EPS 15: Final Review
The dissolution of CO2 from burned fossil fuels leads to..
a decrease in ocean pH, caused by the formation of carbonic acid, which dissociates and releases protons
Which is the most familiar type of wave? How is it produced?
Wind Waves- produced on the ocean surface by effects of time-varying winds
Kelp Forests
- cover 25% of the world's coastline -most productive and dynamic ecosystems on earth - 3-dimensional habitat for marine organisms -foundation organism that provides the habitat for the community -thrive in cold, nutrient-rich waters -Kelp is one of the fastest growing organisms on Earth
At what temperature does fresh water freeze?
0°C
Sinking Particle Flux
decreases with water depth due to continuous remineralization during transport -the amount of labile (easily digestible) organic carbon also decreases with depth
Wave Shoaling
deep water to shallow water transition
Brine Rejection
once the seawater beings to freeze, salt is excluded from the ice crystal in this process and the surrounding seawater becomes becomes saltier and denser
Inhabitants of Salt Marshes
shellfish, coastal birds, winter flounder, migratory birds
Tides
driven by gravitational pull of sun & moon Powerful, but only 1-2 per day Shallow
Ice Algal communities
dominated by diatoms, live at the ice/water interface and in recently flooded surface and interior layers, Although protists dominate the sea ice biomass, heterotrophic bacteria are also abundant
Deep Sea characteristics
dark, high pressure, low temperature, limited food
Since CO2 is the product of organic matter remineralization, in which of the deep oceans would you expect to find the highest concentration of CO2?
Pacific Ocean
Light penetration in the ocean varies by
(a) amount of particles in the water that absorb/reflect light (b) seasonality (particularly at high latitudes (c) sun vs. moon light
The Antartic
- Coldest place on the earth -the Antarctic is at the bottom of the earth (south) -Penguins live in the Antarctic -land mass surrounded by an ocean -because surrounded by ocean, open ocean allows the forming sea ice to move more freely -forms ice ridges much less often -because there is no land boundary to the north, the sea ice is free to float northward into warmer waters where it eventually melts
The Arctic
- at the top of the earth (North) -Polar bears live in the Arctic and eat seals - 2 million native people call the Arctic home -semi closed ocean surrounded by land - because surrounded by land, ice that forms is not as mobile -converging floes make ice thicker
Viperfish
- characterized by long, needle-like teeth and hinged lower jaws - believed to attack prey after luring them within range with light-producing organs called photophores, which are located along the ventral sides of its body, and with a prominent photophore at the end of a long spine in the dorsal fin
Gulper (or Pelican) Eel
- most notable feature is its large mouth, which is much larger than its body -mouth is loosely hinged, and can be opened wide enough to swallow a fish much larger than the eel itself
Hydrothermal Vents
- seawater is heated through volcanic activity and is released with reduced chemical species -commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart, ocean basins, and hotspots
Zooxanthellae
- single-celled dinoflagellates that are able to live in symbiosis with marine invertebrates such as corals, jellyfish, and sea anemones -photosynthetic organisms, which contain chlorophyll as well as the dinoflagellate pigments
Black Smoker vs. White Smokers
-Black Smokers release iron sulfides -White smokers release minerals including calcium and magnesium
Chemosynthesis
-Ecosystems depend upon the ability of some organisms to convert inorganic compounds into food that other organisms can then exploit -runs on chemical energy
3 Domains of Life
-Eukaryotes (contain cell nucleus) -Bacteria (no cell nucleus, Prokaryote) -Archaea(no cell nucleus, Prokaryote)
Maximum wave size/speed depends on:
-Fetch: distance over which the wind blows to generate waves -Duration: length of time the wind blows across the fetch -Relative Wind Speed: difference between wave speed & wind speed
Habitable Oceanic Zones
-Pelagic (in the free water) -Neritic (close to the coast, above shelf) -Oceanic (off the shelf, in the open ocean) -Benthic (on/in or near seafloor) -Littoral (in the tidal shelf, on shelf) -Sublittoral (below tidal zone, on shelf) -Photic (light present) -Aphotic (complete darkness)
Vampire Squid
-an extreme example of a deep-sea cephalopod - lives in a discrete habitat known as the oxygen minimum zone -feed on marine snow
Crinoids
-belong to echinoderms (relatives of the starfish) - feed by filtering small particles of food from the sea water with their feather-like arms
Coral Reefs
-built by colonies of tiny animals found in marine water that contain few nutrients -held together by calcium carbonate structures secreted by corals -form the most diverse ecosystems on Earth -25% of all marine species
Hatchetfish
-gets its name from the distinct hatchetlike shape of its body -believed that they migrate to shallower waters at night to feed mainly on plankton and tiny fish -hunt by looking for the silhouettes of their prey moving overhead
Manganese nodules
-grow at the abyssal plains when metal compounds dissolved in water precipitate around a nucleus -have been found to contain a significant amount of rare earth elements
Nekton in food chains
-occupies the higher consumer levels in food chains
Polar sea ice is...
