BIOL21403: Marine Ecology and Physiology

MEP6: Define Catadromous...

• Migration from freshwater to sea to spawn e.g. eels

MEP2: Define the word Benthic...

• Anything on ocean floor, below low water of littoral zone

MEP2: Define the word Oceanic....

• Region of water far away from the shore(s)

MEP6: Provide the definition of Perfect osmoregulatory....

• Salinity of blood stays constant as it maintains its internal composition even though external salt concentrations varies

MEP4: Define the supralittoral zone (AKA splash zone or supratidal zone)...

• Upper area above spring high tide line (Littoral fringe), that is regularly splashed, but not submerged by ocean water

MEP2: Define the word Photic...

• Zone that the depth of light will penetrate, will vary in depth

MEP2: Describe the directions of currents (Gyres) and winds due to the coriolis effect (Earth's rotation)...

• deflected to right in North • deflected to left in South

MEP8: Identify and describe the two types of tropical coral reefs....

1. Ahermatypic = not reef-building. • E.g. soft coral, do not produce a rigid calcareous skeleton, can produce sclerites but CaCO3 needed (needles for protection). • Many morphologies. 2. Hermatypic = reef-building. • Dominant group are Scleractinian coral, often called "stony corals", produce massive skeletons of CaCO3 (calcium carbonate) e.g. Porites sp. Colony is 250m in height a year • CaCO3 skeleton consist of coral polyps - cnidarians solitary or colonial (form coralite ring of tentacles)

MEP12: Identify the four problems with fisheries management...

1. Determining the real abundance of fishes 2. Ensuring consistent behaviours of fishers 3. Ensuring fish are not unreported (missreported) 4. Ensuring that fish are not miss-sold/miss-labelled at port (or to the consumer)

MEP5: Identify the six biological differences between the Antarctic ocean and the Arctic ocean...

1. Macrobenthic diversity 2. Endemism (unique species to geographic area) 3. Biomass 4. Characteristics of benthos 5. Biotic disturbance 6. Ice margin

MEP7: Identify the four different types of continental shelf communities....

1. Soft bottomed benthic 2. Seagrass beds 3. Hard bottomed benthic / sublittoral 4. Kelp forests

MEP5: Identify two polar oceans and describe them...

1. Southern Ocean AKA Antarctic Ocean: • A circumpolar ocean surrounding a large continent 2. Arctic Ocean: • An almost enclosed sea surrounded by land, separated from the other oceans

MEP14: Identify the 4 possible options Marine species have in response to Ocean acidification....

1. Tolerate 3. Adapt 4. Move 5. Local extirpation, or total extinction

MEP5: Describe the Pack ice as a physical difference between the Antarctic ocean and the Arctic ocean, including the following... • cover in winter • cover in summer • age and thickness

Antarctic has high seasonality: • ± 50% in winter • ± 10% in summer • 1 year & 1.5m Arctic has little seasonality: • ± 90% in winter • ± 80% in summer • <10 years & 3.5m

MEP6: Identify the type of phytoplankton that can be found in sediment and why they are important...

Areas of sedimentation (salt marshes & mudflats) can also be dominated by diatoms (microphytobenthos) These are a important source of primary productivity (e.g. Severn estuary)

MEP13: Describe the continued changes as predicted by various Climate models....

Depending on model: • Surface ocean temperature could increase by 2 to 3°C • pH could decline by over 0.2 units • Oxygen concentration could decrease by 2% to 4% • Ocean productivity could decrease by 2% to 20%. • 4S model is more likely

MEP14: Describe how marine species may go extinct as based on past events...

High CO2 levels have been associated with two major mass extinction events already 205 million years ago & 65 million years ago

MEP13: Describe the effect of climate change in the past (Burrows et al. 2014)...

Globally, between 1960 & 2009 theres average increase in temperature of marine environment of ~0.5˚C, or ~0.1˚C per decade Scale of change is less than terrestrial environments. Warming has occurred across globe, with only waters around Antarctica showing cooling

MEP8: Corals are Holobionts, define what a Holobiont is....

Holobiont = whole coral animal + symbionts

MEP3: Define Net plankton...

Includes: • Microplankton = size 20 - 200 μm • Mesoplankton = size 0.2 - 20 mm • Macroplankton = size 2 - 20 cm

MEP11: Identify the pelagic macrofauna and species of the epipelagic that are found in the open oceans, including examples of these...

Pelagic macrofauna is dominated by: • Large zooplankton (drifters, e.g. jellyfishes) • Oceanic nekton (active swimmers, e.g. large cephalopods, bony fishes, elasmobranchs, reptiles & birds). Epipelagic species: • Ocean going mammals are cetaceans (whales & dolphins), & pinnipeds (seals & sea lions). • Nektonic reptiles are the turtles & sea snakes. • Most birds simply visit to feed, but there are the flightless penguins.

MEP10: Describe Photophores and zooplankton as examples of Mesopelagic species....

Photophores • Common, all very fragile • Diverse organisms (squid, jellyfish, fish etc.,) • Light producing organs for communication • Transparent for camouflage (not cheap) Crustacean zooplankton: • Red colour -> no red light then looks black • Usually small • Marine snow - food source

MEP14: Define Ocean acidification (OA)....

Process that leads to a reduction in ocean pH associated with uptake of carbon dioxide.

MEP13: Describe "climate velocity" as a way to consider climate change...

Refers to the pace of change in a region. I) It can be considered as the distance that climate has travelled (i.e. 50 years ago, climate in one area now found in another area instead). II) It can be considered as the seasonal shift forwards (or backwards) in time.

MEP5: Describe Biomass in the Antarctic ocean and the Arctic ocean...

• High in Antarctic, with 10 to 100 times the biomass at same given depth in Atlantic • Low in Arctic

MEP15: Describe the effects of microplastics being eaten by Arenicola marina (the lugworm) as studied by two different researchers in 2013....

Wright et al. (2013): - Lugworm was fed a partially microplastic diet. - It decreased feeding activity, increased phagocytosis, had less egestion, & had lower energy reserves Browne et al. (2013): - When pollutant laden PVC was fed to Arenicola, they readily took this from the PVC & concentrated it within the body wall & gut tissues

MEP10: Describe vision in both deep pelagic species and in mesopelagic species as a deep sea adaptation, including that of the barrel-eyes (Opisthoproctidae) and the Spookfish (Dolichopteryx longipes) as examples....

• "Deep pelagic" species visual capabilities poor (only bioluminescence) e.g. Mesopelagic viperfish • Mesopelagic species, visual capabilities often very specialised e.g. bioluminescence & residual ambient light • Barrel-eyes have "tube eyes" which point upwards to detect down-welling ambient light, & some species also detect side-welling light via a second retina. Spookfish (Wagner et al. 2009) has two distinct sets of eyes: - Main "refractive" tube eye captures down-welling light - Reflective side eye captures side- & up-welling light

MEP10: Identify the depths of the following ocean zones, also which of these are considered deep pelagic? 1. Epipelagic 2. Mesopelagic 3. Bathypelagic 4. Abyssopelagic 5. Hadopelagic

• 0 to 200m (photic zone) = Epipelagic • 200 to 1000 m (twilight zone) some light = Mesopelagic • 1000 to 4000 m, zero light = Bathypelagic • 4000 to 6000 m = Abyssopelagic • 6000 to 11,000 m (in trenches) = Hadopelagic • The last 3 are deep pelagic

MEP11: Describe the research into how turtles navigate by Luschi et al. (2007) including the methods used and the findings...

• 20 green turtles tagged with satellite tags, some had magnets added to head, turtles then displaced to open sea 100-120km from start position, & satellite tracked. • Nineteen returned, those with magnets on their heads, had longer homing paths than controls • Suggests turtles navigate via geomagnetic cues.

MEP5: In terms of Endemism, why should one be careful if only looking at algae...

• A Lot of transport of phytoplankton/algae all around the world as single cells can be blown about in air • Don't find same degree of endemism in algae when compared to larger animals

MEP7: Describe other possible reasons that may explain why urchins were eating the kelp as well as why the urchins were high in numbers....

• A decrease in amount of (drift) algae/plankton could of caused urchins to switch to feeding on live kelp • Sewage pollution & higher temeratures may have caused this decrease (e.g. El Nino) • Organic nutrients in sewage may have been used by juvenile urchins resulting in larger populations

MEP4: Briefly describe the zonation of Barnacles as examples of the affect of competition and physical factors...

• Abiotic pressures restrict upper distribution of Semibalanus - physical factors acting on larvae & adults • Chthalamus stay in top zone, can't migrate down due to competition

MEP14: Describe how marine species can tolerate change through acclimatisation/acclimation, including the sea urchin (Tripneustes gratilla) as an example...

• Acclimatise via change phenotype (traits) in response to Ocean Acidification • Urchin fertilization, no apparent difference in egg fertilization success in different acidities • Eggs have an acid-protecting jelly coating, & they can make more • But it may come at a cost if it has to produce more of jelly coating to succeed

MEP12: Describe the other affect that pelagic overfishing can have on fish (Ward and Myers., 2005)....

• Affects average body size of the population. • Larger older fishes are removed by targeted fisheries, younger individuals tend to dominate the fishery

MEP2: Describe the affects that gyres can have and provide examples...

• Affects the average temperature at sea surface for Indian, Pacific & Atlantic Oceans. • Means that tropical organisms (e.g. corals) found off west coasts & extend to higher latitudes whilst kelps (prefering cold waters) occupy eastern shores of oceans • Water in extreme North & South Atlantic sinks & spreads along bottom & to other ocean basins

MEP6: Identify and describe the types of Carbon supply in estuaries, including an example for each...

• Allochthonous: depend on external sources - e.g. Dollard estuary gets 46% from farmland & sea etc • Autochthonous: fixed by primary producers within estuary - e.g. Barataria estuary gets 40% from salt marshes, a lot from algae & sea grass

MEP9: Describe the Global distribution of Mangroves...

• Along equator in tropical& subtropical areas • Sometimes get mix of salt marshes & mangrove forest eg New Zealand

MEP3: Define Gross (net) primary productivity ....

• Amount of inorganic carbon (CO2) fixed into organic compounds by autotrophs (i.e. respiration by autotrophs) • Net is the difference, Gross is the total • Measure in units of Carbon

MEP9: Describe the features and adaptations of Mudskippers as one of the dominant animals found in mangroves...

• Amphibious - cope on land & water • Developed vascular system - huge network of capillaries over wide surface area • Fins for walking on mud & caudal fin to thrust self up onto shore, can climb to look out for predators • Protruding eyes - see better in air & can contract to prevent water loss (evapouration) • Specialist burrow affords protection from predators & extreme environmental conditions (especially heat) • Even at high tide burrows maintains a pocket of air, breathing possible even in low oxygen water • Burrow also used for laying eggs (males may even deposit mouthfuls of fresh air when anoxic), high O2 surface, low O2 bottom, maintain pocket of air in breeding chamber so eggs survive

MEP12: Describe the research by Myers & Worm (2003) on the decline of fish abundance and on predator biomass, as evidence for overfishing in the pelagic... Include the different methods used and the findings...

• Analysed catch per 100 hooks between 1950 & 2000, from longline fleet records • Found major pattern of declines that are consistent over global scales. • Species caught include tunas, swordfishes & billfishes (marlin, sailfish). • Looked at spatial patterns of relative predator biomass in 1952, 1958, 1964 & 1980 • More high biomass catches in different area (especially un-fished) - everywhere becomes low biomass after 30 years • Estimated that large predatory fish biomass today is only about 10% of pre-industrial levels

MEP12: Describe the trend for the global rates of fisheries landings since the 1950s, including why these do not reflect the numbers of fish (biomass) actually caught...

• Annual global rates have risen steadily, reflects increased demand, industrialization, & exploitation of new stocks. • Undersize fish & non-target/non-saleable species are often discarded at sea, also many landings are not reported, or underreported.

MEP5: Describe the Physical features of the Antarctic continental shelf as example of physical differences to the Arctic...

• Antarctic continental shelf is narrow, rapid drop into deep water. • 98% of continent covered in ice (average 2km thick) & the weight of ice depresses Antarctica. • Continental shelves are found at 600m water depth (verses 150m in Arctic). • No freshwater runoff.

MEP5: Describe the temperature of the Antarctic ocean as a physical difference, including how the benthos are able to cope with this... Also, describe how these benthos can get killed when new sea ice is forming...

• Antarctic continental shelf waters coldest anywhere on Earth at 0°C to -1.9°C • Benthos well adapted to cold temperatures, can alter their body ionic composition to enable them to thrive & reach high biomass. • Forming of new sea ice causes brine from the sea ice sinks, & a 'brinicle' forms as seawater freezes, this grows down towards the sea floor. • Any living thing the 'brinicle' touches is killed as the organism is frozen

MEP5: Describe the ocean shelves as a physical difference between the Antarctic ocean and the Arctic ocean...

• Antarctic: Narrow, open to all oceans, exchange with deep ocean - access to replenishing resources • Arctic: Broad, two narrow straits (Bering Str., Fram Str.), less connectivity

MEP5: Describe the ice cover as physical differences between the Arctic and Antarctic...

• Arctic pack ice is more persistent, harder & thicker than Antarctic. • Central Arctic has permanent ice cover, with an average age of 10 years. • Antarctic pack ice cover more seasonal. • During winter cover ~19 million km^2 of ocean (2x size of USA) • Dramatic year-year variations in pack ice extent.

MEP5: Describe the river input as a physical difference between the Antarctic ocean and the Arctic ocean...

• Arctic: - High input from all of land surrounding it, lots of sediment & some nutrients, makes water more turbid (relates to higher Bioturbation) - Changes in salinity ad less stable in Arctic with larger range in salinity (normally 35) due to water run-off • Antarctic: None

MEP6: Provide the definition of a estuary and briefly identify the type of estuaries that the Delware river (U.S), the Cape Hatteras (U.S), and the Milford Sound (New Zealand) are examples of...

• Are Semi-enclosed areas where rivers meet the sea • Many types of estuary: - Drowned river valley estuaries (accumulates sediment) e.g. Delware river - Bar-built estuary e.g. Cape Hatteras - Fjord (deep & less turbidity) e.g. Milford Sound

MEP4: Describe what Sea stars (starfish) are known to be, as deomnstrated by removal experiments...

• Are keystone species on rocky shore • Their effects on communities are proportionately much greater than their abudance

MEP5: Describe the research by Smale et al. (2008) on ice scours in the Antarctic, including the methods used and the findings...

• Array of markers at 5, 10 & 25m depth, the following year recorded number damaged • Icebergs, once frozen into winter sea ice, are unable to move & scour the benthos. • Found distinct correlation between ice berg impacts & the benthos, indicating that benthos would be affected by ice scours more in future

MEP5: Describe what the melting of the sea ice results in...

• As sea ice melts in Spring it provides a "seed" population (via benthic plankton population in ice) for plankton blooms in the water column along the ice edge. • Provides rich & important grazing grounds for almost all Antarctic species • E.g. melting of ice causes increase in chlorophyll a concentrations (Smetacek & Nicol, 2005)

MEP3: Describe the research and findings by Vargas et al. (2015)

• Assessed eukaryotic diversity from 334 size-fractionated photic-zone plankton communities collected across tropical & temperate oceans • Found most biodiversity found in heterotrophic protists that were parasites of symbiotic hosts

MEP2: What colour is seen at a depth of 30 m, and why is this...

• At a depth of 30 m only blue light remains • Light levels affect colours seen

MEP4: Describe the different adaptations that allow Periwinkles (Littorina cincta) to cope with desiccation...

• At low tide move to moist crevice/crack in rock (crack caused by rainfall) • Use operculum to attach to crevice & seal shell with operculum

MEP6: Identify and describe two examples of temporary visitors to estuarine environments..... Hint:

• Atlantic medhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus): - This fish uses the estuary as a nursery but breeds at sea as do many other fish & shrimps - More crevices for young to survive while growing, safer & more nutrients • Blue crab (Callinectes sapidus): - Females can undergo long migrations to spawn at sea, before their young move into the estuarine environment

MEP12: Describe the research by Conover & Munch (2002) on could size-selective harvesting lead to loss of the late maturing, large growing genotypes in Atlantic silverside (Menidia menidia)... Include the research methods used and the findings...

• Atlantic silverside have an annual life history • Stocked in tanks under 3 harvesting treatments: - T1 = Large harvested (so largest 10% removed) - T2 = Small harvested (smallest 90% removed) - T3 = Random harvesting • After a set period measured total & mean weight, 100 surviving individuals then allowed to breed, & experiment continued over next 4 generations • Found large harvesting resulted in decline in weight variables, small harvesting led to a increase in weight variables, while random harvesting led to little change.

