Ch. 13: The Nekton-Swimmers of the Sea
Rank the communities of organisms that inhabit a whale-fall according to stage of decomposition, with the first on top.
1. Mobile scavengers such as hagfish, crabs, & sharks 2. Small worm, mollusks, and bacteria 3. Anaerobic bacteria 4. Sulfophillic chemosynthetic bacteria
About ____ % of bird species are considered marine.
3
In order for an organism to be classified as "marine," it must spend at least _____ percent of its life in the marine environment.
50
Which seabird characteristics enable them to swim or dive in the ocean?
Ability to pull in their feathers close to their bodies to squeeze out trapped air Webbed feet Feathers that are waterproofed by an oily secretion called preen
Which of the following characteristics are true about bony fish?
Bony fish can hover in the water and swim backward. Most bony fish possess a swim bladder to maintain buoyancy. All bony fish possess gills.
Which of the following statements are true regarding walruses?
Both males and females have tusks. They have no external ears.
Polar bears are found in ______.
Canada Greenland the United States Russia
Which of the following characteristic is true regarding jawless fish?
Evolutionarily, they are the most primitive of fishes.
Which of the following are true about fish distribution in the ocean?
Fish populations are concentrated in shallow coastal areas. Fish can be found at all depths in the ocean. Fish can be found in all of the world's oceans.
Which of the following traits are common among sea snakes but not terrestrial snakes?
Flattened tail Ability to close the nostrils
Which of the following are examples of marine reptiles?
Green turtle Gavial Marine iguana
Swimming marine invertebrates include which of the following?
Large shrimp Squid
Which of the following are common adaptations for deep-sea bony fish species?
Light organs on their bodies Large, needlelike teeth Hinged jaws
Which of the following are species of sea turtle?
Loggerhead Hawksbill Green
Which of the following are considered sea cows?
Manatees Dugongs
Which of the following marine reptiles is a modern lizard, found in the Galápagos Islands, and has a flattened tail for swimming?
Marine iguana
_______ include approximately 5000 species of invertebrates and vertebrates capable of swimming freely through the neritic and pelagic environments.
Nekton
Which of the following are sources of noise pollution in the ocean that may impact marine mammal behavior?
Oil and gas exploration Ship operations Military use of sonar
Which of the following are examples of marine birds?
Pelicans Puffins Terns
Which of the following characteristics are true about sharks?
Sharks have an acute sense of smell. Sharkskin is extremely abrasive, like sandpaper. Receptors along the shark's sides are sensitive to touch, vibration, currents, sound, and pressure.
Which of the following statements are true regarding seals and sea lions?
They both have hair and blubber. They both need to rest and breed on land. They both have four characteristic flippers.
Which of the following characteristics of polar bears are true?
They feed primarily on ringed seals. They are strong swimmers. They have more problems with overheating than getting too cold.
Mark the answers below that are related to skates and rays but not sharks.
They move by undulating their large side fins. Their tails are thin and whiplike. Their gill slits are on the underside of their bodies.
How do whales enrich the ocean's surface waters, making nutrients available to phytoplankton that only survive in ocean zones that the sunlight can reach?
Whales consume iron-rich prey at depth but defecate at the surface.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act includes ______.
a ban on the hunting and killing of marine mammals a ban on the importing of any marine mammals or their products
Unlike most fishes, most sharks ______.
bear live young
Sea otters are ______.
considered keystone predators in kelp forests the smallest marine mammals
Fish are concentrated in the oceans' upwelling areas, shallow coastal areas, and ______.
estuaries
Marine snakes have _____ tails, but terrestrial snakes do not.
flattened
Marine mammals are ______, which means they can maintain a near-constant body temperature, frequently well above the mean water temperature in which they live.
homeotherms
Seabirds get protection from predation during breeding season by _____.
nesting on islands, cliffs, or headlands
The purpose of whaling in the 1700s and 1800s was to hunt whales for their _____ and _____.
oil; baleen
Demersal fish are those that live ____.
on or near the bottom of the ocean floor
Seabirds may drink seawater, so to remove excess salt from their bodies, _____.
salt becomes concentrated by a gland over their eyes and is removed by either dripping out or being blown through their nasal passages
Schooling has evolved independently in the majority of fish species because it ______.
saves energy may confuse predators reduces individual encounters with predators may enhance foraging success
To adapt to a scarce food supply in the deep sea, some species of fish have ______.
teeth that point inward to lessen the potential for prey to escape expandable guts hinged jaws
Echolocation is ______.
the ability to use sound to picture the environment