-one of the largest ecosystems on earth -provides food for a host of animals (crustaceans being the most visible) -Uneaten organic matter from the ice sinks through the water column and feeds benthic ecosystems
Why do waves break at the shore?
-they interact with the ocean bottom -crests travel faster than troughs -when the crest catches up with the trough ahead of it, the wave "breaks" (crest overtakes the lead trough, the wave steepens and then breaks)
Rare Earth Elements (REE)
-used in cars, industry motors, electronic devices, etc -not common, but actually not that rare *China is currently the largest producer for rare earth elements
Whale Fall Stages
1. Scavenger stage (most of the whale biomass is been consumed by scavengers such as hagfish, amphipods, and sleeper sharks) 2. Opportunist Stage ( features high abundances of a few opportunistic organisms, such as crabs and polychaete worms, that feed on biomass from bones or that has been transferred to the sediment) 3. Sulfophilic Stage(represents the sulfophilic stage, in which bacteria that consume whale biomass in sediments and inside bones (bone lipids) generate hydrogen sulfide by breathing sulfate. The hydrogen sulfide (similar to hydrothermal vents and cold seeps) provides the energy basis for a chemosynthetic ecosystem at whale falls, including free-living sulfur bacteria, and symbiont tubeworms, clams, and mussels, can last up to 50 years)
Trophic relationships
1. phytoplankton -> krill -> small fish -> penguin -> seal 2. phytoplankton -> krill -> baleen whale 3. phytoplankton -> zooplankton -> krill -> penguin -> orca whale *depending on the food source of the top consumer, food chains can be long or short
Cold Seeps
= Hydrocarbon Seeps - located at subduction zones and passive margins -bacteria and archaea that metabolize methane or oil are the first type of organisms to take advantage of this deep-sea energy source, breathe sulfate and convert into hydrogen sulfide.
Why do you think the southern ocean is not as productive as it should be according to the availability of nitrate and phosphate?
Because another essential component must be missing
Why does chlorophyll look green?
Because it absorbs red and blue light, thus, reflecting green light
What stimulates microbial organic matter degradation in sediments?
Bioturbation (mixing) and Bioirrigation (ventilation)
How can production of manganese nodules be accomplished?
By harvesting machines that vacuum the nodules from the seafloor and pump them into a shit *this procedure can have multiple negative effects on the deep-sea environment
Redfield Ratio
C:N:P = 106:16:1 the atomic ratio of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus found in phytoplankton and throughout the deep oceans -named after the American oceanographer Alfred C. Refield
In what regions is CO2 (atmospheric recycled) released from the ocean back to the atmosphere?
Coastal upwelling regions
The Anatomy of a Wave
Crest Trough Wave Height (Amplitude) Wave Length Depth
Deep Vs. Shallow Water Waves
Deep- ocean bottom does not affect wave Shallow- ocean bottom strongly affects wave Speed (S) increases with water depth(d)
How much organic carbon reaches the seafloor?
Depends on the productivity at the surface and the water depth
Where were the most significant discoveries of gas and oil?
Discoveries of gas and oil fields in water depths greater than 400 meters were made in the South Atlantic & off the coast of West Africa
Wind Waves
Driven by wind (wind wave size increases with speed, distance, and duration of wind) Less potent individually, but common everywhere Deep
Benthic Infauna and Epifauna
Epifauna (lives ON the seafloor) Infauna (lives INSIDE the seafloor)
Types of Coral Reef (3)
Fringing reef: directly attached to a shore, most common reef type, follow coastlines and can be many kilometers long Barrier Reefs: separated from a mainland or island shore by a deep channel or lagoon, resemble the later stages of a fringing reef with its lagoon, differs in size and origin Atolls: more or less circular or continuous barrier reef extends all the way around a lagoon without a central island, usually formed from fringing reeds around volcanic islands. Over the course of time, the island is eroded away and sinks below the level of the sea. A ring of reefs results, which enclose a lagoon.
How are Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZ) created?
In nutrient-rich (hence very productive) coastal upwelling regions, organic carbon degradation in the water can be so high that oxygen declines dramatically
How is organic carbon remineralized in the water column?