MEP4: Describe adaptations in mussels (Mytilus) that allow them to cope with wave action...

• Attach to rock surface by bysall threads • Group formation helps reduce area exposed to flow of water, so water moves easily over them • Larger clumps may be broken off if too much strain on those attached to rock • Filter feeders so gain nutrients from water

MEP1: Briefly describe the significance of microbial loops in the ocean...

• Bacterial biomass in open ocean exceeds that of phytoplankton • Bacteria play key role in carbon flux in oceans

MEP5: Describe the benthic ecosystem in the Antarctic and what they are supported by....

• Benthic assemblages dominated by suspension feeders. • Dependent on highly seasonal pulses of food from waters above • Death of marine fauna & excretion fall as marine snow which supports the biomass in the benthos in Antarctic • Results in higher richness in biodiversity than the Arctic, also not as productive in pelagic so less biomass

MEP6: Define and describe Infauna, including examples of these that live in estuaries...

• Benthic organisms that live within the bottom substratum of a body of water (i.e. capitalise on the mud) - Benefit from nutrients from water column & mud - e.g. Snails, Polychaete worms, Clams & Crustaceans

MEP6: Describe the birds that can be found on mud flats and salt marshes, including what attracts them...

• Benthic species provide food for fish at high tide & birds at low tide • Beak length dictates which species of invertebrate they can reach in the burrows in mud

MEP10: Describe how pressure affects solids such as proteins, including the adaptations of the Barophilic "pressure loving" animals to cope with this....

• Biological molecules (proteins & lipids) can also change structure with pressure, & death on depressurization is often due to metabolic disturbance resulting in trauma • Barophilic animals have pressure-adapted resistant proteins which evolved to be more efficient under pressure e.g.: - Enzymes are 'tuned' to be most efficient under pressure in deep sea fish/bacteria - Fish muscles use pressure-resistant 3D structures

MEP9: Describe the different threats to mangroves....

• Boat traffic, oil spills, pollution (e.g. pesticides, heavy metals) etc), sea level rise • 1/3rd of world's mangroves lost in last 50 years to aquaculture of agriculture • Annual deforestation rates similar to those for tropical rainforests and may contribute 10% of total carbon emissions from deforestation (Donato et al., 2011)

MEP9: Describe the different threats to mangroves....

• Boat traffic, oil spills, pollution (e.g. pesticides, heavy metals) etc), sea level rise • 1/3rd of world's mangroves lost in last 50 years to aquaculture of agriculture e.g. Shrimp & fish mariculture in southeast Asia & South America • Annual deforestation rates similar to those for tropical rainforests & may contribute 10% of total carbon emissions from deforestation (Donato et al., 2011)

MEP8: Describe Tropical coral Porites colony compared to Cold water coral Primnoa colony...

• Both colonies are over 100 years old. • Skeletal growth rate of tropical coral is much faster than cold water coral due to symbionts. • Tropical Porites colony height = 3 meters • Cold water Primnoa colony height = 30cm • Calcification is 3 x higher during day, when symbiotic algae are photosynthesising, than at night. • Lower light levels & deeper for Cold water Primnoa colony

MEP8: Describe Coral bleaching....

• Breakdown of symbiosis between algae & coral host. • Coral will 'bleach' if temperatures reach ~1°C > average seasonal maxima, will eject bacteria & zooxanthellae • Could become annual event, instead of just in el Nino (due to climate change)

MEP5: Describe the affect Polynyas have on breeding success in the Adélie penguins...

• Breeding success is inversely correlated with the near shore ice areas - i.e. the increase in distance from the nearshore ice lowers the breeding success as chick survival decreases • Thus those closer to the near-shore ice have a greater breeding success

MEP3: Define HNLC areas, including an example...

• High nutrient but low chlorophyll area • e.g. Southern Ocean

MEP13: Describe the research by Hipfner (2008) on the zooplanktivorous seabird Cassin's auklet on the west coast of North America, as evidence for the match-mismatch hypothesis....

• Breeds less successfully in warm-water years than in cold-water years • Copepods required for successful fledging, but became scarce in nestling diets 2 to 3 weeks earlier in warmer than in colder years

MEP11: Describe the many significant adaptations of the Pelagic macrofauna including buoyancy, locomotion, and other adaptations... Provide examples for these if possible...

• Buoyancy: - Swim bladders of slow moving fish, lost in fast moving fish as they as they prevent rapid depth change. - Some marine mammals (seals) have accessory air sacs , they also use air trapped in dense wool undercoats. - Many marine fish (sharks, mackerel) are rich in lipids that can help with buoyancy. • Locomotion: - Body shapes that create propulsive force (e.g. turtle flippers) - Body shapes that reduce resistance of body during movement (e.g. teardrop-shaped tuna). • Other adaptations for: - Defence (fish shoaling) - Camouflage (cryptic colours) - Sensory systems (echolocation) - Reproduction (spawning migrations).

MEP8: Describe the use of nutrient cycling in corals...

• CO2 & nutrients are continually recycled between a coral polyp & its symbiotic algae. • Very high densities, more than million per cm2 of coral surface. • High carbon fixation, cells of algae have organic matter leaking out so corals can absorb fixed carbon in exchange for nutrients taking up, algae cells breakdown when die and are consumed.

MEP14: Describe the process of ocean acidification...

• CO2 in the atmosphere is absorbed by water. • This CO2 then reacts with water to form basic bicarbonate ions (HCO3) & acidic hydrogen ions (H+). • The presence of free hydrogen ions makes the oceans more acidic.

MEP14: Describe how the amount of carbon dioxide has changed over time till the present day...

• CO2 levels in atmosphere are now about 400ppm - 30% higher than any time during last 650,000 years. • CO2 levels have fluctuated extensively during glacial cycles, but speed of increase since industrial revolution has been unprecedented.

MEP15: Describe how the risk of invasions can be calculated accurately, and also describe the other predictors of establishment success....

• Calculated from knowledge of shipping routes. Probability of invasion is greater at intermediate distances. • At close distances, the species may already be native etc., at far distances, travel may impair survivorship, or new environment may be too different. • Species with high movement ability are more likely to establish, as they occupy a wider variety of habitats, or search out most optimum habitats • Time taken since invasion is a good predictor of the distributional range of an invasive species.

MEP6: Provide the definition of Perfect osmoconformer...

• Can adjust salinity of blood to match that of water e.g. Polycheate worm

MEP2: What else can be measured by using rosette of submersible water samplers with probes...

• Can also measure temperature & pressure, to then produce figures/data using this • Can locate where chemicals are; e.g. SO2 is important for diatoms • Iron is also important for enzymes to be active in some organisms

MEP4: Describe Seaweed, including its role, its features and how it is distributed etc.....

• Can reach high abundance in intertidal region • Play an important role is survival of many rocky shore inhabitants • Can photosynthesis in water using chloropyll a • Chlorophyll b & c useful for different wavelengths of light • Distribution determined by complex biotic & abiotic structuring forces

MEP4: Describe green seaweed AKA Chlorophyta, including an example...

• Can tolerate very high light levels e.g. in tide pool, mostly bottom-dwelling • Primary producer & uses chlorophyll a & b • Extensive range of growth forms • E.g. Ulva spp.

MEP11: Describe how isotopes were used as part of the method in the research by Rooker et al. (2008) on the migration of Atlantic bluefin tuna, including the findings from this research and how this is useful for conservation....

• Captured young (12 to 18 month) old tuna from western & eastern populations. • Scored carbon & oxygen stable isotope ratios in their earbones (otoliths) - found some overlapping but generally distinct, so can trace location they are from • Captured adults, scored isotope ratios of otolith cores, & assigned natal origin using a statistical approaches. • Found on breeding grounds on Gulf of Mexico 99.3% were 'home', while on breeding grounds of Mediterranean 95.8% were 'home' • Mixed populations on feeding grounds of the Mid-Atlantic bight. • Clear relevance for conservation - as mid Atlantic fish are from both populations.

MEP2: Describe the amounts of carbon dioxide & oxygen in the ocean in comparison to air, including the reasons for this...

• Carbon dioxide far more soluble in seawater than air - makes up 80% of dissolved gas in water vs 0.04% in air. • There is between 0 & 8 ml l-1 of oxygen in seawater vs 210 ml l-1 in air i.e. ~0-8% in water vs 21% in air. • Temperature affects amount of oxygen that can be absorbed e.g. in cold water oxygen is found at higher concentrations • Pressure affects the amount of oxygen that can be absorbed e.g. water on ocean floor (high pressure) has very little oxygen • Ocean circulation helps spread Oxygen around

MEP3: Describe carbon fixation globally, including the different organisms involved, and how this affects the distribution of various organisms...

• Carbon fixation can be carried out by phytoplankton (autotrophs) • Some areas have 5 x greater phytoplankton production; ties in with upwelling as middle of the ocean relies on this to replace nutrients (carbon) • Important that Carbon is being fixed • Zooplankton consume phytoplankton • Zooplankton distribution has strong correlation between high number of zooplankton & phytoplankton • Also, similar distribution for whales

MEP9: Describe how Scarlet Ibis caused Mangroves to become contaminated as studied by Klekowski et al., (1999)....

• Caroni swamp (fresh water) in Trinidad was contaminated with mercury • Adult ibis mangrove resident but move to freshwater, as young cannot tolerate salinity • Mercury contamination of freshwater bioaccumulated in young birds • Shed feathers, contaminating the mangroves & damaging plants

MEP12: Describe the affects/impacts of dynamite fishing....

• Extensively used in parts of south-east Asia • Kills many juvenile & non-target species • Destroys & severely damages reef habitat

MEP9: Describe how Scarlet Ibis caused Mangroves to become contaminated as studied by Klekowski et al., (1999)....

• Caroni swamp, Trinidad, contaminated with mercury • Adult ibis mangrove resident but move to freshwater, as young cannot tolerate salinity • Mercury contamination of freshwater bioaccumulated in young birds • Shed feathers, contaminating the mangroves and damaging plants

MEP6: Define Suspension feeder, and provide an example (or two) of this....

• Catch falling detritus still suspended in the water column • e.g. Lugworm (Arenicola marina) & spaghetti worms (terebellid worms)

MEP12: Describe the major stock declines of the North Sea cod (since the 1970s) as evidence of overfishing.... Also suggest why stocks are recovering slowly...

• Catches unregulated so fishing mortality continued to increase, despite spawning stock biomass (SSB) declining. • Only when SSB hit critically low levels & stocks collapsed, was fishing reduced in late 1990s. • Some signs of recovery over last 5 years, but stock biomass is still very small relative to 1970 • Maybe due to unfavorably warm seas for this boreal (cold water) species.

MEP5: Describe ice scours and the negaive affect they have on the benthos...

• Caused by icebergs or hard pack ice, that grinds along ocean floor & strips off everything along it • Key force acting on benthic communities affecting 1/3 of global coastlines, intertidal to 500m water depth.

MEP6: Explain why there are differences in species composition between sea water, estuarine wate, and fresh water...

• Change in species composition as most marine species find it hard to tolerate the freshwater & vice versa • Thus, not many specis are able to live in transitional waters (marine to fresh) • So estuaries have low diversity, & high productivity as they lack competition

MEP7: Describe the Soft bottomed benthic as a type of continental shelf community....

• Characterised by vegetation-free, soft mud & course sediment rich habitats • Sediment type determined by water movements (waves, currents, upwelling) & geological history (glacial deposits) • Typically more coarser sediments are found closer to shore, while more mud further from shore, due to wave action • In mud (less turbulent) there are deposit feeders • In sand (more turbulent) there are suspension feeders e.g. sponge, mollusk • Macrofauna (>0.5mm), meiofauna (0.065-0.05mm) & microfauna (bacteria, dinoflagellates, diatoms) • Infauna (in substrate) & epifauna (emergent)

MEP8: Describe the various ways chemical erosion of the coral reefs can occur...

• Chemical eroders via ocean acidification as dissolution (i.e. erosion) can occur instead of calcification (i.e. skeleton formation) if the ocean is acidic enough • Reefs only occur where calcification exceeds erosion. • Affect of developed coastal areas on coral e.g. run-off from agricultural land, pollution & eutrophication

MEP13: Describe the research by Watanuki et al. (2009) on Rhinoceros auklets chicks in Japan, as evidence for the match-mismatch hypothesis....

• Chicks grow faster & fledge successfully when fed on more anchovy. • Anchovy population is dependent on temperature • Found when it arrives early during warmer years then auklet fledging is successful

MEP2: Describe why Chlorophyll a concentrations are measure and describe its distribution in the ocean as well as on land...

• Chlorophyll a is a measure of photosynthetic biomass & indicates the production of new material that fuels the food chain. • It is not evenly distributed as there are hot spots & cold spots - these arise due to interplay with physical & chemistry & biology. • Higher concentrations near shore • Low & high in biomass both on land & in water; about 50% on land & 50% in ocean

*MEP3: Describe the normal primary production of the Peruvian fisheries and the affect of El-Niňo-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on these fisheries as a Classic example....

• Coastal upwelling has supported lucrative fisheries in good years as catch Anchovie fish that eat Plankton etc • Efficient short food chain - 3 trophic levels • Cormorants eat fish, use bird poo to fertilise land • Get crashes in the system, numbers of Anchovies caught fluctuates e.g. low yields between 1976 & 1985 which are partly explained by El Nino events • El Nino results in wind & current changing, so increased temperature of surface waters & less/no upwelling of nutrient replete water so reduces primary productivity as animals etc. move away • Takes years before fish increase again

MEP13: Describe the North Sea cod as classic case that demonstrates the affect of climate change on Marine phenology, as studied by Beaugrand et al. (2003)...

• Cod larvae have a pelagic phase, & they need Calanus zooplankton between May & August. • Time series revealed in good years, Calanus finmarchicus were present, & in bad years, Calanus helgolandicus was present, but were too late. • Indicates in bad years larval cod would have starved to death, leading to failed recruitment

MEP8: Describe coral colonies and how they are formed...

• Colonies formed by asexual division i.e. all polyps genetically the same. • Polyps can connect into a single living surface (tissue layer) above the skeleton. • A colony can live for centuries an individual polyp only lives 4-6 years.

MEP14: Describe the research by Lewis et al. (2013) on if experience of different pH ranges may predict the population-level effects fom ocean acidification...

• Compared 2 artic copepods • Calanus come to surface at night in diel vertical migrations so experiences high ranges of pH • Oithona is non-migratory so experiences a low pH range • Calanus experiences greater pH range than Oithona due to diel vertical migrations, so Calanus was predicted to be able to cope more • Greater impact from acidification on non-migratory zooplankton

MEP10: Describe Mesopelagic species....

• Comprises copepods, polychaetes, squid, ctenophores, siphonophores, myctophids, hatchet fish, medusae etc. • There is no primary production, & species present are grazers, scavengers or predators. • Some of smallest organisms are crustacean zooplankton (e.g. shrimps), while predatory trophic levels are occupied by squid & fish. • The highest fish biomass is occupied by the bristlemouths & myctophids (lanternfishes). • Fish at these depths are increasingly soft-bodied & fragile, typically damaged by nets when fishing.

MEP7: Define the Continental shelf and the Continental slope...

• Continental shelf - around major continents (on stretch hundreds of kilometers) • Continental slope - below continental shelf & can be long too

MEP5: Describe the research by Reid et al. (2007) on the sudden appearance of a new species of Diatom (Neodenticula seminae) including the method used, and how this sudden appearance is thought to have occured....

• Continuous plankton recorder, silk screens to trap plankton - can be stored as a long term record • Scientist discovered that a new species had suddenly appeared in the Arctic oceans • This suddenly became abundant in Atlantic (in 1999) for the first time in 800,000 years. • Had come from Pacific, & had travelled through trans-Arctic ocean (trans-polar movement) during ice-free conditions in Canadian Arctic.

*MEP3: Define La Nina and describe the effects it has on marine life...

• Cooling trend of surface water temperature • Tends to follow El Nino events e.g. 1997 • Can be beneficial via nutrient rich upwelling • Can be harmful via heavy rainfall causing surface run-off & increasing ocean acidification

MEP8: Describe the primary productivity as well as gross primary productivity for Tropical coral reefs in comparison to other environments...

