Name: ________________________________________________________ Date: ________ Pd: ____
Midpoint Assessment Study Guide
Test Date: _______
Lesson 1: Marine Ecosystems
1. Differentiate between a biological community and an ecosystem. Community is made up all living things in a
particular area whereas ecosystem includes the interaction of living things with the abiotic factors in a specific area.
2. What does the term “benthic” refer to? seafloor
3. Describe the characteristics of the following 8 ecosystems.
a. Coral Reef - colonial living structures that are found in equatorial areas in the photic zone (also there are deep
water corals but do not worry about these). Coral Reefs have very high biodiversity because of the vast availability of
food and nutrients.
e. Kelp Forest - Large protists that resembles large seaweed that is anchored on the seafloor. Found in coastal regions
of typically colder water. Serve as foraging/hunting grounds for a slew of large organisms.
b. Mangrove Forest - Line the coasts of mostly tropical regions. Consists of specific types of trees that are adapted to
exist in fluctuating salinities. Characterized by exposed roots. Serves as breeding grounds/nurseries.
f. Polar Sea – Arctic and Southern Ocean, extremely cold water and partially covered/insulated by thick layers of
ice/glaciers. High productivity due to plenty of upwelling.
c. Deep Sea - Mostly aphotic (without light), organisms are adapted to living in low to no light. Where we find
our most strange marine organisms.
g. Salt Marsh – Also known as estuaries with a wide variety of salinities depending on which end of the saltmarsh you are
measure. Dominated by marsh grasses that serve as our oceans nurseries/breeding grounds.
d. Open Ocean - Most vast ecosystem dominated by pelagic fishes, large expanses of very low productivity. By
far the largest marine ecosystem.
h. Rocky Shore – Found on coastlines where organisms
living here are exposed to harsh conditions from frequent and intense wave action against hard, rocky substrates.
4. Describe how a whale fall is considered a type of ecological succession. Include the 3 types of organisms that are
involved in the decomposition of a whale.
As a whale dies and sinks to the seafloor, background specialists begin to breakdown the flesh and tissue of the whale
until bone is exposed. Following are bone specialists which can extract oils from the bone and liberate them into the
water column. Lastly are species with unclear connections. Background specialists also reappear to feed on the osedax
(bone specialist). A whale fall is considered succession because it adds a tremendous amount of nutrients to a specific
area and can support growth of a tremendous amount of organisms in that specific area.
5. Describe the important of Mangrove Restoration. As mangroves are destroyed, primary production and biodiversity
plummets in these areas. Therefore, affecting the rest of the surrounding ecosystems. Restoration reestablishes the
primary producers (trees and bushes) that create the basis of the food chain in this ecosystem. Also provides a sink
(removal) for carbon in the atmosphere.
6. What are National Marine Sanctuaries? NMS are America’s underwater treasures. They provide protection to
fisheries and safe passage way for migrating animals. There is a system of 14 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that
encompass nearly 25,000 square km. Marine and Great Lake waters from Washington State to Florida Keys and from
Lake Huron to American Samoa
Lesson 2/3: Water Chemistry
1. What are the 4 spheres of the world and what do they contain?
a. Hydrosphere - water
b. Lithosphere - Land
c. Atmosphere - air
d. Biosphere – living things
2. Distinguish between: renewable source - ocean replenishes itself naturally over relatively short periods of time
nonrenewable resource - exhausted faster than they are naturally replaced
Ex: natural gas and minerals
3. Complete the following chart:
Melting Point
Freezing Point
Boiling Point
Density
Freshwater
0 deg C
0 deg C
100 deg C
1.0g/mL
Saltwater
-2 deg C
-2 deg C
100.8 deg C
1.3 g/mL
4. Distinguish between:
a. neutron – neutrally charged subatomic particle
b. proton – positively charged subatomic particle
c. electron – negatively charged subatomic particle
5. What is an isotope? Atom with same number of protons, different number of neutrons. Therefore changing its mass.
Give an example from your notes: O-18 (heavy oxygen), 0-16 (light oxygen)
6. What does the atomic number tell you? Number of protons
Atomic mass? Number of protons + neutrons
7. a. Define covalent bond and draw a
molecule that possesses this type of bond.