It can be remineralized within the surface ocean via the microbial loop (mostly DOC consumption) or it can be exported to the deep ocean as POC (marine snow, fecal pellets)
Where would you expect low/high phytoplankton productivity?
Low --> downwelling, subtropical gyres High --> upwelling, southern ocean
Two Major Types of Kelp world-wide
Macrocystis (contains the largest of all brown algae) Laminaria (characterized by long, leathery, latitude and laminae, and relatively large size)
Which mineral resources does the Ocean seafloor harbor?
Manganese nodules, cobalt crusts, and volcanogenic massive sulfides
What is a reasonable solution to ensure protein delivery from fish and shellfish without reducing wild populations?
Marine aquaculture, however, aquacultures need strong regulations to avoid for example habitat damage, spreading diseases, escapes of farmed fish, or eutrophication
Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZs)
Most major OMZs are located in nutrient-rich coasts upwelling regions
An organism that lives in coastal waters and can swim against the currents is a...
Neritic nekton
What are the 3 key phytoplankton nutrients in the ocean?
Nitrate (to make animo acids) Phosphate (to make DNA) Silicate (to make diatom shells) *strongly reduced (bio-limiting) in the surface ocean
Which ocean has the highest concentration?
Pacific
Consequences of Ocean Warming
Ocean deoxygenation- the intensification and spreading of oxygen minimum zones. At higher temperatures, water dissolves less oxygen and develops stronger and shallower thermoclines, which decrease ocean ventilation Coral Bleaching- lead to the death of corals Arctic Sea Ice Decline- Global/Ocean Warming has lead so far to a 50% reduction of the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. Starving Polar Bears
Which are the most important fossil fuels in the world?
Oil (33.2%) Coal (30%)
Dynamics of a Wave
Period- time between crests Frequency- number of crests per second Speed- rate crests move (meter/second)
Autotroph
Photo-autotroph: builds biomass from CO2 and yields energy through light (i.e plants, algae, prokaryotes) Chemo-autotroph: builds biomass from CO2 and builds energy through inorganic chemical reactions (i.e prokaryotes)
Heterotroph
Photo-heterotroph: builds biomass from organic compounds and yields energy through light (i.e prokaryotes) Chemo-heterotroph: builds biomass and yields energy through organic compounds (i.e animals, fungi, prokaryotes)
Who is especially affected as they need sea ice to hunt for their food - the seals?
Polar Bears
Trophic Levels in the Ocean
Producers, consumers, decomposers
Prokaryotes vs. Eukaryotes
Prokaryotes- no nucleus, no membrane around genetic material (single cell organisms) Eukaryotes- cells contain a nucleus with genetic material within membranes (can be single cell organisms "Protists" and multicellular organisms with diversified cells)
Who is the primary consumer of the kelp forest?
Sea Urchin
Tsunamis
Seismic sea waves, driven by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or underwater landslides Powerful, but rare Shallow (most occur along the ring of fire)
What burrows into substrate in the lower parts of the beach
Soft-shelled clams and Razor clams
Phytoplankton's chemical specialties
Some form carbonate shells, others produce toxins, and other are able to fix nitrogen (N2)
Rocky Intertidal Zones (5) + Tide Pools
Spray zone: receives moisture only from the splash of waves at the highest tides, during storms or from rainfall, during storms or from rainfall Upper Intertidal (periwinkle zone): located near the high tide line, submerged regularly at high tide, animals and algae that live here must be able to survive without water for ten to eleven hours at a stretch. Middle Intertidal: this band comprises the greatest part of the intertidal zone, often dominated by barnacles and brown algae Lower Intertidal: rockweeds are replaced by the red algae, area is exposed only at very low tides, well-developed beds of blue mussels and organisms that live in association with the mussels are found here Subtidal: always underwater, except for the extreme spring tides of winter, much more stable than the rest of the rocky shore.
Organsims living in tide pools
Starfish, mussels, and clams
Who is primarily responsible for laying the foundations of, and building up reef structures?
Stony Corals
Kelp Anatomy
Stripe= parallel to the stem of a plant Blades= parallel to the leaves, responsible for both nutrient uptake and photosynthesis Holdfast= resembles the roots of a plant, only used to anchor the kelp to the rocks, not to take up nutrients bladders= serve as flotation devices to keep the blades near the surface so that they receive sufficient light
Which organisms feed on organic compound at the seafloor?
Suspension feeders, deposit feeders, prokaryotes
Global Warming
The anthropogenic increase of CO2 in the atmosphere caused by, e.g., fossil fuel burning has lead to a significant increase in global temperature
Which benthic habitat has the largest microbial organic carbon turnover?
