conveyer belt
- warm surface water flows northward, cools and sinks at the pole and then flows back southward
- primary productivity
- rate of production of organic matter by autotrophs, measured as the quantity (usually mass) of organic matter synthesized by organisms from inorganic substances within a given volume of water or other habitat in a unit of time
- mesopelagic zone
- the pelagic environment between 200 and 1000 m; light intensity too low for photosynthesis, many organisms have eyes adapted to low light levels
- eutrophication
- physical and biological changes that occur when excessive nutrients are released into an aquatic environment; may lead to blooms and anoxia
- benthos
- organisms that live on or in the ocean bottom
- infauna
- animals that live buried in soft sediments (sand or mud)
- food web
- series of food chains that are interconnected in a complex way to create a mosaic of feeding relationships
- bathyl zone
- benthic environment from continental shelf break (~200 m) to 2000 m depth; below the photic zone, most organisms rely on detritus
- plankton
- organisms that drift passively or swim weakly and are dependent on currents to determine their location; most are microscopic forms