MARINE BIOLOGY COMPOSITE QUIZZES FOR CHAPTER 12-18
Chapter Quiz 12
1 In an estuary, _____ is low while _____ usually is high.
A) Biodiversity, primary production B) Primary production, biodiversity
C) Biomass, competition
D) Freshwater flow, transparency
3 Coastal plain estuaries are far more common on passive margins of continents than on active margins.
A) True B) False
5 Estuaries are vital to many species as:
A) Migratory routes B) Breeding grounds C) Nutrient dumps D) Safe, sterile open areas free of any predators.
7 The Bay of Fundy in eastern Canada is an estuary with extremely strong tidal currents. Due to these strong tidal
currents which of these is most likely to occur?
A) It is a negative estuary due to almost no circulation. B) There is no sedimentation.
C) There is no breeding of marine species due to tidal action. D) The saltwater wedge goes much further up the
estuary.
9 A deep-water estuary like a fjord is more likely to have:
A) No detritus production at all. B) Less temperature variation
C) Higher bacteria levels with more hydrogen-sulfide production.
D) Fewer migrating species
11 All detritus produced in estuarine communities stays within that estuary and does not enter the open ocean or
other adjacent communities. A) True B) False
13 Many of these esturine animals survive by burrowing in the sediment. They tend to be:
A) Osmoregulators B) Osmoconformers C) Anadromous D) Catadromous
15 To survive in an estuary, a filter-feeding crab must have a means to:
A) Catch the small amount of organic matter in the area. B) Clean mud off its filtering mechanism and gills.
C) Shade its eyes from bright light. D) Deal with hypersaline water.
17 Which of these fish is a year-round inhabitant of an estuary?
A) Salmon B) Anchovy C) Killifish D) Leopard shark
19 Fiddler crabs have been used to study all of these topics but which one?
A) Biological clocks B) Effects of predation on mussels C) Color changes
D) Behavior
21 Cat-tails (Typha) are plants of freshwater marshes, but they can be found at the extreme upper (landward) end of
an estuary. Cat-tails are: A) Euryhaline. B) Stenohaline. C) Eurythermal. D) Osmoregulators.
23 Mangrove forests and salt marshes can mitigate the destructive forces of natural disasters by:
A) Modifying seismic activity in tsunami-prone areas
B) Changing local weather patterns to alleviate hurricanes and typhoons
C) Altering tidal patterns to avoid spring tides
D) Acting as buffers or barriers to violent ocean surges of water resulting from natural disasters.
25 As sediment builds up around bases of cordgrass it creates a firmer shore type. Thus this plant may give way to:
A) Pickleweed. B) Enteromorpha. C) Mangroves. D) Eelgrass.
27 Mangrove forests can be considered to be the tropical equivalent of salt marshes in terms of productivity.
A) True B) False
Chapter Quiz 13
1 The edge of the continental shelf or shelf break occurs at which depth?
A) The lowest tide mark B) About 40 m C) 150 m D) 1000 m
3 There usually are more species in subtidal than in intertidal soft bottoms largely because subtidal conditions are
less variable. A) True B) False
5 Unlike the Arctic the continental shelf off Antarctica has no:
A) Dissolved oxygen B) Runoff from rivers C) Bacteria decay activity D) Benthic fauna
7 Which feature would you NOT expect to see on the continental shelf off the mouth of the Mississippi River?
A) Lithogenous sediment
B) Abundant nutrients in the water
C) Constant water temperature year-round D) Water with a greenish tint
9 As a general rule, members of the meiofauna do not
A) Have long and slender bodies. B) Eat detritus. C) Live between sand grains. D) Perform photosynthesis as
primary producers.
11 A fish that feeds by scooping up on infauna and some epifauna is the
A) Flounder. B) Reef shark. C) Ray. D) Sea horse.
13 Near a seagrass bed, one could expect to find all of these conditions but which one?
A) Reduced turbulence B) Fine sediment being deposited C) Lots of detritus D) Many rocks
15 The growth range for giant kelps grow is limited by wave action at the upper end and by light availabilty at the
lower end. A) True B) False
17 Most of the productivity of the giant kelps enters the food chain as fragments (detritus) rather than as whole
plants directly eaten by herbivores. A) True B) False
19 If you wanted to grow giant kelp on rocks in the Caribbean Sea, could you do so?
A) Yes, because the water is clear.