The benthic microbial organic carbon turnover is the highest on the shelf and lowest in the deep sea.
Why is there no high productivity in the southern ocean despite high nutrient concentration?
The reason is the lack of iron, a micro nutrient (trace element)
Climate Change
The sum of effects of CO2 increase in the atmosphere
How are massive reef structures formed?
They are formed when each individual stony coral organism - or polyp- secretes a skeleton of calcium carbonate
How do fossil oil and gas reservoirs form?
They form from deposited organic matter in the seafloor (dead algae, etc)
3 types of Ocean Waves
Wind Waves Tsunamis Tides
How does Phytoplankton conduct photosynthesis?
Uses the light of the sun (blue and red wavelengths) with the chlorophyll pigment
Salt Marshes
a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open seawater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides, among the world's most productive ecosystems in terms of the sheer amount of nutrient-rich decaying plant material they produce -dominated by dense stands of salt-tolerant plants such as herbs, grasses or low shrubs -plants living here are adapted to live in a saline environment
Fecal Pellets (Zooplankton poop)
a fast mechanism to transport organic matter from the surface to the deep ocean, because of their relative sinking speed *represent another significant transport mechanism of organic matter into the deep ocean
Chlorophyll
a green pigment that captures photons and transfer their energy to electrons, and through a series of steps creates carbohydrate molecules and oxygen
Coral Polyps
accumulation of individual animals embedded in calcium carbonate called polyps arranged in diverse shapes
What cannot grow in mudflats because the substrate is constantly sifting?
algae that so easily attaches to rocks and floats
Suspension Feeders
an animal that feeds on particles of organic matter that are suspended in water
Deposit Feeders
an aquatic animal that feeds on small specks of organic matter that have drifted down through the water and settled on the bottom
Plankton
any organism that is not strong enough to swim against the currents
Phytoplankton (plant plankton)
bacteria and single-cell algae that need light for photosynthesis -cyanobacteria (common in warm tropical waters) -diatom (requires silicon to build shell, fast growing) -dinoflagellate -coccolithophore *primary producers
Biological Pump
binds carbon (from CO2) into biomass (soft-tissue pump) and carbonate shells (carbonate pump) and exports it from the surface to the deep ocean
Benthic Filter feeders are example of
brittle stars (including the basket starfish), sponges, sea feathers (coral relatives)clams, and many annelid worms
Animals who live in tidal mudflats are equipped with adaptations for what?
burrowing or anchoring Ex: Clams (have an inflatable foots which anchors the clam inside the mud, breathe and ingest food through a siphons) Worms of the polychaete group (a worm's gut constantly processes food from the grains of sand and sediment that it ingests) Seagrass
Organisms are metabolically divided depending on
carbon and energy source
Plants, Algae, and cyanobacteria use _________ for photosynthesis.
chlorophyll
Tidal Mudflats
coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides
Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC)
dissolved organic produced in the surface ocean is recycled in the microbial loop above the thermocline
Physical Pump
dissolves CO2 from the atmosphere and transports it to the deep ocean at places of deep-water formation
Common large animals in the Antarctic
emperor and adéle penguin, Weddell seal, baleen whales, orcas, sea leopards and large benthic fauna such as sponges, anemones and echinoderms
Tide Pools
form on the rocky interidal zone (Inhabitants must be able to deal with a frequently changing environment- fluctuations in water temperature, salinity, and oxygen) Hazards include waves, strong currents, exposure to midday sun and predators.
Zooplankton in food chains
forms an important link between primary productions and higher levels of consumers (nekton)
How will humans run out of fossil fuels in the near future?
fossils fuels are produced much more slowly than humans consume them
Who feeds on soft-shelled clams and razor clams?
gulls, plovers, sanderling, and sandpipers
Common large Animals in the Arctic
harp and ribbon seals, walrus, narwhal, beluga whale, bowhead whale, polar bears, polar fox and, Greenland sharks
Narwhals
have a long tusk, which is actually a canine tooth that spirals counterclockwise up to nine feet forward from the head of adult males, and a small percentage of females
Organisms living in the intertidal zone are exposed to harsh extremes because...
high/low salinity, temperature, and physical forces (wave splash)
Liquid Brine Fraction
home to a diverse array of organisms, ranging from tiny archaea to larger fish and invertebrates. These organisms can tolerate high brine salinity and low temperature but do best when conditions are milder
Massive sulfides form at...