• Coral reefs have high primary productivity - 1,500 - 3,700 grams of Carbon fixed/m2/yr, same as swamplands, but higher primary productivity than rain forests • Gross primary productivity of continental shelves (& upwelling) is 50 to 150 productivity gC/m2/yr verses 500 to 3,750 gC/m2/yr for Coral reefs

MEP1: Describe the role of viruses by using the World's largest, most complex marine virus as an example...

• CroV is a major player in ocean ecosystems • This unusually complex 'mimi-like virus' infects an ecologically important & widespread planktonic predator. (Fischer et al. 2010) • CroV attacks the small heteroflagellate Cafeteria roenbergensis

MEP13: Describe the effects of climate change on marine life....

• Cumulative global effects are likely to be negative rather than positive. • Effects will be lower in deep water habitats (e.g. seamounts, vents) & greatest in shallow habitats (e.g. continental shelves, coral reefs, mangroves). • Effects will be experienced by all species groups, from foramniforans to fishes & pinnipeds

MEP1: Identify two examples of Photosynthetic prokaryotes... Which one is the most abundant?

• Cyanobacterium Trichodesmium • Prochlorococcus - Most abundant photosynthetic organism in the sea

MEP10: Describe the temperature in the deep sea in comparison to the Mesopelagic....

• Deep sea typically stable, remains constant (5˚C) as nothing taking away heat, also constant density • Strong temperature & density gradient in the mesopelagic zone, as solar radiation is lost, & mixing with surface waters is reduced.

MEP5: Describe how the physical features of the Antarctic continental shelf and Antarctic ocean affects the marine ecosystem and the species there...

• Deep water & pelagic marine ecosystems opens/connects with Pacific, Indian & Atlantic Oceans. • Many opportunities for new species to enter the Antarctic ocean • Species reliant on the continental being shelf relatively isolated due to the rapid drop to deeper waters

MEP13: Describe the predictions by Mora et al. (2013), in terms of the areas which will be affected first....

• Departures will earlier in marine environments (than terrestrial) & will be early for habitats such as coral reefs, mangroves & seagrasses. • Poorer countries will experience climate departure first, & thus the effects of this first

*MEP3: Describe what the normal patterns of primary production depends on, and what happens if these patterns are disturbed...

• Depends on a complex interplay between light, nutrients, winds, currents & upwelling events • I.e. interplay between physics, chemistry, biology & geography • If patterns are disturbed, then highly productive areas can become relatively unproductive

MEP5: Describe the Southern Ocean food web and what it depends on...

• Depends on the diatoms & the phytoplankton which are crucial for the organisms in the sea ice & the water column, which are then consumed by a single zooplankton species, Antarctic krill • Simple, short, efficient food chains - primary producer (diatoms etc.), eaten by primary consumers (krill), eaten by Baleen whale (is then eaten by Killer whale), 3 trophic levels are very effective • Other food chains within web are also cased predominantly on Antarctic Krill • Diatoms etc. wouldn't be there if no upwelling, upwelling wouldn't be as effective if no circumpolar current

MEP6: Provide the definition of Mudflats...

• Deposits of sediment in sheltered intertidal areas (like estuaries) - exposed when tide is out

MEP9: Describe Crabs such as the Fiddler crab, including role that they play that makes them 'Ecosystem Engineers' or Keystone species....

• Detritivore - 'shovels' food into mouth to sift sediment for food • Pseudofaecal pellets - sediment is then formed into a ball & placed at burrow entrance • Helps aerate the surface increasing bacterial breakdown of organic matter • Carry out bioturbation in mangroves: - Fiddler crabs also burrow, preventing build up of anoxic substances in mud - Burrows allow oxygenated water into mud, enabling nitrification (& nutrient cycling) to occur - O2 in burrow facilitates nitrification via bacteria (ammonium to nitrogen) trees etc need nitrogen

MEP3: Describe the distribution of different plankton species across oceans with different climes/temperatures and what may affect this...

• Diatoms - most common in temperate warm & cold waters & also polar waters (can get benthic) • Dinoflagellates - found everywhere but most common is warm waters • Coccolithophores - mainly found in tropical waters • Various stressors may have an impact on species selection in different regions

MEP5: Describe the Current systems as a physical difference between the Antarctic ocean and the Arctic ocean...

• Different currents due to different upwellings & temperature gradients • Huge circular currents in Antarctic, but Transpolar current with limited straits in which water can be exchanged for in Arctic

MEP5: Describe Endemism in the Antarctic ocean and the Arctic ocean...

• Extremely high in Antarctic with 70% of fish genera & 95% of fish species • Low in in Artic as benthos similar to cold-temperate Atlantic & Pacific, e.g. similar fauna (algae) seen in severn estuary

MEP6: Define Deposit feeder, and provide an example (or two) of this....

• Feed on detritus & associated microorganisms (e.g. diatoms) in sediment • e.g. Ribbed Horsemussel (Geukensia demissa) & California hornsnail (Cerithedia californica)

MEP10: Describe the Diurnal vertical migration (DVM) by mesopelagic species as a deep sea adaptation, including what triggers it and why it is beneficial...

• Diurnal migrations from deeper water occupied at day, to shallower waters occupied at night. • Zooplankton trigger migration, which is followed by zooplanktivorous fish e.g. myctophids (e.g. Benthosema), bristlemouths & pearlsides (e.g. Maurolicus). • Roughly 1000 million tones of biomass migrates daily - World's biggest migration. • Significant carbon shift (shallow to deep) • Related to epipelagic productivity & predator avoidance - beneficial. • Migratory species actively swim large distances, so have better developed muscles, & lipid filled swimbladders.

MEP4: Describe the general features of Zonation patterns...

• Do vary, depending on degree of exposure • Typical vertical patterns • Tend to follow predictable pattern • Different organisms dominate different zones

MEP4: Describe what researchers such as Pfaff et al (2010) and Connell (1978) have found when looking at the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis...

• Doesn't fit hypothesis all of the time • Only highly enriched encrusting-algal communities (Pfaff) or turf-like communities (Connell) fit the hypothesis predictions

MEP2: Define Aphotic zone in terms of light terminology...

• Doesn't have enough light penetrating water, so organisms can't see

MEP4: Describe the typical zonation for a moderately exposed rocky shore, including examples....

• Dominant species in different zones e.g.: - Pelvitia & Fucus spiralis (seaweed) on edge of Eulittoral zone can survive desiccation - Fucus Serratus (seaweed) on edge of sublittoral zone is less tolerant to desiccation • Pattern may shift due to turbidity, degree of exposure, pollution, temperature,etc.

MEP12: Describe the fish species that tend to be caught by Global fisheries and identfy five of these species if possible...

• Dominated by only a handful of species, with five species making up 15% of global landings • Peruvian anchovy, Alaskan pollock, Chilean jack mackerel, Atlantic herring & chub mackerel

MEP4: Describe the different adaptations that allow organisms such as Chitons to cope with desiccation in tide pools...

• Don't suffer extremes of exposure • Can tolerate desiccation - clamp right down on to rock, to tolerate water loss to tissues • Issues with salinity changes & amount of oxygen in water

MEP8: Describe the affect the Giant-humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) has on coral and the potential affect of over fishing this species...

• E.g. top down control on coral if apex predator is removed than other species may increase in number e.g. Giant-humphead parrotfish • Each adult Giant-humphead ingests >5 tons/yr of structural reef carbonate, 50% live coral. • Overfishing this one species causes changes in ecosystem function on coral reefs - could be beneficial for coral though

MEP12: Describe how the use of Maximum sustainable yields (MSY) has not worked well in practise, including what happened until June 2013, and also describe how Europe seems to be leading the way now...

• EU ministers have ignored recommendations based on maximum sustainable yield (MSY) • Until June 2013 discards & landings greater than MSY were commonplace • Since 2013 both discards & landings >MSY have been prohibited (largely, but still not in place for most locations & species until January 2019) • Still overfish more than scientific advice thus many catches continue to plummet, but catch in EU now more in line with scientific advice • Campaigns e.g. Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall to change demand for more sutainable species

MEP12: Describe the History of fishing, including the archaeological findings as evidence for fishing in the past and when these indicate that fishing in the oceans began....

• Earliest evidence of systematic pelagic marine fishery, & first fishing hook, dates to 42,000 years, from Indonesia (O'Connor et al., 2011) • Examination of archaeological fish bone fossils (in UK) suggest intensive exploitation of marine fishes began ~1000 years ago (Barrett et al., 2004) • More freshwater or anadromous (river-sea migratory) eaten in Europe before this • Possibly fresh water stocks were overexploited & depleted, so they looked for other resources

MEP5: Identify the two circumpolar surface currents of the Antarctic ocean include the affects they have, as example of physical differences to the Arctic...

• East wind drift & west wind drift (circumpolar surface currents) creates a convergence zone, thus causing upwelling of nutrient rich deep water • This causes the ocean to be very productive, while deep or open water species are well distributed

MEP10: Describe the affect of pressure changes with water depth on organisms, and thus the adaptations that organisms must have in order to cope with these pressure changes with water depth...

• Effect of pressure is unavoidable to deep sea organisms, & affects gas filled structures most, e.g. swim bladders. • As pressure reduces then gas must expand, creates problem near surface e.g. fish going from 10m depth to surface halves pressure experienced so closed swimbladder volume doubles. • Fish that need to undergo quick movements between depths have either: - "open" swim bladders (enable escape of gas) - lipids swim bladder which are less compressible - or buoyancy is achieved using other ways (lipids)

*MEP3: Describe the Southern Oscillation, including how it can affect other events such as El Nino...

• El Nino is not localised • Part of larger impact via Southern Oscillation - long distance linkage in atmospheric pressure. • High pressure one side means low pressure the other - so complex interaction between atmosphere & ocean that links the entire planet • Sea saw changes levels of water due to changes in wind direction

MEP5: Define the euphotic zone and describe the nutrients in the euphotic zone as a physical difference between the Antarctic ocean and the Arctic ocean...

• Euphotic zone = area where photosynthesis can occur • Upwelling in Antarctic mean nutrients stay high all year - no limitations in primary productivity during summer (unlike in temperate waters) • In Arctic nutrients are seasonally depleted, partly due to river run off changing salinity gradient

MEP9: Describe the mud lobster (Thalassina sp.) as another important mangrove organism...

• Excavates mud mounds (up to 3m) • Brings buried organic material to the surface & help facilitate succession in mangrove plants - gets broken down • Also an 'ecosystem engineer' with an important role in the community

MEP12: Describe the possible evolutionary effects of fishing / fishing induced evolution.... Also, decribe the research by Hauser et al. (2002) on fisheries affecting the genetic diversity within New Zealand snapper (Pagrus auratus) stocks, as evidence for this...

• Fishing is size selective, removing the largest & oldest individuals from populations. • Possible that this causes artificially selection for faster growing, early maturing, small sized fish • Between 1940 & 1990 fisheries landings of New Zealand snapper increased, but spawning stock biomass declines. • Found this caused a loss of allelic diversity between samples collected in 1952 & 1998

MEP10: Describe the spread of Food (carbon flux) in terms of ocean depth, including why so little reaches the sea floor...

• Food in shallow waters is mainly autochthonous (made locally), while in the deeper waters is allochthonous (made elsewhere). • Primary production sinks, slowly, & is used on the way. • Only 1-3% of the production reaches the sea floor. • Food arrives either as Dissolved organic matter (DOM), Particulate organic matters (POM), or large food falls (e.g. fish, cetaceans, trees).

MEP7: Describe Hydrothermal vents, including where they are found, the different types of bacteria that are able to survive there and the chemical processes that occur...

• Found along fault lines (mid ocean ridges), diverse & endemic faunas, often huge biomass • Black smokers - force water down & up through vents, hydrogen sulfide in water • Critically, hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is basis for metabolism of chemoautotrophic bacteria & food web • Sulphur-oxidising bacteria (e.g Beggiatoa) creates sulphur as energy source: 2H2S + O2 → 2H20 + 2S • First taxon in food chain - bacteria used as food or symbiosis

MEP8: Describe where the Tropical coral reefs are found, including the characteristics of these areas...

• Found at the Equator - warm currents within Gyres often feed with nutrient e.g. pacific gyres • Tropical surface waters are stratified & nutrient poor • High Surface Sea Temperature of up to 32°C (very warm) but steep permanent thermocline, temperature rapidly declines with depth, Strong pycnocline • Tropical waters usually have low biomass except in upwelling regions & coral reefs

MEP5: Describe the affect Polynyas have on breeding success in the Emperor penguins in the Mertz Glacier Polynya case study (Massom et al., 2009)....

• Found breeding success depends on distance of the breeding colony to the Mertz Glacier Polynya • I.e. ease of access to open water foraging ground - the smaller the distance the greater breeding success

MEP2: Define the word Sub-tidal region

• Found in Littoral zone

MEP3: Describe the findings of early research on addition of Fe to the ocean, including if there are any issues...

• Found iron had massive impact as there were more phytoplankton • Issue of is it a good idea e.g. might affect deep sea ecosystem negatively • Compartmented to areas

MEP15: Describe the affect of the presence of boat noise on damselfish predator detection as discovered in the research by Simpson et al. (2016)...

• Found they use more oxygen (i.e. higher metabolic rate), & are less able to detect predators (fewer "startle" responses). • Shown directly in both lab & field that fish are more likely to be eaten in situations where boat noise is present

MEP4: Describe the use manipulation on communities to provide a greater understanding on why there are distinctive zonation patterns...

• Fucus seaweed has a faster growth rate than Pelvitia seaweed, so Fucus normally outcompetes the Pelvitia seaweed • Remove Fucus seaweed - despite removing Fucus, the other seaweed (Pelvitia) cannot grow faster (same results as if Fucus wasn't removed) • Fucus outcompetes with it for light & therefore limits the extension of Pelvetia down the shore, as Fucus outshades Pelvitia • Fucus is not so well adapted to withstand desiccation so cannot generally grow higher up the shore

MEP8: Describe the Parrotfish (Scaridae) e.g. Giant-humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum) as a coral reef bioeroder/borer...

• Fused dental plates form a 'beak'. • Have a 'pharyngeal jaw' - a second set of jaws within throat. • Very long intestine, no stomach. • Form large schools grazing over the reef

MEP14: Describe the affects acidic waters has on the larval stages and fertilization in marine organisms as studied by various researchers....

• Gaylord et al. (2011): Led to reduced shell thickness of larval mussels, making them more vulnerable to predators & extreme wave action • Albright et al. (2010): Led to deformations of flagellae of sperm corals (uses CaCo3), leading to reduced fertilization success, & possible effects on recruitment success • Simpson et al. (2011): Led to reduced predator (reef noise) avoidance behaviour in larval clownfishes, due to deformed otoliths causing impaired hearing

MEP5: Describe the benthic ecosystem that would be seen when there is low and high ice disturbance...

• Giant slow growing sponges in low ice disturbance • Fast pioneer communities like fast growing ascidians colonise after ice shelf collapse or scour event i.e. high ice disturbance

MEP12: Describe examples of the use of Passive fishing gears as a fishing method...

• Gill nets - that entangle fish by gills • Long-lines - often hundreds or thousands of baited hooks • Baited pots & fish traps - used on inshore grounds.

MEP13: Describe the findings by Burrows et al. (2014) when considering climate change from the perspective of "climate velocity"....

• Global pattern of latitudinal shift - most climate has shifted ~20km towards poles. • Shift through time via seasonal shifts: - Spring temperatures forward by ~5 days in northern hemisphere - Autumn backwards by ~5 days in southern hemisphere. • Indicates warmth in summer periods are lasting longer & cooler temperatures in winter periods are becoming shorter • Climate velocity is actually complex, not always a shift in latitude towards poles, but can travel east or west - depends on prevailing winds, currents & presence of landmasses

MEP10: Describe the changes that occur when going down into the deep sea, including the biomass found there compared to other areas of the ocean and why this is...

• Going deeper in the ocean there is a substantial environmental change as light levels diminish, plankton becomes less common, & the water becomes much colder • Biomass in the deep sea reduced compared to other marine communities • Reduction primarily due to food available (low due to lack of photosynthesis in perpetual dark)

MEP4: Describe the Spring and Neap tides...

• Governed by the Moon & the Earth • Spring Tides have the highest & lowest tides (greatest tidal amplitude), Neap tides have small tidal amplitude • Times of tide change each day by about an hour a day

MEP11: Describe the migration of Grey whales and why they do this... Also, describe the migration of Humpback whales as studied by Kennedy et al. (2013), including how they were studied and why this information is useful...