B) Yes, because there are plenty of rocks on which it can grow.
C) No, because the water is too warm. D) No, because the water is too shallow.
21 All of the following explanations but which one have been suggested for the decline of kelp beds in Southern
California?
A) Heavy fishing on lobsters and crabs
B) Decrease in the amount of drift algae
C) Overfishing on cod
D) Unusually warm currents and severe storms
23 Sea urchin barrens may be the result of all of these reasons except which one?
A) Higher survival of sea urchin larvae B) Absence of sea otters
C) Sewage pollution
D) A "La Nina" event
25 A commercially valuable species that may inhabit seagrass beds is the
A) Atlantic bay scallop. B) Topsmelt. C) Halibut. D) Sand dollar.
Chapter Quiz 14
1 Coral polyps in a single coral colony typically form when many larvae are attracted to settle in the same location.
A) True B) False
3 In the polyps of a colony, which parts are not shared among the polyps?
A) Skeleton B) Digestive system C) Nervous system D) Tentacles
5 If a coral has no tentacles, it must rely on
A) Its zooxanthellae only.
B) Mucus to catch zooplankton.
C) Uses its mouth to engulf prey. D) Cannot survive long.
7 The ridge at the outer edge of a Pacific reef is made up of
A) Branched algae. B) Fire corals. C) Encrusting coralline algae. D) low-growing corals.
9 When seawater is too warm, corals may undergo __________. This is thought to be a side-effect of global
warming on the oceans.
A) Fragmentation. B) Bleaching. C) Extrusion of mesenterial filaments. D) Mucus production.
11 A biologist is alarmed to see that a coral reef is being overgrown by algae. Grazing fishes are abundant in the
area. What may be causing the overgrowth?
A) Sedimentation from dredging B) Decreased salinity C) Sewage pollution D) Overfishing
13 Charles Darwin developed the most widely accepted explanation for atoll reef formation in the mid-1800s.
A) True B) False
15 Cyanobacteria are thought to be the most important producers on a coral reef. A) True B) False
17. The zooxanthellae of corals may pick up nutrients from
A)Fishes. B) Phytoplankton. C) Surface waters. D) Benthic algae.
19 The lottery hypothesis proposes that whichever species of fish dominates a patch of reef is largely a matter of
luck. A) True B) False
21 In areas of reefs where there are lots of sea urchins (Diadema),
A) Coralline algae are rare. B) Triton snails have been over-collected.
C) There are dense masts of filamentous algae. D) Seaweed populations tend to remain stable.
.23 Common animal symbionts of corals are
A) Cyanobacteria. B) Photosynthetic bacteria. C) Crustaceans. D) Parrotfishes.
25 Eating which of these can cause ciguatera poisoning?
A) Lobsters. B) Barracuda. C) Sardines. D) Shrimp cocktail.
27 The following is an important feature of encrusting coralline algae on a tropical reef:
A) They grow on sediment and cement it in place, helping reef formation.
B) They are less wave-resistant than are stony corals.
C) They form calcium carbonate but contribute only a few percent to reef growth.
D) They grow best in deep water by using accessory pigments for photosynthesis.
29 Deep-water coral mounds consist of mostly:
A) Coral fragments. B) Mud. C) Coralline algae. D) High concentrations of grazing fish.
Chapter Quiz 15
1 In the pelagic realm, most primary production occurs in the epipelagic neritic zone.
A) True B) False
3 The planktonic animals that divers are likely to see are
A) Phytoplankton like diatoms.
B) Megaplankton like jellyfish.
C) Macroplankton like krill.
D) Meroplankton like fish larva.
5 Krill are not as numerous as copepods but are more likely to be eaten by large consumers such as birds, fishes, and
whales. A) True B) False
7 Nitrogen-fixing phytoplankton may be
A) Trichodesmium. B) Diatoms. C) Dinoflagellates. D) Sargassum.
9 Members of the holoplankton spend part of their life cycle in the plankton and their adult lives on the sea floor.
A) True B) False
11 Planktivorous nekton are the smaller species of fish only. A) True B) False
13 Salps and larvaceans
A) Are chordates, like the tunicates.
C) Start life as bottom-dwelling larvae.
B) Are gelatinous medusae.