Sharing of electrons. Ex: Water molecule.
b.
Define ionic bond and draw a
molecule that possesses this type of
bond.
Transfer
of electrons from one ion to another. Ex: NaCl (salt)
8. Draw an image showing water’s unique properties. Include polarity, hydrogen bonding, polar covalent bond,
electronegativity, cohesion, and adhesion.
Polar covalent bond
Oxygen is more electronegative
9. Define the following words regarding our phase change lab:
a. Melting Phase change from solid to liquid
e. Condensation – Phase change from gas to liquid
b. Freezing - liquid to solid
f. Dry ice – solid carbon dioxide
c. Evaporation/Vaporization – liquid to gas
g. Heat Capacity – how much heat needs to be
added to a substance to change its temperature. Water has a VERY high heat capacity which attributes to the wide variety
of life on Earth. Because water can resist rapid changes in temperatures, crucial for survival of many organisms.
d. Sublimation – solid to gas phase (like dry ice)
11. Label the following phase change diagram, fill in the missing terms: (Hint: A, C, and E are the phase. F and G are
phase changes)
G
F
12. What is neutral buoyancy? Give an example of an organism that uses it. The ability to maintain position in the water
column. Jellyfish use this.
13. Define the following words regarding Lesson 3:
a. Brackish - Water with ranging salinities, mix of fresh and saltwater.
of an organism to regulate its internal environment to withstand fluctuating salinities.
b. Estuaries – see saltmarshes
e. Osmoregulation – the ability
f. Practical Salinity Units (PSU) – how we measure salinity
c. Erosion – introduction of land into surrounding waters. Major source of metals, nutrients, and salt.
g. Conductivity – ability of a substance to conduct electricity.
d. Osmosis – movement of water from high to low concentration.
14. Compare the salinity of distilled, fresh, tap, and saltwater.
distilled – 0 PSU
tap – 0.5 PSU
fresh – 1.0 PSU
salt – 35 PSU
Unit 5: Migrations, Bathymetry and Circulation
Migrating Animals
1. Why do animals migrate? In response to their environment to search for food and to give birth.
2. What is a baleen? Broom-like plates found in the mouths of some whales used to filter tiny organisms.
3. In general, why do whales migrate to warmer waters? Why to colder waters? Warmer to breed, colder to feed.
4. Describe the physical characteristics of the leatherback turtle. Large animal, soft shell, big flippers.
5. Describe the reproduction patterns of the leatherback turtle. Lay eggs every 2-3 years.
6. What type of organisms are the black-footed albatross and Sooty Shearwater? Albatross - Large migratory bird
that soars on currents and fly all around the Pacific. Sooty shearwater - Type of migratory bird that is tracked by
satellites.
Satellites and Tracking
7. What is the Signals of Spring? Classroom project initiated by NASA sponsorship in 2000 to afford educators and
students to use various types of Earth imagery to explain movement of animals.
8. What is an uplink? Transmitting signal sent up to a satellite. Downlink? Transmitting signal sent down from a
satellite to a ground station.
9. What is the difference between a natural and artificial satellite? Natural is a celestial body orbiting around another
in space. Artifical is a human-made structure orbiting around another celestial body.
10. Differentiate between a polar and a geostationary satellite. Polar circles the Earth at about 833km and scan
portions of the Earth’s surface as the Earth rotates underneath it. Geostationary is approx. 31,000 km away from
Earth and is at a fixed position over the Equator.
Polar satellites orbit the Earth in 100 minutes, does this 14 X per day. Collects data from Earth’s surface like
volcanoes, polar ice, bodies of water, etc. Geostationary satellites record Earth images more often than polar so
scientists can view images with more frequency. Also, can collect data over an entire hemisphere. Tracks
weather systems.
11. What is a SPOT? What types of animals are they used for? A type of tag that is used with animals that breathe at
surface.
12. What is a Pop-up Archival tag? What type of animals are they used for? A type of tag that is used with animals
that do not come to the surface often. The tag is programmed to be released from the organism after a few months
and float to the surface for retrieval.
13. What is a SRDL? What type of animals are they used for? A type of tag that is used for large marine animals that
dive to great depths. In addition, it can gather and retain a great deal of data like salinity, temperature, and depth.