• Grey whales-summer feed in Arctic as productive benthic invertebrate food • In winter they migrate to California to rear young, the young grow faster as there is less predation i.e. from Killer Whales • Humpback whale migration studied by Kennedy useing whaler records & satellite tags • Attach satellite tags to animals that can be removed/pop off & data uploaded • Use these tags to estimate speed of migration when leave winter breeding (West Indies) & moving to summer feeding ground in Iceland • Average of 26 days (4-90), mean speed 1.7km/hr • Indicates whales from multiple feeding grounds congregate around the Antillean islands • Useful for conservation

MEP5: Describe the krill Euphausia superb and why it is important in the ice & in the pelagic ecosystem...

• Grows ≤6 cm in length & live ± 5 years. • Dominant herbivore in this Antarctic pelagic system. • Very well adapted to capitalizing on the primary producers - reaches high concentrations (swarms) under sea ice (echolocation detects this) • Occupy all layers of the water column e.g. get swarms of them at surface & down to a 100 meters, which makes them prey to surface, pelagic & benthic (secondary) feeders.

MEP13: Describe how each species should have a temperature-growth rate relationship, including the evidence for this by Neuhemier et al. (2013) on the Red moki (Cheilodactylus spectabilis)

• Growth increases with temperature until a pejus temperature (TP), as costs of growth outweighed by energetic costs, & growth rates decline. • Found for temperatures > TP, growth rate of Red moki declines with increasing temperature

MEP15: Describe oil spills as a form of ocean pollution, including examples...

• Gulf of Mexico oil spill of 4.9 million barrels • Long time to clear up, long lasting impact • Most oil comes from humans putting down the drain • Extent of problem depends on oil type; light and heavy oils have toxic effects

MEP7: Describe the methods used for the mapping the ocean floor both in the past and the present....

• HMS Challenger used rope to indicate depth & discovered deepest ocean is "Challenger deep" (11,022m) • Cameron (2012) - went to seabed of "Challenger deep" & saw mud but no fish • Have sampled deep sea extensively, but more to be done to understand it (topography) • Use sonar signals to map sea floor, can also use multibeam echosounder, attach to submersible to map oceans & find lost aircraft etc

MEP7: Describe the Hard bottomed benthic / sublittoral as a type of continental shelf community....

• Harder / shelly substrates harder to burrow into • Communities dominated by rich epifauna, but poor infauna • Sessile filter feeding species: sponges, hydroids, anemones, bryozoans, polychaetes, barnacles, sea squirts • Motile species: urchins, limpets, abalones, chitons • Complex feed web, supported by seaweeds & planktons as producers e.g. plankton eaten by mussels, which are eaten by sea otters

MEP2: Define Disphotic/dysphotic zone in terms of light terminology...

• Has enough light penetrating water for organisms to see by

MEP12: Describe the affects/impacts of fishing (and its management) on the organisms living in the ocean...

• Has environmental effects on non-target fish species, birds, mammals, & seabed habitats. • Impacts can depend on substrate in habitat, with trawl fisheries with being damaging to benthos. • For taxa on sandy shallow seabeds impacts are minimal - most are adapted to stress (waves etc.) • For taxa on rocky or biogenic (e.g. coral) habitats there are long-term impacts.

MEP3: Describe the different primary production rate for tropical waters, including if the seasons can affect this...

• Has steady production with oscillations as temperature doesn't change much & not light-limited • Different species due to different chemicals etc.

MEP12: Describe the affects/impacts of fishing on deep water seamounts....

• Have been heavily fished over last 25 years, due to technological advances & declining nearshore stocks making them viable fisheries • Found 500m to 2000m from the surface • Trawl nets & chains destroy deep water coral, coral by-catch has been carbon dated to over 5000 years old (Hall-Spencer et al. 2001).

MEP6: Describe the migration of eels, including the research methods and findings by Naisbett Jones et al....

• Have long migrations & seem to use Gyers • They also use magnetic field of earth to navigate /align • In research eels were released in different orientation • Found direction of eels fitted location of Gulf Stream by using currents to get to UK

MEP10: Describe the Deep-pelagic (& benthic) species found at 1000 meters deep, inclcluding their strategies and adaptation....

• Have much lower energy lifestyles, often slow moving, & using sit-&-wait scavenger/predatory strategies. • Density reduction of all tissues & low bone density (fragile) • Sometimes, brain olfactory regions of benthic scavengers are highly developed, enabling these species to locate prey.

MEP5: Identify the food and features of the Antarctic that penguins rely on....

• Heavily dependent on krill & areas called coastal polynyas • E.g. 90% of Adélie & Emperor penguin colonies are sited next to recurrent coastal polynyas

MEP2: Describe the levels of nutrients such as Phosphorus as discovered when creating depth profiles of nutrients in the ocean...

• High concentration of organisms we didn't know about e.g. picocyanobacteria • Create contour lines based on soluble reactive Phosphate (SRP) = PO4 • Different levels of Phosphorus at different times of year

MEP5: Describe the affect of ice scours on a local scale...

• High faunal mortality • Skewed population structures • Dominance by mobile secondary consumers (e.g. echinoderms, crustaceans).

MEP5: Describe Macrobenthic diversity in the Antarctic ocean and the Arctic ocean...

• High in Antarctic & low in Arctic • Antarctic has 6x the numbers of species (than found in Arctic) thus having a greater macrobethic diversity

MEP11: Describe the various features and characteristics of the pelagic environment, including the types of biota that can be found there...

• Highly heterogeneous environment, varies in physical & biological parameters over large & small geographic scales • Both vertical & horizontal heterogeneity in light, temperature, oxygen, wind-driven mixing, mixing of water masses (fronts = meeting of water masses differing in physical properties). • Leads to differences in spatial distributions of biota, from phytoplankton to large marine predators e.g. sperm whales (fronts are rich in life) • E.g. distribution of biomass high around continental shelf & low around open ocean • Correlation between phytoplankton & zooplankton which are eaten by squid, & these are then eaten by sperm whales

MEP5: Describe the productivity of Antarctic (AKA Southern) Ocean in the Summer, as example of physical differences to the Arctic...

• Hot spots of phytoplankton blooms occur along convergence zone (upwelling of nutrient rich deep water), ice margins & landmasses • High productivity (chlorophyll) as biomass at any given depth in Southern/Antarctic Ocean are 10x to 100x that of the same depth in Arctic Ocean.

MEP3: Describe the affect of Marine Snow as part of the fate of carbon fixed in photic zone...

• If not all grazed/eaten the fixed carbon falls down towards the sediments • Provides extra organic material • Although it may be broken down before reaching the bottom

MEP8: Describe the Crustose coralline algae....

• Important group of red algae (division Rhodophyta; order Corallinales). • Dominant reef-forming genus Porolithion. • Can be responsible for 50% of the hard surface of a reef. • Acts like mortar for the reef by forming an encrusting cement of Mg-rich CaCO3. • Surface aids the settlement of coral recruits & other reef invertebrates.

MEP7: Describe the Kelp forests as a type of continental shelf community....

• Important in pacific as dominant, with canopy forming - fronds on surface or in midwater • Attached by holdfast (up to 40m deep) • Rapid growth as giant kelp grow 60 cm a day, at 45m depth • Form huge canopy, good nursery for fish, & rich habitat for macrofauna • Food web interactions can be pronounced

MEP14: Describe the evidence by Bednarsek et al. (2013) for the de-calcification of marine organisms e.g. pteropods in the southern ocean, and why this is able to occur...

• In areas of southern ocean there are locations where aragonite levels are less than 100% • Found evidence of substantial shell damage/dissolution in this habitat, but not in others with higher aragonite saturation levels

MEP2: Describe downwelling and overturn, including the affect of these on the depth profiles of oceans

• In autumn, surface water cools becomes dense & sinks (D.W) • The cool water displaces deeper water which rises (O.T) • Mix layer becomes deeper & layers mix thus replenishes nutrients in higher layers & surface mixed layer depth increases

MEP11: Describe how upwellings are generated in open opens such as in equatorial oceans, and why these are important for fisheries in Peru & in the southwest coast of Africa....

• In equatorial oceans there are major surface currents driven by tradewinds. • These promote upwelling via the process of Ekman transport, in which movement of surface water is at 90° to the prevailing wind. • This promotes the upwelling of cold, old & nutrient rich water, in turn leading to high primary productivity in such locations & important fisheries

MEP15: Describe the affect of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill event in the Gulf of Mexico on the gulf killifish as studied by Whitehead et al. (2012)....

• In location nearest to spill, there were significant changes in expression of genes in gill tissue. • CYP1A1 gene, a common "biomarker" of hydrocarbon exposure, was particularly highly expressed at these sites. • Thus toxic effects are capable of interfering with fundamental cellular process

MEP4: Define the Eulittoral zone (AKA Intertidal or Midlittoral)...

• In marine ecosystems, its the main area of littoral zone lying below the littoral fringe. • Area that is covered & uncovered by water each day, so medium exposure between tides

MEP2: Describe Thermoclines including when/how they may develop and what they can affect...

• In temperate & polar waters a 'seasonal thermocline' may develop • Thermoclines are affected by different temperatures so can get temporary thermoclines • Organisms can run out of nutrients as these layers (thermocline) do not mix • Affects productivity of the ocean

MEP13: Describe the affect of climate change on Marine phenology, including the research by Edwards et al. (2004) as evidence for this...

• Increasing evidence that climate determines timing of many seasonal life history marine events • Study of plankton seasonal dynamics (data from continuous plankton recorder). • Found seasonal abundance of North Atlantic Zooplankton linked to climatic fluctuations in last 50 years; typically warmer waters lead to earlier plankton blooms • Strong evidence that warmer waters = earlier plankton blooms

MEP3: Describe what the early research on using Iron fertilisation found, including if there are any issues...

• Indicated addition of iron stimulates growth of algae - so can get change in species composition • However, very crude experiments as no influence from replenishing of nutrients or new species replenishing dying cells

MEP4: Describe the intermediate diversity/disturbance hypothesis, including the issues that arise and why this is......

• Intermediate disturbance = maximum species richness • Initially thought that there were 'predictable' zones on the rocky shore, but zones are not fixed in position & species can migrate up & down • When a clear patch occurs, patterns of recolonization & regrowth, or patterns of ecological succession can be difficult to predict • I.e. can get very different succession patterns due to different organisms & different factors e.g. temperature • What regrows may depend on what reaches the space, the time of year, size of space, etc., so not as predictable

MEP14: Describe the Tropical Oceans Predictions made by Hoegh-Guldberg et al. (2007) due to the combination of ocean warming and acidification... Also describe the research by Dove et al. (2013) on the community-level effects of this...

• Lead to major changes in habitats • Keystone species such as corals will become increasingly rare • Algae will become more abundant • Biodiversity will decline • Used miniature reefs in mesocosms • Found acidification led to reduced coral abundance, & increased macroalgal abundance

MEP15: Describe invasive species and how they can invade... Also describe the Lionfish (Pterois volitans & P. miles) as an example, including the negative effects this invasive species is causing...

• Invasive species are now widespread globally, but some of the most important ecologically & commercially are lionfish, Caulerpa, European shore crabs, sea walnuts & zebra mussels • These species mainly invade via ballast water (shipping), but other ways include pet trade & aquaculture. • E.g. Lionfish have invaded due to release from aquaria • They have spread rapidly across Caribbean, but are native to Indo-Pacific. • They are extremely predatory, & have driven declines in native species, so there are concerns these effects may amplify to other trophic levels.

MEP3: Describe the findings an Iron Enrichment Study carried out in 2002...

• Iron fertilization experiment lead to bloom that is visible from space. • Found red patch in satellite image, indicating high levels of chlorophyll in subarctic scosystem, due to addition of iron

MEP10: Describe the light levels and spectrum when going into deeper waters, including how this may affect the vision of organisms living on the ocean floor...

• Irradiance (light flux density = photons) decreases with depth, & also spectrum is "attenuated with depth". • Spectrum becomes increasing narrow with increasing depth, as longwave (reds) & shortwave (UV) fall off, so light is 'blue' shifted. • Maximum depth that there is downwelling sunlight is about 800m. • Below this all light of visual relevance is from bioluminescence, thus this is probably the main selective force on deep-sea animal vision

MEP2: Describe how sea water is an excellent solvent & include the components that can be found in it... Also how does the water affect cell components?

• It dissolves more substances & in greater quantities than any other common liquid: • These include salts, sugars acids, alkalis, & some gases including oxygen & carbon dioxide • Cell components such as polysaccharides, proteins & DNA are dissolved in water & derive their structure & activity from interactions with water

MEP5: Describe the Antarctic Krill including their distribution and what this depends on...

• Krill form dense swarms >10,000 krill/ m3 of water. • swarms can cover miles with 1000s tonnes of krill. • High density important for predators. • High krill densities (distribution) depend on extent of winter sea ice. • Extensive sea ice means plentiful winter food from benthic ice algae. • Promotes larval recruitment, thus replenishing krill population.

MEP6: Describe the different estuarine organisms, as well as marine and fresh water organisms, in relation to Salinity.....

• Lack of competition • Marine restricted to high salinity e.g. Stenohaline have narrow tolerance to salinity changes (35ppt) • Euryhaline have broad tolerance to a range of salinities (7ppt to 35ppt) • Truly estuarine have intermediate salinity (17 ppt) • Brackish water = intermediate salinity & contains stenohaline & euryhaline organisms • Fresh water organisms cope max with 10 ppt • Large change in species composition, most estuarine animals are marine in origin

MEP12: Describe the problems with ensuring landed fish are not unreported, including a certain country looked at by Pauly et al. (2013) as an example...

• Landings should be reported to the FAO. • For political reasons some countries do not e.g: - China reports virtually no international (long-distance fleet) landings to FAO - Thought to be 12 times as much caught as reported by China (pelagic species)

ME9: Describe why Mangroves can be difficult environments to survive in...

• Large amount of leaf litter from trees that is broken down by high densities of fungi & bacteria • This create a very high oxygen demand & leaves can also produce toxic substances Low oxygen - anoxia High & variable salinity - rainfall & run off etc High temperature causes evapouration so salinity increases • Can make thriving in this environment difficult & life may be less abundant than in other muddy environments (though bacteria may be abundant)

MEP6: Define and describe Sediment as a Physical Characteristics of Estuaries, including the affect of the Estuarine Turbidity Maximum on these particles...

• Large amounts of organic (& non-organic) particles associated with tide & river flow - Estuarine Turbidity Maximum = organic matter flocculates where it meets the salt wedge, get turbidity maximum & particles go to bottom - Maximum aggregation of particles where seawater & freshwater meet - Settles to form a rich mud, but turbidity reduces light penetration reducing photosynthesis - If can live in sediment then huge food resource

MEP8: Describe the Crown of thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) as a coral reef bioeroder/borer...

• Large everted stomach & secrete enzymes for extracellular digestion - top down control • Depends on algal blooms & nutrient deposition

MEP11: Describe the Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)...

• Large marine predator that can live for 30 years, grow to over 300kg, & 4m in length, matures at 4 to 8 years. • Basis for highly profitable fishery, caught using longlines & purse seines. • Major spawning grounds in Mediterranean & Gulf of Mexico.

MEP5: Describe Characteristics of benthos in the Antarctic ocean and the Arctic ocean...

• Large number of epifaunal species in Antarctic living at interval between sediment & water • A lot of infaunal species in Arctic that live in the sediment

MEP10: Identify and describe where the deep water comes from and how this results in upwelling and downwelling of water....

• Large scale currents that link the surface & deep water. • Deep waters formed as sea ice freezes in colder polar regions, these waters are dense, saline, cold & oxygen rich • Temperature & pressure gradients, so water comes from surface as upwells, then current carries it to sea ice which cools the water so it sinks to the bottom (oxygen rich) as downwells • Few organisms down there to use Oxygen • This sinking, generates a "thermohaline" current driven by temperature & water density. • Bottom waters can be 2000 years since last at surface • Amount of sea ice determines how much deep water

MEP8: Describe the large coral bleaching in 1998, including why this occured and the affect this had...

• Largest bleaching event that affected 80% of great barrier reef due to el Nino • Bleaching observed at 87% of inshore reefs, in coastal areas & areas of shallow water - reduced coastal upwelling due to rise in temperature • Wind induced upwelling change which affected temperature & nutritional availability • Acropora colonies ~ >95% mortality verses Porites colonies ~ <5% mortality • Tropical corals more susceptible to bleaching as more affected by change of temperature

MEP14: Describe movement (i.e., shift distribution to non-OA waters) by marine species, including what triggers this movement...