D) Use tentacles to catch prey.
15 Drag upon the water column that slows sinking can be increased with spines and flat shapes.
A) True B) False
17 Lipids are a major form of energy storage material that adds buoyancy to epipelagic organisms such as copepods
and diatoms. A) True B) False
19 Zooplankton are too small to be effective vertical migrators, since this behavior involves a long-distance swim
each day. A) True B) False
21 The red meat of tuna, salmon, and other pelagic fish is due to high levels of __________ in their bodies.
A) Nitrates to make nucleic acids B) Lipids for floatation
C) Myoglobin to store oxygen D) Phosphates for the production of chlorophyll.
23 To achieve neutral buoyancy, a shark uses its
A) Swim bladder. B) Gas float. C) Oily liver. D) Exclusion of heavy ions.
25 Red muscle in fishes is used for constant cruising, while white muscle is used for quick bursts of speed.
A) True B) False
27 The fastest pelagic fishes have been clocked at speeds of _____ or more.
A) 10 km/hr B) 25 km/hr C) 50 km/hr D) 100 km/hr
29 Most epipelagic food chains are fairly simple and have fewer trophic-levels than other marine food-chains
A) True B) False
31 Marine snow refers to the large amount of disolved organic material that falls from the epipelagic zone in the
oceans. A) True B) False
Chapter Quiz 16
1 The mesopelagic, which is characterized by no sunlight, begins at about 200 m deep. A) True B) False
3 The Deep Sea Benthos occurs only below the hadopelagic zone. A) True B) False
5 Mesopelagic organisms are dominated by:
A) Cnidarians, chaetognaths, crustaceans, fishes, and squids.
B) Diatoms, copepods, chaetognaths, and fishes.
C) Copepods, cephalopods, foraminiferans, and large fishes.
D) Medusae, ctenophores, copepods, and squids.
7 Most of the fish species common to the mesopelagic are characterized by a small size, many sharp teeth, and a row
of ventral (belly) photophores. A) True B) False
9 Which of these conditions do vertically migrating mesopelagic animals encounter?
A) Large changes in temperature.
B) Anoxic water below the thermocline.
C) High primary productivity at depth.
D) No light at all.
11 The sonar echoes of the Deep Sea Layer or Deep Scattering Layer (DSL) are due to:
A) Exoskeletons of shrimp.
B) Bones in fishes.
C) gas-filled swim bladders.
D) Shells of pteropods.
13 Which of these organisms can be very abundant in the mesopelagic?
A) Horseshoe crabs B) Ostracods C) Flounder D) Tube worms
15 Bathypelagic fishes usually have photophores on the head and sides of the body instead of on the ventral surface.
A) True B) False
17 To find a mate, a male deep-sea anglerfish uses:
A) Color patterns.
B) Light patterns from rows of photophores.
C) A powerful sense of smell.
D) Touch.
19 Due to the effects from respiration and bacterial decay coupled with lack of photosynthesis a layer exists at
around 500m/1,600ft that is very difficult to survive in called the:
A) Anoxic Layer
B) Hadopelagic Layer
C) Oxygen Minimum Zone/Layer
D) Eutrophication Layer
21 In fishes, bioluminescence is produced by:___
A) Neumatocysts. B) Ink sacs. C) Photophores. D) Chromatophores.
23 Among the most common large deep-sea benthic deposit feeders are:
A) Sea cucumbers. B) Sea spiders. C) Sponges. D) Ostracods.
25 Mesopelagic fish like epipelagic fish make frequent use of __________ to save energy and yet avoid predation.
A) countershading B) Maneuverability C) Vertical migration D) Enriched hemoglobin
27 Which substance is the basis of the chemosynthetic food-chain at the hydrothermal vents?
A) Iron-sulfide B) Calcium-carbonate C) Hydrogen-sulfide D) Methane-hydrate
Chapter Quiz 17
1 Food from the sea represents about _____ of all food eaten by humans.
A) 1% B) 10% C) 30% D) 50%
3 Seafood is very important to people because it is a critical source of:
A) Carbohydrates B) Lipids C) Protein D) Anti-oxidents
5 If one looks at the world commercial catches of seafood, the total amounts
A) Have fluctuated widely between years.
B) Peaked in 1990 and since then have declined.
C) Are still increasing.
D) Are about triple of what they were in 1975.