hydrothermal systems(black smokers) when dissolved metals are expelled and react with sulfide to form minerals, which precipitate and sink to the seafloor to form massive layers *contain significant amounts of silver and gold
Sea Otters
key stone organisms that protect the kelp forest function by feeding on the kelp consumer, i.e sea urchin, prevents them from becoming abundant
Primary productivity (Photosynthesis)
limited by the penetration of light into the ocean
Wracklines
lines of dead seaweed and other flotsam, under and within these there is a microcosm of animals feeding on the decaying seaweed (most common: beach flea)
Particulate Organic Carbon (POC)
major component of marine snow, consists of dead or dying animals and plankton, protists, and fecal matter
Oscillation
movement back and forth at a regular speed
Anglerfish
named for their characteristic mode of predation, in which a fleshy growth from the fish's head (the esca or illicium) acts as a lure - The deep sea anglerfish emit light from their esca to attract prey
Pleuston/Neuston
organisms that live in the thin surface layer existing at the air-water interface/ rely on surface tension to float
Rocky Intertidal
organisms with some method of attaching to hard surfaces live here because rocks offer a hard substrate
Wrack Zone (part of sandy beach)
part of the shore just above the mean high tide line where kelp is deposited on the sand, this area is identified by the piles of kelp and other debris
Organisms Found in the Spray Zone
periwinkles, a few barnaclas
At the compensation depth...
photosynthesis equals respiration
At the critical depth...
photosynthesis integrated over the entire eater column equals their total respiration
One of the shortest food chain in the oceans is...
phytoplankton -> krill -> baleen whale
What is the main source for Marine snow?
phytoplankton- delivers organic carbon to the deep ocean
Zooplankton
primary consumer of phytoplankton *makes daily vertical migrations to avoid predation day= in the deeper twilight zone (during the day, they sink to the bottom so predators don't see them) night= at the surface (during the night, they migrate to the top)
Nekton
refers to actively swimming aquatic organisms in a body of water (i.e against currents)
Pacific Plate Boundary
ring of fire
Habitats of The Intertidal Zone
rocky intertidal, sandy beach, mud flats, salt marches
Benthic Deposit feeders are example of
sea cucumbers, polychaete worms, crabs, sand dollars, ghost shrimps
Urchin Barren
sea urchins can become extremely abundant and cause an intense disturbance to the kelp-forest ecosystem by feeding on the holdfasts and causing the kelp to detach from their rocky anchors
Salt water freezes at...
slightly lower temperatures. As a result, seawater does not typically freeze before reaching -1.9°C
Zooplankton (animal plankton)
small animals that feed on other plankton -copepods -krill (small crustaceans, feeds on phytoplankton_ -dinoflagellates (capable of movement using flagella) -radiolarians -foraminiferans *primary consumers
Primary production (photosynthesis)
takes up carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous in a 106: 16: 1 ratio
Interidal Zone (Littoral Zone)
the area above water at low tide and under water at high tide
Coral Bleaching
the phenomenon when the algae symbiont leaves the stressed coral. Without the symbiont, the coral can't survive very long and eventually dies. -major cause of world-wide coral bleaching phenomena is the rise in ocean temperature, but it can also be triggered by pollution, strong exposure to sunlight or extreme lowtides
Remineralization
the process of converting organic material back to inorganic substances (ÇO2 + nutrients) remineralization= respiration
Bioluminescence
the production and emission of light by a living organism. Principle chemical reaction involves some light-emitting molecule and an enzyme *Some animals use bioluminescence to warn or evade predators, to lure or detect prey, or to communicate with each other
What is the most obvious direct consequence of increasing CO2?
the reduction of pH due to the increase in H+
The ocean has a large capacity to store CO2 through its three pumps:
the solubility pump, the soft-tissue (organic matter) pump, and the carbonate pump
Greenhouse Effect
the trapping of heat (from sunlight) by CO2 and other "greenhouse gases" (e.g. methane and water vapor) in the atmosphere
Sandy Beach
the zone from the lowest low water to the highest high water, controlled by the energy of the waves that attack the beach
How is the biomass of zooplankton directly coupled to phytoplankton?
their biomass usually peaks shortly after phytoplankton blooms
Organisms in the ocean are subdivided depending on
their lifestyle and habitat
Animals that live in symbiosis with chemosynthetic bacteria and have completely reduced their digestive system
tubeworms, clams and mussels
Microbial biomass in sediments declines exponential with...
water depths and linear with POC flux
Nekton mainly consists of
vertebrates (fish, some reptiles, some birds, mammals) mollusks (such as squid) crustaceans (like the swim crab)
Swells
waves that have left their birthplace
Large Food Falls
when nektonic animals die, they can sink fast to the deep ocean (if not consumed by predators) and provides a voluminous food source for scavengers in the deep ocean
Wind Sea
wind & storm create and grow new waves