• Less likely for species with dependence on key resources in a particular location & they are unlikely to sense changes in pH directly. • Instead, movement would only be triggered by behavioural responses to changing resource availability e.g. reduced food or suitable habitat

MEP3: Describe the primary productivity i.e. rate of carbon fixation for Terrestrial environments...

• Less productive especially if heterogenous • Tropical rainforests have a high productivity rate

MEP3: Describe the different primary production rate for temperate waters, including how the seasons can affect this...

• Light limited in winter but algae increase in spring bloom as light availability increases • Spring bloom important for food webs • Zooplankton consume them & they also run out of nutrients, they are trapped in this layer thus number declines • In autumn bloom is lower than in Spring, temperature drops causing downwelling (mix) so more nutrients available • Bloom reduce in size as light reduces in winter • Repeated each year

MEP3: Describe the different primary production rate for polar waters, including how the seasons can affect this...

• Light-limited in winter • There are late spring blooms which are very large • Narrow window before blooms die down due to less light & lower temperature in autumn

MEP12: Identify the nine different methods used to manage (e.g. limit) a fishery....

• Limiting total catch & closing fishery when the catch is reached • Limiting length of fishing season • Limiting areas open for fishing (includes marine reserves) • Limiting number of boats permitted to fish • Limiting gear size or gear type • Limiting size of fish caught • Limiting catches per boat (quota) • Limiting fishing methods • Use quotas for individual species

MEP7: Describe Whale falls as a example of other chemosynthetic based systems...

• Lipids in bones create anoxic high sulphide environments • Results in mats of sulphur-oxidising bacteria (like vents) • Get specialist vestimentiferans e.g. mussels etc. form food web • Also get "bone feeding" Osedax tube worms

MEP6: Describe the Ragworm Hediste diversicolor, including their life style and what they can eat....

• Live in mud flat largely & many live in burrows • Relies on material from salt marsh • Have jaws & proboscis • Found they can feed on cord grass as a supplement food - search for cord grass & consume sprouted seeds

MEP8: Describe the relationship between coral reef decline and over fishing...

• Long term decline in coral reefs & over fishing has reduced size of fish e.g. smaller sizes caught in 2007 compared to back in 1957 due to top predator removal

MEP8: Describe the coral Lophilia pertusa as an example of Cold water corals...

• Long-lived, slow growing & very fragile coral. • Below 40m water depth (i.e. below photic zone). • No symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic algae, but host specific bacteria e.g. hydrogen sulphide (H2S) metabolism • Ahermatypic (CaCO3 + mud), although can build mounds on top of seamounts • Not restricted by water temperature & light - instead restricted by oxygen & food (Particulate Organic Matter).

MEP11: Describe the research by Block et al. (2011) who put data together to identify the broader "macroecological" patterns of space use, including the species considered, the findings, and why this is beneficial in terms of conservation...

• Looked at 2 species of Albatross (Laysan & black footed) in West & East, Blue fin & yellow fin tuna in cold & warm, as well as the different habitats between sharks • Found many species were undertaking latitudinal movements, related to temperature & chlorophyll abundance - indicate they're undergoing seasonal feeding migrations. • Also found patterns of niche partitioning related to environmental variables, e.g. temperature. • Work out best practice for marine predators - map from tracking & conserve via trawling ban etc.

MEP11: Describe the research by Sims et al. (2008) and how this provies evidence for "Levy flight"...

• Looked at exploration of depth movements of 31 individuals of 7 species • Found that Levy-like movements were present in all, e.g. sharks, teleosts, sea turtles & penguins. • Thus seem to be following the same search 'law'. • Only the juvenile basking shark failed to show this, again suggesting learnt behaviour.

MEP6: Describe the microcosm experiments on the Ragworm Hediste diversicolor, on cordgrass seeds by Zhu et al., (2016), including the methods and the findings...

• Looked at percentage of sterile seeds verses sprouted seeds eaten by the worms - found all sprouted seeds were eaten • Looked at weight change of worms on muddy sediment fed with 4 different seed diets: intact, dehusked, sprouting, none (control) • Found that worms gained weight mass when consuming seed with husk removed or sprouting seeds (high energy) • Reason for success is diverse feeding strategy

MEP5: Describe Biotic disturbance in the Antarctic ocean and the Arctic ocean...

• Low in Antarctic but high in Arctic

MEP5: Describe Macrobenthic diversity in the Arctic, including examples of species that live there...

• Low macrobenthos diversity • Mostly infaunal species i.e. living in or burrowing through bottom sediment • Many feed on particulate organic matter suspended in the water or settled on the bottom via suspension (passive) feeding • E.g. Macoma clam inhale/exhale to siphon water from water column - get nutrients

MEP15: Describe the increasingly prominent issue of plastic pollution, including the affects of macroplastics and microplastics....

• Macroplastic on shorelines, or floating in ocean. • Nets or tangles of rope can entangle marine species, while plastic can be mistaken for food by birds & turtles. • "Microplastics" are widely distributed around the world, & can track their arrival through historic samples (e.g. Continuous Plankton Recorder). • They are a product of breakdown of larger items, or from laundry.

MEP11: Describe the use of migration as a behavioural adaptation, including the main purpose of these, and the animals that do migrate...

• Major migrations undertaken by many marine mammals, birds, fishes & reptiles. • Main reasons for long-distance large animal movements are for reproduction &/or feeding. • Most migrations are for the purposes of locating food, mates &/or to release young in the vicinity of suitable nursery grounds.

MEP6: Describe the decay of salt marsh plants, including how this occurs and the affect it does have...

• Major plants in the saltmarsh are unpalatable • Get broken down physically & biologically e.g. broken by waves • Colonized by bacteria & fungi which facilitate plant decay into detritus • Carbon to Nitrogen ratio changes as increasing Nitrogen - provides rich food source • Carbohydrate falls, protein increase - making them more nutritious • Facilitated by bacteria & fungi

MEP1: Describe Prokaryotes (e.g. bacteria & archaea) role in marine ecosystems...

• Major role as decomposers • Recycling of nutrients e.g. dissolved organic matter (DOM) • Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the oceans of the world is one of greatest reserves of organic carbon on our planet

MEP1: Describe the Archaea found in the ocean...

• Many are extremophiles: e.g. living in hydrothermal vents, hot springs • Common in marine environments in water & sediments • Can make up 20% of prokaryotes in particular regions of the oceans

MEP11: Describe movement ecology in terms of finding prey, including an example, and what this indicates...

• Many marine predators have to make foraging movements without knowledge of prey distributions • Depends what prey are • Majority shoal of fish are on front but fronts move • E.g. basking sharks forage on zooplankton, which is patchily distributed. • In theory, it should pay to use the optimal search strategy.

MEP12: Describe the problems with determining the "real" abundance of fishes within fisheries...

• Many stocks aren't independently surveyed - so the estimate of stock size tends to be biased • Surveys are expensive & time-consuming, & data require thorough analysis - not feasible • Many stock assessment use landings, these landings per unit fishing effort can be informative. • But this can be unreliable, if commercial fishermen change their behaviour

MEP12: Describe the research by Gutierrez et al. (2011) on the successful use of "co-management" between local communities & regional government as a method to manage a fishery.....

• Measured success using social, ecological & economic indicators. • Found highest success in areas with high Human development index • Most important factors = strong leadership, the degree of social cohesion & implementation of protected areas. • Scientific advice, landing sizes & stocking were all much less important. • Suggests getting regional fishers together under strong leaders helps promote sustainable fisheries.

MEP5: Why is pack ice potentially melting as studied in a grant called Black & Blue, and why could this be concerning...

• Melting of ice sheet potentially due to role played by the surface algae in affecting this • Concern of extra water from melting ice sheet causes change in sea water levels & changes in productivity

MEP10: Describe prey handling in both mesopelagic species and in deep pelagic species as a deep sea adaptation, including the anatomical structures involved....

• Mesopelagic species are efficient predators & catch animals of similar sizes to themselves • These species have large eyes & some have large projectile jaws with large curved teeth which aid prey capture. • E.g. Viper fish has open oesophagus (no operculum) to allow prey to be swallowed • Deeper water pelagic species tend to have small eyes & be entirely reliant on bioluminescent lures. • More reliant on sit-&-wait hunting technique, still relatively small fish

MEP13: Describe the research by Poloczanska et al. (2013) to evaluate the strength of responses of marine organisms to climate change... (check)

• Meta analysis of studies • Combined evidence that it was affecting organisms • On average 80% of studies suggested climate change would affect populations, species abundance, etc., • Climate effects seen across most marine species groups, in all major marine biomes, & in multiple different environmental response variables.

MEP8: Identify the different Coral reef bioeroders/borers that eat coral, including examples...

• Microborers e.g. algae, fungi & bacteria • Macroborers e.g. Bivalves, sponges, & Polychaetes (e.g. Christmas Tree Worms) • External bioborers e.g. Parrot fish, Urchin & Chitons

MEP3: Describe the potential use of Iron fertilisation, including why it could be beneficial for HNLC areas...

• Might be able to increase the productivity of the ocean by using iron, as iron is needed for photosynthesis • Could potentially increase abundance of algea (with chlorophyll) in HNLC areas

MEP6: Define Anadromous...

• Migration from sea to freshwater to spawn e.g. salmon

MEP13: Describe the Match-mismatch hypothesis as developed by he renowned fish biologist David Cushing...

• Mismatch between timing of prey availability, and the time that it is required most e.g. critical stages in their life history • In years where a match is made, recruitment succeeds, in mismatch years, recruitment fails.

MEP12: Describe the problems with Misreporting and Mislabelling (at sea, & after landing), including the study findings by Miller & Mariani (2010) on fish in Ireland as examples...

• Misreported catches will affect stock size & catch estimates, & thus reduces likelihood of good management. Used DNA-based species identification & found: - 25% of all samples were mislabelled - 28% of all cod were mislabelled - 82% of smoked fish were mislabelled - 93% of smoked cod were mislabelled

MEP4: Describe how different organisms cope with wave action...

• Mobile organisms can shelter from wave action (or 'clamp down') • Sessile organisms can adapt to withstand wave action - e.g. are fixed with compact shape that reduces area exposed to wave action & water moves easily over them • Seaweed have flexible stipe with strong holdfast & streamlined shape; can lose fronds but have a meristem to regenerate

MEP2: Describe light Penetration fresh water, and how this is measured...

• More Green light • Use PAR to measure this - light wavelengths that can be absorbed (micro mol photons per metre per second) for photosynthesis

MEP5: What the research by Reid et al. (2007) also indicate

• More regular melting of ice in Canadian Arctic in 1999 due to climate change • Climate change is affecting the distribution of primary producers such as this Diatom

MEP4: Define the Sublittoral zone (AKA Neritic)...

• Starts immediately below the eulittoral zone. • This zone tends to be permanently covered with seawater (not usually exposed)

MEP10: Describe the various uses of Bioluminescence as a deep sea adaptation, such as to hide from or to avoid predators, or to attract prey, and also provide examples for these...

• Most mesopelagic animals are bioluminescent & use photophores for camouflage • Theory that photophores on ventral parts of body breaks up silhouette against downwelling light, so predators cannot recognise prey - ventral bioluminescence may play a similar role • Classic experiment on mesopelagic shrimp showed amount of bioluminescence produced was controlled by perception of "outside" light • Can also use to startle & escape from predators e.g. bioluminescent ink • Can be used as bait/lures (e.g. anglerfish, dragonfish) • Also potentially in communication (e.g. species recognition & even sexual selection).

MEP11: Describe the movements found in open ocean and coastal waters, as found in the research by Sequeira et al. (2018)...

• Most movements in open ocean are straight (directional) "ballistic" (towards 0º, won't go back on self) • In Coastal environment there was more random movement, going forward * back (including back to original position e.g. 180º) • Different movement strategies, with open ocean greater RMS (= ballistic rather than random movement)

MEP6: Describe the organism found within the mudflats, including how pesticides can have negative affects for some organisms, but positive affects for others...

• Mud can be organic rich • Bacteria can use up all of the oxygen in interstitial water • Sediments can be anoxic (lack O2) in lower layers so only anaerobic bacteria survive • E.g. hydrogen sulphide from inorganic & organic pesticides accumulates in mud & can be toxic • Anaerobic bacteria can thrive • Plentiful nutrients & though biodiversity may be low, primary production may be very high

MEP9: Describe some of the Macrofauna found in a mangrove forest....

• Mud exposed when tide is out • Snakes & lizards live on mangrove trees • Marine fauna hard bottom on tree, soft bottom on mud - can create burrows • Litorina on tree (eat plankton), while crabs & prawns etc feed at high tide • Root system useful for opportunists eg sponges oysters, sea anemones, barnacles, sea squirts & corals etc

MEP15: Identify the sources of marine noise as an emerging issue in marine conservation.... Describe the research findings by Rolland et al. (2012) when shipping lanes were closed on 9/11/2001 in the Bay of Fundy in response to the New York terrorist attack....

• Multiple sources e.g. seismic surveys, boat engines/propellers, construction noise & military activity (sonar to detect submarines & affect communications). • Found samples of right whale faeces collected during this quiet period had lower concentrations of the glucocorticoid "stress" hormones than samples collected shortly before

MEP3: Describe Coccolithophores, including their main features and why there is scientific interest...

• Nanoplankton • Have Calcium Carbonate exo-skeleton made of Coccoliths • Contradictory evidence surrounds the debate about impacts of ocean acidification on this group of algae

MEP7: Define the Neritic zone and describe its importance in relation to the continental shelves...

• Neritic zone - water above the continental shelves, is about 8% of sea surface area • Europe has a large continental shelf & thus neritic zone • Important for fisheries, shipping, hydrocarbons (oil, gas), renewable energy (i.e. less risky for wind farms & tidal barrages), aquaculture, recreation (sailing).

MEP3: Describe Dinoflagellates, including their main features and provide examples...

• Net plankton • Heterotrophic (not photosynthetic) • Elaborate spines & extra development of cell wall • Have flagella so can choose position in water column (Advantageous) • Some are bioluminescent - e.g. dinoflagellate Gonyaulax polyedra is bioluminescent & forms red tides • Some are toxic

MEP3: Describe Diatoms, including their main features...

• Net plankton • Photosynthetic & important primary producers • Elaborate spines can help them join together • Filaments can aid flotation

MEP12: Describe the affects/impacts of ghost fishing.....

• Nets, lines, hooks or pots are lost during fishing. • These gears continue fishing for years afterwards - made from long-lasting synthetic material • Caught fish may act as bait for larger predators, including other fish, birds & mammals.

MEP14: Identify and describe the marine organisms that will benefit from ocean acidification...

• Non-calcifying marine algae will have increased photosynthesis & growth • Due to lower pH = more dissolved CO2 for photosynthesis to fuel growth • Leads to higher survival & population growth

*MEP3: Describe the difference between thermoclines in normal years and in El Nino years...

• Normal: thermocline tilting brings nutrient rich upwelled deep water off coasts of Peru • El Nino: high atmospheric pressures in western Pacific cause offshore winds to be weaker so thermocline tilts less & less water is upwelled

MEP2: Describe sea surface salinities of the world oceans & how salinity can be measured at different depths...

• Not a huge range in salinity • Do find higher & lower concentrations • Measured in PSU = practical salinity unit • Use rosette of submersible water samplers with probes which capture water samples at different intervals to get a depth profile

MEP3: Describe the primary productivity i.e. rate of carbon fixation for Pelagic environments....

• Not much variation • Less in central ocean gyres • Higher for equatorial & coastal upwelling areas

MEP8: Describe the "Naked coral" ocean acidification experiment by Fine et al., (2007), including the issues with this experiment and the findings...

• Ocean acidification on Scleractinian coral - faults with experiment need time to acclimatise in methodologies less sudden change • Survive as naked coral calcium carbonate exoskeleton, however this without predators could be more at risk from grazers & when pre-returned to original continued to produce calcium carbonate exoskeleton

MEP6: Describe Seagrass beds, including where they are found, and the features of these sea grasses...

• Often found as neighbouring/adjoining habitats to estuarine regions • Grow in submerged photic zone, & most occur in shallow & sheltered coastal waters • Angiosperms have up to 50 different species of sea grass, these have a rhizome & leaves are blade like • Common in tropics & temperate zones • Affected by currents, water depth, light etc.

MEP12: Describe the areas where fisheries tend to be found in the world, including examples and the depth that fishing can occur at...