14. What does a pixel represent? Abbreviated from the words picture and element, one data point that represents a
portion of Earth’s surface.
Part 2: Bathymetry – Seafloor Features
15. What type of technology do scientists use to study the seafloor? Now scientists use SONAR, but previously they
used a variety of basic tools to find various depths like plumblines which was more similar to
the method we used when doing our models.
16. Define the following terms. Also, be able to label each structure on a seafloor diagram. Look up definitions in
Lesson 6 (p. 101)
a. continental shelf -
f. continental slope -
b. abyssal plain -
g. trench -
c. mid-ocean ridge -
h. seamount –
d. guyot -
i. abyssal hills –
e. rift continental rise-
j. mid-ocean ridge -
Part 3: Ocean Circulation
Deep Ocean Circulation
17. What mostly affects ocean layers? density
18. What controls the density of ocean surface water? Temperature and salinity
19. What are the 3 zones of the stratified ocean? Upper (mixed or SURFACE) layer (0-500 FEET or ), middle layer
(up to 500 METERS), bottom layer (depth depends on area of the ocean)
20.
Know the difference between the following 3 clines:
a. pycnocline – rapid change in density with depth
b. thermocline – rapid change in temperature with depth
c. halocline – rapid change in salinity with depth
21.
What are the two types of currents and what affects them?
Surface (top 400m)– wind and Coriolis effect. Deep (400m and below)density
22.
Explain the Global conveyor belt - thermohaline circulation.
Deep water forms in North Atlantic as cold, salty water sinks and moves
to Indian then Pacific Ocean where water rises and warms and travels
back to Indian then Atlantic.
23. Explain what a surface convergence is. Does this result in upwelling or downwelling? Where surface currents
from opposite directions meet or converge, resulting in the surface water to move to depths which is known as
downwelling.
24. Explain what a surface divergence is. Does this result in upwelling or downwelling? Where surface currents
move apart, resulting in deep water displacing surface water which is known as upwelling..
25. Define the following terms:
a. Ekman Spiral - Surface water gets pulled by winds on the top at a but Coriolis Effect pulls at a 90 degree angle
to the wind. Basically resulting in the water moving halfway between where the wind is pulling at the Coriolis Effect (45
deg) and has a slinky effect on the layers beneath it. Pulls a layer beneath it at a 45, and so on and so forth as depth
increases.
b. Western Intensification - Due to the Coriolis Effect, left side of gyres is stronger and narrower.
c. Eddie - Swirls that break off a current in the opposite direction.
d. Gyre Major spirals of ocean circling
currents.-
Lesson 13/14: Photosynthesis and Producers
1. List the hierarchy of the current classification system from largest to smallest.
Domain  Kingdom  Phylum  Class  Order  Family  Genus  Species
 2. a. What is a taxonomist?
A taxonomist is a scientist who classifies organisms
in an ordered system that indicates natural relationships
3. What is primary productivity?
total amount of carbon (C) in grams converted into organic material per
square meter of sea surface per year (gm C/m2/yr).
b. What is Binomial Nomenclature?
 organizing an organism's scientific
name into a combination of two
terms.
4. Which marine ecosystem has the highest primary productivity? Open Ocean – remember, per square meter open ocean
actually has the lowest, but because it makes up the majority of the oceans it overall has the highest PP.
5. What are the 4 factors that affect primary productivity? Indicate the relationship.
a. solar radiation and nutrients as major factors and upwelling - as you increase sun, increase PP.
b. turbulence – As you increase turbulence, increase PP b/c it mimics upwelling, bringing nutrients to the
surface.
c. grazing intensity – As you increase grazing my predators, decrease PP
d. turbidity as secondary factors. – As you increase turbidity (cloudiness of water), decrease PP
6. Compare primary productivity between open ocean, continental shelves, polar areas, and equatorial regions.
Open Ocean – lowest PP (per square meter), because lack of nutrients from runoff, turbulence, or upwelling.
Equatorial – low PP. Despite high solar radiation, low amount of nutrients due to no upwelling.
Continental shelf – moderate PP. Nutrients runoff from land and turbulence brings nutrients to surface.