7 Clupeid fishes are used to produce all of these products except
A) Fish flour.
B) Fish meal protein supplements for livestock feeds.
C) Gourmet food.
D) Fish oil.
9 The clupeoid fishes such as herrings, anchovies, and sardines feed on:
A) Detritus B) Bacteria C) Plankton D) Large macro algaes
11 The maximum sustainable yield of a harvested fish population depends on all of these except:
A) The size and age of fish caught.
B) The reproductive and growth rates and lifespans of the fish.
C) Interactions with competing species.
D) Whether the fish is demersal or pelagic.
13 If only the largest fish in a population are caught, the population may decline because:
A) These are the most competitive fish.
B) These produce more eggs than juvenile ones.
C) Smaller fish eat more food than big ones.
D) Smaller fish will escape from nets and never return to the area where they were caught.
15 Recent studies have shown that around 90% of the original stocks of large-size marine fishes remain in the
oceans. A) True B) False
17 Which of these policies is used to manage fisheries in the EEZ of the U.S.A.?
A) Banning fishing vessels of all foreign nations. B) Setting limits on mesh sizes of nets.
C) Strictly following free-market forces. D) Maintaining an open fishery to all nations.
19 Open mariculture refers to the practice of raising marine organisms in enclosures that are open to more-or-less
natural conditions. A) True B) False
21 Unlike most harvested marine animals, the large numbers of krill around Antarctica are continuing to provide an
increasing harvest each year and thus show no impacts from being harvested. A) True B) False
23 The reason that mariculture today is mostly used to grow luxury foods instead of cheap fish for the world's poor
is because:
A) Fish suitable for mariculture do not live near poor countries.
B) It is only in the past 100 years that anyone has tried to raise marine organisms in ponds.
C) No one has considered using biotechnology to improve yields from mariculture.
D) It requires expensive machinery and trained personnel and thus is very expensive to set up and operate.
Chapter Quiz 18
1 An example of an activity that can damage nearby marine habitats is:
A) Dumping dredge spoils. B) Treating sewage.
C) Creating artificial reefs. D) Recycling plastics.
3 Another threat to corals caused by increased atmospheric CO2-levels is:
A) ocean acidification
B) eutrophication
C) sludge accumulation
D) absorbing chemical dispersants
5 Eutrophication is caused by the massive increases in the populations of:
A) Seagrasses. B) Corals. C) Phytoplankton. D) Fish.
7 Dumping of sludge (treated sewage) into the oceans has relatively little effect on marine life compared to dumping
of raw sewage. A) True B) False
9 Oil spilled into the ocean may last for years, but not forever because some of it evaporates and natural bacteria
break down the rest. A) True B) False
11 Feminization of male fish has been linked to chemicals in sewage. The chemicals are from the urine of women on
birth control pills. A) True B) False
13 Where does spilled oil degrade most slowly?
A) At the sea's surface. B) In salt marshes. C) On the sea floor. D) On beaches.
15 Because of biological magnification, which of these animals would accumulate the most pesticides per body
weight? A) Filter-feeding clam B) Small fish C) Grazing snail D) Bald eagle
17 You would be most likely to find lead in the environment near which of these sites?
A) Pesticide-producing factory B) Coal-burning plant
C) Dump for old electronic equipment D) Site of an old marine fueling dock
19 A great drop in atmospheric ozone levels, thought to be caused by CFCs, currently occurs over which of these
areas? A) Africa B) Asia C) Antarctica D) North America
21 As chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides enter a marine food chain, about 80-90% are degraded or lost at each
trophic step (similar to the loss in biological production). A) True B) False
23 The use of DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides has been banned worldwide, and all of the
problems they caused are now gone. A) True B) False
25 The heavy metal mercury is more dangerous as an organic compound than as a pure metal. A) True B) False
27 Radioactive waste must be ingested by organisms to have effects on marine life. A) True B) False
29 A major cause of the spread of exotic or alien species is:
A) Eutrophication
B) The dumping of dredge spoil.
C) The overuse of pesticides.
D) The dumping of ship ballast water
31 If one intends to attempt habitat restoration, one must not:
A) Use artificial substrates, such as concrete blocks. B) Reopen connections to the open sea.
C) Introduce invasive species. D) Release small fishes that were raised in culture.