• Often on continental shelves, or in very productive areas of the epipelagic • E.g. in upwelling areas off southwestern coast of Africa (Benguela), & off the coast of Peru. • They also operate in most marine habitats, including the open oceans. • Shallower stocks exhausted, so 40% of world's fishing grounds are in waters deeper than 200m.

MEP15: Describe the various affects/impacts oil spills have on marine organisms...

• Oil floats, so biological traits determine exposure • Species that pass through air-water interface (e.g. birds) most smothered • Toxicity pathways & affects include: Ingestion, accumulation of contaminants in tissues, DNA damage, Immune function, Mass mortality of pelagic eggs/larvae, & Loss of buoyancy / insulation

MEP4: Describe the recolonisation that occured following oil spills off Porthleven, Cornwall...

• Oil/Surfactants killed organisms • Green seaweed Ulva rapidly colonised, then colonisation by brown seaweed Fucus • Seaweeds dominate for long periods, until arrival of limpets • Organisms such as limpets graze sea weed • Took 10 years to recover

*MEP3: Describe the impact of 1997-8 El Niño Event as an example of Southern Oscillation...

• One of the worst El Niño years bringing devastation on either side of the globe. • E.g. droughts, fires, floods, tornadoes etc. in America, Asia, Australia etc. • Crashes in fish populations & larger marine mammals due to Diatom decline

MEP10: Describe Bioluminescence as a deep sea adaptation, including the different structures involved in producing this light Bioluminescence...

• Only important light source in deep sea, tends to be blue shifted, but a handful of species emit other colours. • This may be conserved to allow maximum communication in deeper waters, but it is blue shifted in shallower mesopelagic to match down-welling light. • Light is produced by photophores, which can be complex, with reflectors, filters, lenses & other control mechanisms. • Standard mechanism is for light to be emitted by luciferins, that are oxidised by luciferase enzymes • Light can be generated directly by eukaryotic tissue (e.g. in krill), or indirectly by symbiotic bacteria (e.g. in crustaceans)

MEP5: Define Psychrotolerant...

• Organism capable of surviving (& growing) in cold temperatures, but have a higher optimal growth temperature.

MEP13: Consider time when local climate will consistently be beyond the range of historic climate (the year of climate departure from recent variability). Describe why this is a useful way of considering climate change projections and also describe some of the predictions by Mora et al. (2013)....

• Organisms are locally adapted to current climate range. • Could expect real impact of climate change to hit when climatic variables exceed state that they are adapted to • All years are predicted to be warmer • Predicted to start to exceed current climate conditions always by ~2030 • Quantifying pattern globally shows: - Annual means will have departures in temperature by around 2050 - All monthly means will have departures in temperature by 2100.

MEP6: Describe and identify how do Estuarine Organisms cope with extremes of salinity...

• Organisms can move & avoid, or seal themselves away, from extremes of salinity - behavioural responses • But euryhaline organisms need a physiological response to cope with it e.g: - Perfect osmoconformer - Perfect osmoregulator

MEP5: Define Macrobenthos and provide examples...

• Organisms living on, or in, the sea bottom >1mm • E.g. ascidians, crustaceans, echinoderms, sponges, polychaete worms, & holothurians (sea cucumbers)

MEP5: Define Psychrophilic...

• Organisms that are capable of growth & reproduction in cold temperatures

MEP10: Describe the spread of oxygen from the water surface into the deep sea, including why the amount of oxygen does vary....

• Oxygen is not spread uniformly throughout the water column. • Profile of high surface oxygen, & the lowest value is at approximately 500-1000 m depth at oxygen minimum zone, (may reach 0 ml/l in places). • Organisms use up oxygen during decomposition, with high primary production resulting in an Oxygen minimum zone • Oxygen minimum zones are expanding (Breitburg et al 2018) predicted to expand more • Past this depth oxygen values begin to increase, due to low density of organisms at depth & water reaching these depths is cold sinking & oxygen laden.

MEP15: Describe how Plastics can also lead to changes in behaviour, reproductive biology & gene-expression, using the research findings by Sussarellu et al. (2016) as an example...

• Pacific oysters fed with polystyrene had higher microalgal feeding rates • Had decreased oocyte production & decreased sperm velocity • Had lower larval production & growth • Also had fundamental shifts in gene expression

MEP5: Describe how King Penguins rear their young and how they deal with the unpredictability of foraging

• Pair take turns to incubate egg, so each can feed - incubation period about 54 days • Foraging trips are unpredictable lengths, so need flexibility in chick rearing/ feeding • Penguin fathers preserve food for their chicks in their guts - enables chicks survival if there are difficulties in female returning with enough food

MEP11: Define and describe the Pelagic zone....

• Pelagic means "of the open sea". • This is separated into the "neritic" zone above the shelf, & the "oceanic" zone which is beyond the shelf break.

MEP4: Identify the variable stresses including abiotic (physical) pressures and biotic pressures...

• Physical pressures: light, tide/water movement, desiccation etc. • Biotic pressures : - grazing by limpets -competition for space & light between algae (organisms can hide in it) - Sea Urchin grazing

MEP6: Identify the five main primary producers in estuaries, including examples and a brief description if possible...

• Phytoplankton (e.g. dinoflagellates): - Have flagella so can move with water layer - Many are mixotrophs (i.e. are heterotroph & phototroph) • Macroalgae (seaweed): - e.g. Ulva spp. • Macrophytes (seagrass): - less in UK • Benthic biofilms (microphytobenthos): - diatoms • Saltmarsh plants (halophytes): - e.g. pickle weed (salt tolerant)

MEP7: Describe Hydrocarbon "cold" seeps as a example of other chemosynthetic based systems, including the different organisms found there and the features that allow this...

• Places where hydrocarbons seep from sediment. • Methane hydrate "ice" forms when gas escapes in low temperature conditions of deep sea. • Often seeps coincide with "brine pools" - ancient salt deposits • Get largely methane bubbling up from sediment - H2S in methane, H2S used as base of food chain • Successional environments (rather transitory), initially bacterial mats using H2S, then Bathymodiolus (with gill bacteria) • Calcium carbonate produced by bacteria provides hard substrate so tubeworms, more mussels, soft corals can colonise so a community forms - only last a few years • Enough hydrocarbons seeps in Mexico to keep species going on evolutionary timescale

MEP9: Describe the adaptations used by mangrove plants to aerate tissues in oxygen poor soil/mud....

• Pneumatophores - upward growing extensions of roots that help aerate tissue (can have 10,000) • Lenticels - pores in bark &/or pneumatophores can get O2 from air when tide is out • Prop roots - help support the plant, but may also be covered in lenticels to obtain more oxygen • Extensive roots above the soil paired with lenticels have arisen in many species to obtain more oxygen e.g. - Kneed roots of Bruguiera cylindrica - Plank roots of Xylocarpus granatum

MEP5: Define Polynyas and how they can be created

• Polynyas ('sea ice factories') = an area of open water surrounded by sea ice • Can be created by Katabatic winds which can break the sea ice

MEP4: Describe how abiotic (physical) pressures and biotic pressures can play a key role structuring communities, including the structure of the community as a result...

• Predation increases further down • More predation at low tide • Supralittoral fringe: lichens, algae, snails, winkles - impacted most by physical factors • Mid-littoral: Barnacles, Mussels, Brown seaweed, limpets - a lot of limpet grazing here • Infralittoral fringe: red algae, tufts or kelp - can compete with eachother for light etc. • Lowest tide: Kelp, red algae, urchins, sessile animals (can't cope with drying out) - urchin grazing occurs here

MEP14: Describe how Interspecific interactions may be affected by ocean acidification....

• Predators that eat shelled prey may decline in numbers e.g. pteropods make up 45% of pink salmon (humpback salmon) diet • Decline in pteropod populations will lead to a decline in pink salmon body weight. • Thus reduced salmon population size & viability

MEP10: Describe how pressure changes with water depth and what determines this... Also Idenitfy the units used to measure this...

• Pressure has a predictable profile with depth, as it increases due to weight of water. • It is only weakly dependent on temperature & salinity - pressure increases with depth. • Changes in shallow=large, changes in deep=small • Organisms adapted to living in high pressure • Several units of pressure are common e.g. - Measured in pascals & kilopascals - 1 bar= 100 kilopascals (1 bar = 1 atmosphere) - 1 ATM = 101.325 kilopascals

MEP2: Describe the adaptation that fish have evolved in response to water pressure and what can go wrong...

• Pressure increases with depth (PSI) • Fish use swim bladders to compensate • Fish with everted stomachs have been brought up too quickly

MEP5: Describe the adaptations of the male King Penguins that allow it to deal with the unpredictability of foraging when rearing chicks as researched by Gauthier-Clerc et al. (2000)...

• Prey stored in the males' stomach for ± 20 days undigested. • Anti-microbial peptide identified in the gut of the males that preserve the food long enough so that if female doesn't arrive back in time, then newly hatched chick can still be fed • Preserved stomach contents sustain a newly hatched chick for ±10 days.

MEP8: Identify and describe the four other methods that corals use to gain nutrition, including how one of these also benefits another organism....

• Prey-capture: - catch zooplankton using stinging cells called cnidocytes. • Mesenterial filaments: - tubes attached to the wall of the gut that are extruded through the mouth to digest food outside body (extracellular) - digestion aided by secreted enzymes • Mucus threads - secreted over colony surface to capture passing plankton, then gathered into mouth. • 'Mucus trap': - released into reef water (only 10% do this) the mucus traps particles from the water - e.g. Acropora sp. can exude up to 4.8 litres/m3 - food source for benthic bacteria as they benefit from mucus

MEP1: Describe the viruses found in the oceans....

• Probably most common biological agents in oceans • Parasitic - control many autotrophs • Impact nitrogen cycling, particle size distributions, sinking rates of plankton

MEP8: Describe the food webs found in these tropical coral reefs...

• Producers: photosynthetic bacteria, seaweed, & coralline algae e.g. Red algae with calcium carbonate walls • Lots of detritus (seaweed) & many detritivores e.g. corals • Indirect link through detritivores • Coral feeders e.g. Fishes, sea stars & crabs. • The predators of these are fishes, squids & snails. • Very by biodiverse.

MEP5: Describe the affect of ice scours on a regional scale...

• Promotes biodiversity & habitat heterogeneity • Disturbance hypothesis - if it creates more ridges & furrows it may promote diversity

MEP5: Describe ice margin in the Antarctic ocean and the Arctic ocean...

• Provides a very important foraging area in Antarctic • No specific community associated with ice margin in Arctic

MEP12: Describe examples of the use of Active fishing gears as a fishing method...

• Purse seines - used to encircle pelagic species • Trawl gears - dragged behind boats e.g. otter trawls are weighted down by trawl doors so that net is open, while beam trawls have a fixed beam (adjacent to sea floor) that keeps the net open. • Harpoons - small scale, but sometimes used for large pelagics • Explosives - generally illegal, but still used • Spears - from spearguns, small scale fisheries.

MEP12: Identify the issues with some of these methods used to manage a fishery as well as other problems that make it hard to manage fisheries...

• Quotas don't stop species being caught once it is reached as by-catch fish are thrown back & many die anyway • Many species on the high seas are common property without quotas. • Commercial fisheries require profit in short term, which conflicts with fisheries management that takes a longer-term view - mediating these interests requires effective political coordination.

MEP10: Describe how the species differences in depth occupancy appear to be related to species traits, by using examples to illustrate this....

• Ray finned fishes are able to occupy waters below 4000m, but sharks & rays cannot, despite both of these using lipid swimbladders • This may be due to the constraints of maintaining large bodies at these depth (as lipids used for buoyancy are energetically expensive) • Need more lipids if living deeper - teleosts may use gases instead as cheaper so can live deeper

MEP14: Describe the research by Lohbeck et al. (2012) as evidence for adaptation by coccolithophore (Emilinaria huxleyi), include the research methods and the findings...

• Reared for 500 generations is each of 3 different CO2 scenarios (low, medium, high) • Then placed into an assay to measure growth rate of population, & particulate inorganic carbon production • Found those given a chance to evolve had better performance

MEP5: Describe the physical and biological features of Polynyas that cause them to be beneficial to penguins...

• Receive benefit from a lot of upwelling water coming up from deep water currents bringing nutrients - high productivity • Area exposed to light so far more productive, thus providing a useful feeding area • Ideal conditions for seasonally early & intense phytoplankton blooms - get high concentrations of chlorophyll (& productivity) due to upwelling

MEP15: describe the Recovery rates from oil spills, including what influences and provide an example of the recovery rate after an oil spill...

• Recovery rates depend on habitat & species. • Initial recovery of habitats takes 2-5 years, but can have longer lasting impacts, taking up to 20 years+ to be overcome • E.g. 5 years after Exxon Valdez oil spill, 2% of original oil remained on beaches & 13% in sediments.

MEP10: Describe the use of camouflage in mesopelagic species as deep sea adaptations...

• Red is a costly colour (requires caretonoids), but is common in mesopelagic crustaceans such as krill - useful colour in minimal light, as it simply appears dark, against a dark background. • In deep pelagic species, black is a common colour - it will not reflect bioluminescence, & contrasts against it, making it more "functional". • Many mesopelagic species are partially transparent, this is achieved by the refractive index of tissue matching water.

MEP2: Describe light Penetration in the Oceans, including the different wavelengths of light, & factors that cause light penetration to vary...

• Red light penetrates a depth of <10 meters • Yellow light travels to a depth of 20 meters • Blue light penetrates the furthest at >30 meters • UV penetration reduced by disolved carbon • Turbidity reduces light penetration due to dust particles or microalgae (can self shade) • Different types of water have different concentrations/levels of light penetrating as light penetrates much further in clear oceanic than in turbid coastal waters

MEP2: Define the word Neritic...

• Region of water near the shore(s)

MEP4: Describe the effect of removing Starfish (predator) on the zonation pattern, and what this indicates...

• Removing them allows downward migration of Mussels (as not eaten) • Results in Mussels dominating the shore as they outcompete everything • Thus Starfish is important in maintain diversity on shore by eating some mussels in mid-intertidal to allow space for other species

MEP4: Describe the effect of removing dog whelks (Nucella) on the zonation e.g. of Barnacles...

• Removing them results in Mussels becoming dominant (mussels normally eaten by them) • Mussels outcompete barnacles • Dog-whelk predation maintains diversity

MEP14: Describe the human Societal options to reduce Ocean Acidification...

• Requires major reduction in fossil fuel emissions. • Freshwater & acidic soils lowers ocean pH, thus the following can reduce this: - Mitigate run-off and erosion - Riparian buffers, wetlands, etc. - Conserve natural pH buffering of coastal soils - Return crushed old shells (e.g. mussels & cockles)

MEP9: Briefly describe the life cycle of Rhizophora AKA Red mangrove...

• Rhizophora Flower is fertilization occurs • Seed germination on tree & has root extension • Seed drops & floats upright • Seed bottom touches mud, so it puts out roots & leaves

MEP6: Describe the Ribbed Horsemussel (Geukensia demissa) and the Lugworm (Arenicola marina), including their different feeding techniques that allow them to succeed in estuarine environments, and what this may result in...

• Ribbed Horsemussel: - Lives in saltmarsh, half buried in sediment & it is a suspension feeder. - It can 'gape' at low tide to take in oxygen • Lugworm: - Annelid worm that lives in a burrow & irrigates burrow to oxygenate it - Desposit feeder as it ingests sediment to feed on detritus & micro-organisms within, produces the distinctive casts on beaches • Both can reach high densities, making significant biomass

MEP2: Identify & describe the three different ways in which the salinity of the ocean is increased...

• River run-off: - Biosolids e.g. sewage from agricultural land can enter the rivers & oceans - need to change farming practices as excess chemicals can cause problems - Inorganic chemicals e.g. nitrates & phosphates • Volcanic activity: - Sulphide & chloride ions enter atmosphere & end up in the ocean when it rains • Hydrothermal vents: - Give off sulphide & chloride ions into the ocean

MEP7: Describe the Deep sea benthos, including the Benthic infauna, the Benthic epifauna, and examples for theses....

• Rocky or soft sediment, very soft in areas, light organisms, only 1-3% of primary productivity reaches sea floor • Very few suspension feeders (slow water movement, scarce food), & many more deposit feeders (80%+) - eat marine snow • Smaller Benthic infauna include: - Meiofauna (< 0.5mm) e.g. Nematodes, Foraminifora & Copepods - Macrofauna (> 0.5mm) e.g. Polychaetes, Amphipods, & Bivalves • Also get larger Benthic epifauna: - Mobile scavengers e.g. Plesiopenaeus; a decapod crustacean, scavenger & predator - Sessile filter feeders e.g. Chondrocladia lyra; carnivorous harp sponge (delicate), 3300 to 3500m

MEP6: Identify the seven different Physical Characteristics of Estuaries..... N.B brackets can be used as hints

• Salinity (variation) • Tides • Exposure • Oxygen (conc. varies effects plants etc. growing) • Nutrients (fluctuates - river water & sea water) • Sediments (tend to be high load) • Turbidity (harder to live in water column)

MEP6: Describe the salinity of mudflats, and the affect of this on rganisms that live there....

• Salinity changes are less dynamic in interstitial water • Living in mudflat - salinity is more stable/constant so provides a more stable environment for organisms within the mud, although it is slightly more saline in summer • Diatoms can stabalise mudflats

MEP5: Describe Salps and their primary competition with Krill, including what occurs uf Krill are absent...

• Salps are free-floating tunicates. • Move & feed by pumping water through hollow gelatinous body, live for ≤1 year. • Primary competitor of krill for phytoplankton but can't feed on ice algae. • In absence of krill, salps can exploit spring phytoplankton bloom & undergo explosive population growth. • High densities in years following low ice cover. • Can tolerate warmer water than krill.

MEP3: Describe the primary productivity i.e. rate of carbon fixation for Benthic environments...

• Salt marshes can cope with high salt concentration & can be more productive • Thus more important than other environments • coral reefs are most productive • Draws CO2 out of atmosphere & can slow climate change

MEP3: Identify what SPOT and CPR stand for, including what they can be used for...

• San Pedro Ocean Time series • Continuous plankton recorder (in Plymouth) • Provides material has been preserved for decades e.g. phytoplankton • Record allows us to see if ocean is getting worse

MEP11: Describe the research methods and findings by Hays et al. (2004) on the migration of Leatherback turtles... Also, explain why the movement patterns have significance for turtle conservation...

• Satellite tracking of 8 Atlantic leatherbacks after egg laying in Caribbean, & were tracked for 6-12 months after leaving beaches. • Showed extensive movement, with very little consistency & over 50% of their time spent below 10m. • Movement patterns suggest measures need to be implemented to prevent turtle by-catch from longlines across Atlantic basin

MEP15: Describe the research and findings by Briski et al. (2012) on invasive species in ballast tanks...

• Screened 67 tanks & found invaders in seven of them e.g. crabs, gastropods, polychaetes, anemones & bivalves. • Tanks will contain non-settled pelagic larvae too.

MEP5: Identify and describe the three types of ice...

• Sea ice (pack ice) - formed from saltwater & freezes onto base of pack ice • Icebergs - chunks of ice shelves or glaciers that calve into the ocean • Ice shelf - continental ice sheet or glacier i.e. formed on land & extends onto the sea - formed from snow = freshwater

MEP5: Describe the highly specialised adaptations that are used by different psychrophilic diatoms and phytoplankton that allow them to survive in these sea ice communities within the pack ice...

• Sea ice diatom: - Motile & move about in microscopic brine channels in lower proportion of pack ice (high salt concentration) & gain inorganic nutrients from brine. - Well adapted as they adjust their internal salt concentrations to avoid problems with osmosis - Producing & releasing mucilage all the time in order to move & propell themselves forward - Some maybe mixotrophs - can use organic substrates as well as photosynthesizing to survive • Certain species of phytoplankton: - Scientists found one species of phytoplankton that has long spines & can form great long chains in order to move up in the plankton - Now have found it living in sea ice as it has adapted itself by loosing spines, leaves plankton (new body morph) so it can live in brine channels as a over wintering strategy

MEP12: Describe accidental by-catch of different animals as an effect/impact of fishing... Also describe the effect this has had on European skates as an example...

• Seabirds caught in long-line nets & gillnet fisheries, as they dive after baited hooks. • Bird scarers have helped to reduce this. • Some non-target fish species caught are sold (landed by-catch), others are not (discarded by-catch). • European skates have seriously declined due to non-targeted by-catch as they're often landed when captured.

*MEP3: Describe the research by Bohec et al, (2008) on impact of El Nino on adult King penguin survival, including the methods, findings, and why seabirds are good indicators of changes in marine ecosystems...

• Seabirds integrate or amplify effects of climate forced on lower levels in food chain. • Marked adults using electronic tags. • Found warm events negatively affect both breeding success & adult survival • I.e. inverse relationship - as change temperature due to El Nino can affect survival due to decreasing availability of food

MEP6: Identify and describe different threats to Seagrass beds.....

• Seagrasses provide an important food source for dugongs & manatees • Hypothesized that the dugong, grazing on seagrass beds in Australia, could reduce the biomass by 96% (Preen, 1995) • Seagrass beds also threatened by seagrass wasting disease, eutrophication & boat damage

MEP7: Describe Seamounts and knolls, including their structure, where they are found, and the sort of organisms they support including examples...

• Seamounts rise >1km above abyssal sea floor, while Knolls rise 0.2 to 1km above the sea floor. • Both are abundant underwater mountains, that are often extinct volcanoes, & are typically between 3km & 5km below the sea surface • Global distribution of seamounts, often chains (e.g. along fault lines) many all over the world Interact with ocean currents, driving eddies over the seamount, can promote upwelling (increased nutrients, get covered in mud), eddies form, more resources, provide distinct habitat • Provides hard substrate for sessile macrofauna, find high diversity of benthic & bentho-pelagic species present • Sessile filter-feeding benthos e.g. deep water coral (Lophilia pertusa) - can live for > 200 years • Widely distributed deep water fish e.g. orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) - can live ~150 years & take 20-30 years to mature • Used by sharks, billfishes & tuna

MEP3: Describe the reasons for different primary production rates for in different waters...

• Seasonal patterns of primary productivity varies (in different latitudes) as many factors affect it • Coastal waters more productive than oceanic waters • Polar & temperate waters are very productive due to overturn & mixing

MEP6: Describe the Severn Estuary and the Severn tidal bore....

• Second highest tidal range in the world (>12m) • Agriculture provides nutrients, & has wind from south west • Tidal bore - funnelling of water at high tide & typical wind direction drive a wall of water • Turbid water flow due to shape of estuary so get backwash

MEP7: Describe how the Macrofaunal community structure changes with depth, including biomass and body size...

• Sessile species less common & scavengers become more common e.g. Holothurians, such as the sea pig (Scotoplana globosa) • Biomass decreases with increasing depth • Most organisms (infauna, meiofauna) show a reduction in size with increasing depth, reflecting food supply. • But scavengers show the reverse e.g. large specimines of Eurythenes (an amphipod) & Bathynomus (an isopod) • These can locate substantial food supplies & eat infrequently - possible adaptation to intermittent food supply

MEP9: Describe Mangrove forests...

• Sheltered, depositional coastal environments e.g. estuaries or inlets. • Characterized by mangroves, the woody trees or shrubs adapted to saline environments. • Dense network - slows down water movement, deposit sediments, woody trees living in the saline conditions (unusually)

MEP7: Describe the trophic cascade (AKA "top down" interaction) within the Kelp forest food web, including what this resulted in... Also explain why this process actually maybe more complex....

• Shift in killer whale behaviour resulted in declining sea otter numbers. • This resulted in an explosion in sea urchin numbers as they weren't predated by otters • These sea urchins overgrazed the kelp, thus reduced density of kelp forest • More complex as Stella sea cow was abundant until hunted, but less kelp meant that the sea cow starves - resulting in its extinction

MEP2: Describe the composition of seawater salinity & the name the equipment used to measure salinity...

• Six ions make up ~99% of the salts dissolved the ocean with Na & Cl making up 85% • Very low concentration of nitrate & phosphate • Refractometer - mesures salinity

MEP3: Define Nanoplankton...

• Small size of 2.0 - 20 μm • Are bigger than picoplankton but smaller than net plankton

MEP5: Describe the sea ice communities and the primary productivity found in the Southern (Antarctic) Ocean...

• Some organisms able to capitalize on the presence of ice e.g. diatoms can live at ice-water interface in high concentrations • Chlorophyll concentrations 1000x open surface waters in Southern Ocean (Antarctic) - thus a lot of primary production • Light penetrates through ice, so organisms (e.g. diatoms) here can survive at lower light levels (than most other organisms), but still have efficient photosynthesis production • ≤5% of total Antarctic primary productivity takes place within sea ice

MEP9: Describe the different adaptations used by mangrove plants to cope with high salinities...

• Some species develop greater amounts of root biomass in high salinity gradient environments, increasing water uptake. • Roots adapted to prevent excessive salt intrusion - operating an ultra-filtration mechanism to exclude salt • Sonneratia species along a salinity gradient can use reverse osmosis in roots - prevent gaining too much salt water, different species vary in ability • Secrete salt on leaves from salt secretion glands • Extreme option: deciduous in Xylocarpus moluccensis (drop all leaves at one go) • Waxy cuticle can reduce transpiration loss • Leaves can orientate to reduce evaporation (avoid large surface area) • Stomata can remain closed during heat of day

MEP8: Describe how corals may now be able to cope with higher temperatures, including the Adaptive bleaching hypothesis...

• Some zooxanthellae are more temperature tolerant than others, change in zooxanthellae community • Adaptive bleaching hypothesis = shuffling the population of symbiotic algae may increase the threshold temperature of bleaching in corals via Aclimatisation

MEP7: Describe the Seagrass bed as a type of continental shelf community....

• Species normally prefer either cool waters or tropical/subtropical waters, but not both normally • Density of seagrass plants tends to be very high • Support a diversity of epiphytic species, as well as free living - jelly fish, algae, polychaete worms • Provide food for free-living species e.g. dugong • Seagrasses are producers so form the basis of complex food webs e.g. eaten by urchin which is ten eaten by a fish or bird etc. • Seagrass provides shelter from predators

MEP10: Describe the diversity of marine organisms and deep sea macrofauna with the increase in ocean depth, including the Deep sea pelagic fauna....

• Species richness/ diversity of many major groups of marine organisms declines with depth as more habitats in shallows • Deep sea pelagic fauna tends to become less diverse with increasing depth, but a few species can occupy deeper water habitats, below 1000m. • Those species in the deeper waters tend to have broad biogeographic ranges, this may be due to the relative homogeneity of the deep sea environment (e.g. temperature).

MEP14: Describe how marine species could Adapt (evolutionary response) to cope with ocean acidification, including what features would be required for this to occur...

• Species would need a fast generation time, relative to pH change (unlikely for fish etc.) • Current rate of ocean acidification is ~100 times faster than has happened in 10s of millions of years • Perhaps possible in some species but requires the "standing genetic variation" to be present, or new mutation • May exist in some areas where theres high range of pH values e.g. upwelling zone off California.

MEP11: Describe the lifestyle and distribution of Marine turtles including the Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)...

• Spend most of lives at sea, & return to land to lay eggs. • Natal homing is well known among turtles, but know little about their lives at sea e.g. extensive seasonal migrations. • Largest is the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), which is truly pelagic, feeding primarily on zooplankton (jellyfish). • Has a circumglobal distribution, with breeding populations from Atlantic, Indian & Pacific Oceans. • Reach maturity at 8- 15 years of age, & females mate every 2-3 years, but they can breed annually.

MEP6: Describe Periwinkles and why they are problematic for Salt marshes....

• Spiral-shelled snails commonly found along rocky U.S. shorelines • Play a primary role in unprecedented disappearance of salt marsh in south-eastern states

MEP13: Describe the research by Wernberg et al. (2013) on the 2011 heatwave off the west coast of Australia as evidence for "local" changes related to local climate....

• Spring temperatures were typically 4˚C higher than usual for many weeks (27˚C instead of 23˚C) • Led to dramatic changes in marine communities: - Loss of macroalgae/seaweed (cold water) - Increase in recruitment of tropical marine fish species & more Algae

MEP3: Describe the research and findings by Wolff et al., (2011) on the long term impacts of iron fertilisation on deep sea ecosystems...

• Studied natural iron fertilisation (volcanic) off the Crozet Islands (in southern Indian Ocean) • Found that adding iron in long term would lead to significant changes in deep-sea ecosystems • E.g. found major differences in taxa & also very different composition of species

MEP4: Define the Lower littoral fringe (AKA Infralittoral fringe, or Lower intertidal zone)...

• Submerged underwater most of the time & is only exposed when it is low tide

MEP8: Describe how Porites may have a better recovery strategies of finding food in the absence of zooxanthellae...

• Successful night-time mesenterial filament feeding on neighboring algal turfs as seen in Colpophyllia natans • Colpophyllia natans can recover in a few months • Also capture of plankton (anidocytes) & use of lipid reserves

MEP5: Describe Polar waters/oceans, including their key features.....

• Surface waters are rich in dissolved gases & nutrients • Water is cold & gets slowly colder as descends • Weak thermocline (temperature gradient) • Weak pycnocline (density gradient) • Primary productivity is light limited as its dark for most of year, but peak in spring/summer for 6-8 weeks

MEP9: Describe why there are not mangrove forests in temperate climates...

• Survive high salt levels by making prop roots etc, need to be photosynthesising all year • But can't do this in temperate climates

MEP12: Describe how UK waters fisheries have changed substantially over time, including the reasons for this and the methods used in UK waters now as shown by vessel monitoring system (VMS) data...

• Switch in trawl fisheries from sail, to steam & to motor power over course of the 20th century. • At each stage vessels were able to fish faster & further from shore, so new areas for exploitation • Now all accessible grounds are exploited in UK waters. • VMS data shows most large trawlers work around Western Approaches, around shelf edge & in northern North Sea. • Trawl tracks often used, so same ground may be fished multiple times per year.

MEP8: Describe the research by Berkelman et al (2005) as evidence for a thermal tolerance clade...

• Symbiotic algae extremely diverse genetically • 8 phylogenetic clades with many species & strains within each clade • Clade D more heat tolerant, but there is a growth penalty. • Acropora with clade C grow 2-3x faster.

MEP9: Describe the research by Smith et al., (1991) on the key role of crabs including the experiment methods and the findings....

• Take away crabs (mainly grapsids) form mangrove using pitfall traps, count number of mature seeds (prop) on tree, control v disturbance v removal • Found crab removal would lead to decrease in number of mature propagules • Many measures of sediment quality & forest productivity significantly lower with crabs removed

MEP13: Describe the potential impact of climate change on marine life....

• Temperature affects biological processes • Change in body size, reproduction timing, species, habitats etc. • Organisms more or less fit - affects population distribution & abundance • Changes in community structures, biodiversity & interactions (cascade) • Numbers of fish caught will change - fish migrate to different regions

MEP2: Describe the Temperature of the ocean at different depths, including at the surface of the ocean and near land masses...

• Temperature decreases with depth • ~ 100 m deep = same warm temperature (20˚C) due to water mixing • ~ 500-1000m deep = decrease in temperature (thermocline) due to water not mixing • > 1000m deep = same cold temperature (0˚C) • Surface temperature doesn't really vary (less tha 1˚C change) • Largest temperature changes follow the land continents

MEP4: Describe red seaweed AKA Rhodophyta, including an example...

• Tend to be lower down & bottom-dwelling, although can be very exposed by growing on top of other algea • Primary producer & uses chlorophyll a, as well as phycobillins (provides colour) • Have the greatest species richness • E.g. Polysiphonia spp.

MEP4: Describe brown seaweed AKA Phaeophyta, including an example...

• Tend to be lower down & can sometimes be covered by other algae, bottom-dwelling • Primary producer & uses chlorophyll a & c, as well as flucoxanthin (provides colour) • Dominant component of kelp forrests (Laminaria) • E.g. Fucus spiralis

MEP8: Describe the term Coral reefs, including what they are made of...

• Term describes both biological "coral" community & geological "reef" formation • Built from the accumulated calcium carbonate (CaCO3) skeletons & secretions of animals & plants, with the most famous being the great barrier reef in Australia • Impacts inshore and offshore are different

MEP12: Define Sustainable Yield (in terms of fishing)...

• The amount that can be caught while maintaining a constant population size.

MEP6: Describe the features of the salt marshes e.g. in the Barataria Bay ecosystem, including why salt marshes can be important...

• The extensive salt marshes provide the largest source of carbon to Barataria Bay ecosystem • Saltmarsh can be critical to estuary ecosystems • In US they tend to be more extensive, dominated by different cordgrass species • Diatoms secrete mucilage which stabilizes sediment - allows rooting of plants • Some plants rarely get exposed to sea, some in splash zone - get zonation patterns that are related to plant tolerance e.g. eelgrass in water

MEP12: Define the Maximum Sustainable Yield (in terms of fishing)...

• The highest catch that can be maintained year after year without affecting the stock - this can be estimated via calculations • Too little fishing means the catch is underutilised. • Too much means it is overfished.

MEP6: Define and describe Saltmarshes...

• The upper intertidal zone between land & open salt water or brackish water that is partially flooded by high tides - Dominated by salt tolerant plants - Often associated with estuaries - Are replaced by mangroves in tropical regions

MEP2: Define the word Pelagic...

• The whole ocean region

MEP2: Define the word Littoral....

• The zone between high water & low water, in this zone organisms are exposed

MEP5: Describe the importance of the psychrophilic diatoms, bacteria and phytoplankton, both in the winter and in the summer...

• These provide a highly concentrated rich food source for grazing zooplankton in lower layer of pack ice in winter • Very short window in which to capitalize before ice will melt into Southern Ocean (Antarctic) • A lot of species richness within the zooplankton communities e.g. Pennate diatoms, Autotrophic flagellates, Foraminifers, Ciliates, Copepods etc. • All waiting for lower pack ice to melt as the Psychrophilic diatoms etc. are fundamental to the survival of everything during the summer

MEP14: Describe the problems that ocean acidification cause for Calcifying organisms that use calcium carbonate (CaCO3) to make shells....

• They acquire their carbonate (CO3) from water. • But, free H+ ions also use carbonate, to make hydrogen carbonates (HCO3), thus this removes free carbonate for calcifying organisms to use. • Also free H+ can use calcium carbonate in existing shells, leading to dissolution of existing structures. • Species affected include corals, urchins, pteropods, coralline algae & fish.

MEP4: Identify examples of abiotic constraints on intertidal shores...

• Tidal height • Degree & Time of exposure • Particle size • Degree of wave exposure - leads to community differences

MEP4: Describe variable tidal amplitude as an abiotic constraint, including an example...

• Tidal range may vary a lot • e.g. high tidal range of several meters in north wales vs very small tidal range of only centimeters on Swedish coast

MEP9: Describe the Zonation patterns of mangroves, including the four key genera... Also, describe the different zonation patterns seen in different countries, including examples....

• Tides create an environmental gradient from terrestrial to increasingly marine environments • This gradient creates zonation of plants, which is partly related to their tolerance to immersion • Four key genera in mangrove forests: 1. Red (Rhizophoraide) - most tolerant to salinity 2. Black (Avicennia) - quite tolerant to salinity 3. White (Laguncularia) - least tolerant to salinity 4. Mangrove apple (Sonneratia) • Different ecotypes in different countries • Florida Zonation pattern = white & black mangroves above red mangroves • Spatial differences in patterns of zonation & species e.g. Malaya has red above black, while East Africa has black above red • Indo-West Pacific that has the most extensive mangrove forests

MEP6: Define Top-down effects and Trophic Cascades, also describe the research findings of Burkholder et al (2013) as an example of these...

• Top-down effects = predation & grazing by higher trophic levels on lower trophic levels ultimately controls ecosystem function • Trophic Cascades = when predators limit the density &/or behavior of their prey & thereby enhance survival of the next lower trophic level (powerful indirect interactions that can control entire ecosystems) • E.g. affect of dugong grazing on seagrass were consistent with a behaviour‐mediated trophic cascade triggered by tiger sharks & mediated by risk‐sensitive foraging by dugong.

MEP11: Describe the research methods and findings by Shillinger et al. (2008) on the migration of Leatherback turtles...

• Tracked 46 leatherback turtles from Eastern Pacific • They showed a consistent directional movement from breeding beaches in Costa Rica, past Galapagos & into South Pacific gyre - clear migration corridor. • Habitat use is not random & persistent across years & individuals. • Opportunities for conservation e.g. use of seasonally enforced marine protected areas

MEP11: Describe the research by Quieroz et al. (2016) on hotspots of high productivity for certain species, include the research methods, the findings, and how this could be useful for conservation efforts...

• Tracking Blue, Hammerhead, Mako & Tiger Sharks across the Atlantic • Identified geographic shark hotspots - these areas also have higher productivity • Found long-liners aiming to catch tuna & billfish operate in same regions as sharks • Could get fishermen to report where fishing (& hours), to map fishing intensity (hotspots) & overlap in zones • Useful to conservation as can help conserve stocks of sharks in these zones via restrictions on shark catches e.g. throw sharks back in the sea

MEP12: Describe the decline in fish body size, including the research by Limburg et al. (2008), as evidence of overfishing...

• Trawl fisheries are intrinsically size selective, removing the largest individuals. • Used otoliths (earbones) archaeological remains to reconstruct historic stocks for a Neolithic cod fishery (in Baltic Sea) 4500 years ago. • Found that modern fished individuals are ~10cm smaller on average than 4500 years ago

MEP8: Describe corals as Holobionts, including the symbionts involved, the benefits they provide, and how they have adapted to living in corals....

• Tropical coral host photosynthesising symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae within corals tissues - dinoflagellates of genus Symbiodinium • Symbiotic algae very high densities, more than million per cm2 of coral surface. • Symbionts supply up to 90% of energy required by tropical coral. • Explains distribution of tropical coral in shallow well-lit marine environments that are generally very nutrient poor • Use specialist Perodinum pigments - secondary pigments • Dinoflagellates motile but coral host tentacle is good for gas exchange & protection, so loose flagella in tentacles

MEP6: Describe Salinity as a Physical Characteristics of Estuaries, including how the salinity can vary within Estuaries...

• Typical salt-wedge type estuary - saltwater is denser & flows along the bottom, while fresh water flows along the top • Mixing - experience huge variation in salinity, not many organisms can survive this as huge amount of osmotic stress • Salinity is highly variable, the salt wedge can move up & down the estuary with the tides • Also daily & seasonal variations in tides & river flows

MEP3: Describe Benthic Diatoms such as those underneath sea ice...

• Unique life option under sea ice, these algae are mostly diatoms that live in brine channels • These Diatoms living on bottom of ice have mucilage pads • Can grow in low light levels • When the ice melts then Zooplankton can eat them

MEP4: Define the Littoral fringe...

• Uppermost reaches of the littoral zone (of marine ecosystems) i.e. edge of high tide line

MEP3: Describe Upwelling, including why they are important in coastal regions.... Also, describe the processes involved...

• Upwelling can be more or less continuous, seasonal or sporadic • High productivity - RICH FISHING GROUNDS in regions of coastal upwelling • Prevailing wind blows parallel along coast & Ekman transport carries surface water away from the shore at a 90˚ angle • New nutrient cold water comes up which fuels food webs etc • Thus deep, nutrient-rich water is upwelled to 'fill the gap' making it very productive

MEP5: Describe Macrobenthic diversity in the Antarctic, including the reasons for this and how the diversity/abundance was studied... Also, describe the diversity for the different substrates...

• Use Transects spanning different types of substrate to work out diversity in benthic habitats • Measured by % cover to determine relative abundance • High diversity of soft & hard benthic habitats, so high diversity of epifaunal & infaunal benthos e.g: - Rocky substrate is very rich in diversity, as lots of species can get a foothold here as more stable substrate - Sandy substrate has less diversity due to erosion, but this increases when icebergs are present as it provides them more protection • Change in gradient for steep slope, the higher the gradient the lower the diversity • Substrate heterogeneity allows for species richness/biodiversity - provides different points of attachment, different nutrients & different gradients of gases

MEP2: How can light penetration in water be measure...

• Use a crude instrument e.g. Secchi disc: - lower it till it disappears - used quite often in fresh water • Need quantum sensors for oceans: - get profile of extinction of light

MEP4: Describe a variation on the removal experiment, including what was found when using this for spiny lobsters...

• Use cages to exclude organisms e.g. lobsters prevented from entering closed containers • Found in enclosed cages seaweeds were replaced by mussels - thus lobsters are important in eatin mussels so seaweeds can flourish

MEP13: Describe how the Tropicalisation of fisheries can be measured and describe the research findings by Cheung et al. (2013) when using this measure...

• Use data to calculate how latitudinal shifts & local abundance changes have affected the composition of multispecies fished stocks etc. • Possible to calculate "mean temperature of the catch" (MTC) as an index of tropicalization. • Using MTC found across regions globally fisheries have become more tropical

MEP13: Describe the evidence by Beaugrand et al. (2002) for biographic shifts in latitudinal distributions of marine organisms, including the research methods used & the findings....

• Used Continuous Plankton Recorded data from 1950s onwards, to map distributions of copepod zooplankton groups. • Divided them into 4 groups: warm-temperate, temperate, cold mixed-water, & subartic species. • Found distributions of all 4 groups showed a northward shift from between 1958 & 2005

MEP13: Describe the research by Simpson et al. (2011) on shifts in patterns of local abundance in species "tied" to essential habitat, including the methods used and the findings...

• Used data from marine fish surveys of European continental shelf to look at local correlations between temperature & abundance from 1980 till 2008 • Most species (72%) showed a significant abundance shift from 1980-2008. • Fish species differ in strength of responses to climate depending on thermal affinity • Warm loving species increased locally, while cold loving species declined

MEP13: Describe the evidence by Poloczanska et al. (2013) for biographic shifts in latitudinal distributions of marine organisms.....

• Used model to predict pole areas become warmer, found tropic species move in (leading edge), becomes too hot so species leave again • Most species studied show poleward latitudinal shifts • Some shift differs from expected line, with phytoplankton & zooplankton above average line, fish below average line • Fish show lower poleward distributions shifts as they have longer life history - stay in suited habitat (habitat dependent) as they are constrained by it

MEP6: Describe the research on the affect of Periwinkle snails on salt marsh plants by Silliman & Bertness (2002), including the research methods and the findings....

• Used open cages & looked at concentration of snails when Blue crabs absent • Found play important part in disappearance of salt marshes • Strong top down control via trophic cascades: - Blue crabs etc consume snails - If Crabs are absent snails feed on salt marsh plants & use radular to cut off bits - Plants get infected due to damage • Indicates that over-harvesting of Blue crabs has resulted in more snails & thus more damage • Depends on location on beach • Still maybe elements of bottom up as different food value (e.g. amounts of nitrogen)

MEP11: Describe the research methods and findings by Block et al. (2005) on the migration and distribution of two populations of Atlantic bluefin tuna...

• Used satellite tagging. • Western population breeds in Gulf of Mexico & do forage (migrate) towards eastern-Atlantic • Eastern population breeds in Mediterranean, & forage (migrate) towards western Atlantic • Two different stocks which should be managed seperately, but they overlap in space use • Creates a problem for fisheries management (a mixed stock fishery)

MEP11: Describe the research by Hazen et al. (2013) on modelling climate change, including the methods used and the findings...

• Used tracking data from Block et al. (2011) to model/predict how climate change will affect availability of suitable habitat via temperature increases in some areas • Found some winners (e.g. sooty shearwater & leatherback turtle), & some losers (e.g. blue shark & mako shark)

MEP11: Describe "Levy flight" as a potential optimal strategy, including what this involves, and how the Levy exponent can be calculated....

• Used when searching complex prey landscapes involves many small movements, fewer larger movements. • Using the frequency distributions of movement events it is possible to calculate the Levy exponent - ideally μ = 2.

MEP12: Describe the problems with ensuring consistent behaviours of fishers, including the case of Atlantic cod on Grand banks off Newfoundland (NW Atlantic) in Canada as an example...

• Using landings as a measure stock size/health is problematic - depends on consistent gear use & use of fishing locations by fishers. • Otherwise possible that "fishers following fish" & retain high catch despite decline in population e.g. • Historically cod were abundant but suddenly in 1992 the stock collapsed & still hasn't recovered. • Management based on numbers of cod caught by fisheries & thought stocks were in good state • But cod abundance actually declined & remaining cod aggregated together, meaning that large numbers caught by fishers until stock collapsed

MEP4: Describe the competition for space as an abiotic constraint...

• Variable amounts of free space all along the shore so strong competition exists for space - can grow on top of other organisms • Can grow on top of other species e.g. Barnacles on top of Mussels • Can also grow in tiers

MEP4: Describe variable periods of Immersion and Emersion as Abiotic Constraints, including the affects of these on the shore line...

• Variable periods of dessication & light, as well as salinity gradient, wind, & lack of food • High up on shore = long exposure of 12 hours • Mid region of shore = 3 hours • Bottom of shore = 30 minutes • Thus, different quality of life

MEP5: Describe Biotic disturbances in the Arctic, including examples and the affects this can have on certain organisms...

• Very high biotic disturbance e.g. bioturbation of sediment - easy to disturb • Skeleton-crushing (AKA durophagous) predators (e.g. Walrus) disturb sediment to find prey (e.g. King crab) • Bioturbation of sediment in Arctic causes limited light penetration • Sediment can clog up gills, while also reducing suspension feeding • Thus epifaunal & infaunal species may die due to perturbation, so possible link to low epifaunal diversity

MEP3: Describe Coccolithophores compared to terrestrial plants...

• Very small biomass involved • Rapid turnover (faster development) as entire global population of phytoplankton is replaced every 2-6 days

MEP3: Define picoplankton, and describe examples of picoplankton...

• Very small size of 2.0 - 20 μm • Many photosynthetic prokaryotes e.g. • Trichodesmium - blooms on the ocean • Prochlorococcus - most abundant photosynthetic organism in the sea

MEP7: Describe three examples of organisms living on the Hydrothermal vents which depend on bacteria in order to survive, including how they do this....

• Vestimentiferans (polychaete) tube worm (Riftia pachyptila): - No digestive tract, depends on symbiotic bacteria in "trophosome" tissue fixed to ground - Gills put out to catch hydrogen sulphide, pull down into trophosome so bacteria convert it - Specialised haemoglobin to bind H2S, & to transport it to bacteria Slide • Bathymodiolus thermophylus (vent mussels) - Dominate vents in Atlantic, depend on symbiotic bacteria on gill filaments but can filter feed too - Must live close to sulphides to "feed" bacteria • Heterotrophic polychaete e.g. Alvinella (Pompeii worm): - Up to 13cm, aggregates, paper-thin tubes hairy with cultures of bacteria (possible insulation) - Feeds on filamentous chemoautotrophic bacteria - Most thermally-tolerant eukaryote (regular >65°C, sometimes >100°C)

MEP9: Describe the Seed germination adaptations of mangrove plants in response to the problem of high salinity and low oxygen... Also describe examples....

• Viviparity, seeds or embryos germinate on the parent plant & only drop off once propagules large enough (long hypercotol) e.g. • Cannon ball mangrove - fruits (20 cm diam.) contain up to 18 seeds, fruit explodes & seeds dispersed into sea • Looking-glass mangrove - this seed has a prominent ridge which can act as a sail to aid dispersion

MEP15: Identify the important variables in determining the scale of the oils spill impact...

• Volume & speed of spill • Inshore or offshore (shoreline clean-up 5x the cost of offshore) • Dispersant use (needs hydrodynamic mixing, can suppress oil-degrading microorganisms) • Sea conditions and currents • Habitats present (rock, sand)

MEP13: Describe why climate change will cause changes to body size...

• Warmer waters hold less oxygen, so future oceans should be less oxygenated. • Warmer waters are energetically more expensive to live in, so fish will require more oxygen. • Thus metabolism will be more costly, growth rates will decline, & maximum size will be smaller

MEP11: Describe the findings of Heide-Jørgensen et al. (2012) who satellite tagged bowhead whales in multiple populations separated by ice shelves.... Also why are these findings relevant to conservationists?

• Whales tagged in 2002 (Greenland) & 2006 (Alaska) were limited in their movement by ice, so the two populations were isolated. • In 2010 the northwest passage was opened due to lack of ice, & tagging demonstrated the populations were coming into contact. • Conservationists interested in movements of species that has been recovering over last 50 years following centuries of whaling.

MEP2: Define euphotic/photic zone in terms of light terminology...

• Where there is enough light for photosynthesis • More or less down to 1% of surface light

MEP14: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections suggest that CO2 will continue to rise in the atmosphere. Describe the effect that this will have, including in different areas of the ocean....

• Will continue to drive down pH in the oceans. • Lead to loss of accessible calcium carbonate e.g. aragonite & calcite (can be saturated in seawater) in oceans • Lower levels of saturated calcium carbonate will be present towards poles, so effects of ocean acidification will be most substantial on calcifying organisms towards the poles.

MEP2: Describe the Ekman spiral....

• Wind direction affects direction of surface current (e.g to right) • Each layer of water moves farther to right down the water column • Net effect of water current moving at right angle to the wind direction overall