Polar – highest PP in summer months when sun exposure long. Constant supply of nutrients from upwelling.
7. Draw an energy pyramid to the right. Include what
type of organism is found at each level and how much
energy is transferred and lost at each level. 8. Describe diatoms.
Eukaryotic algae, common type of phytoplankton,
Unicellular or colonies, Primary producers in the food chain,
silica outer casing called a frustule that lets light through.
produce an estimated 20% to 25% photosynthesis on the planet,
major source of atmospheric oxygen.
9. Describe dinoflagellates.
Unicellular protists which exhibit a great diversity of form,
many are photosynthetic, Some species are capable of producing their own light through bioluminescence, which also
makes fireflies glow
Harmful Algal Blooms
Toxin 1: Okadaic Acid
1. What organism produces this toxin?
The main organism that causes blooms is Dinophysis.
2. What type of organism is Dinophysis?
dinoflagellate.
3. What sickness is caused by this toxin?
Diarrheic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP)
4. How can you avoid getting this toxin?
Avoid eating shellfish.
5. Where is Okadaic acid found? What season would it most likely occur?
Eastern Canada, and Western Europe. Blooms occur in the summer.
It is found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in
Toxin 2: Brevetoxin
1. What geographic locations do you find brevetoxins? Most common off of US Coast/Gulf of Mexico
2. What HAB creates brevetoxin?
Karenia brevis
3. What ways can brevetoxin harm humans?
toxin carried through the
air.
Direct contact – consumption through infected shellfish/inhalation of
4. What are some of the symptoms of being intoxicated with brevetoxin?
coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath
5. What is it called when infect shellfish is consumed by humans?
6. What color are Karenia brevis blooms?
Irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, jaw,
Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning (NSP)
Red
7. Once brevetoxin enters your body, what does it target?
- Sodium channel at neuromuscular junctions
Toxin 3: Microcystins
1. What type of organism produces Microcystins?
Dinoflagellate
2. What color does the bloom show up?
Blue-green
3. Are the toxins marine or freshwater?
Freshwater
4. What types of organisms can microcystins cause death in?
5. What type of years do the blooms peak?
Fish, dogs, and small humans
August to September
6. Where have notable blooms occurred in the US?
Great Lakes (Lake Erie)
Toxin 4: Ciguatoxin
1. Where is ciguatoxin commonly found?
Tropical area/coral reefs
2. What main disease does ciguatoxin cause?
Ciguatera food poisoning
3. What is the scientific name of the organism that produces ciguatoxin?
4. What fish are known to carry ciguatoxin?
Gambierdiscus toxicus
Barracuda, hagfish, snapper, and grouper
5. Describe the characteristics of the Gambierdiscus toxicus.
deep/dense pores
Large, round, smooth cell surface, with many
Toxin 5: Saxitoxin
1. What is the organism that produces Saxitoxin?
Cyanobacteria
Marine dinoflagellates like Alexandrium as well as
2. What type of organisms does Saxitoxin accumate in? Shellfish
3. What disease is caused by eating saxitoxin contaminated shellfish?
4. How does the toxin cause paralysis in the body?
Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning
By blocking sodium channels in nerve membranes
5. How are organisms that become infected with the toxin treated?
Given artificial respiration
Toxin 6: Domoic Acid
1. What is the species that produces domoic acid?
2. What type of organism is this?
Pseudo-Nitschzia
Diatom
3. What is the disease/condition that ingestion of domoic acid causes?
4. What is the common name of the bloom it causes?
5. Is this a freshwater or saltwater species?
Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP)
Brown tide
Saltwater
Toxin 7: Pfiesteria
1. Where was the most widely covered Pfiesteria outbreak?
Chesapeake Bay in 1997
2. What are some effects of intoxication by Pfiesteria? Short term memory loss, fatigue
3. What is the scientific name of this algal species?
4. What type of organisms is this?
Pfiesteria piscicido
Dinoflagellate
5. When is the most common time of year that this species blooms?
Summer
Lesson 14 Continued:
10. What is the difference between chemosynthesis and photosynthesis?
Chemosynthesis – Organisms that use chemicals to produce organic compounds (sugars like glucose to live off).
Autotrophs like this typically live in extreme environments like hydrothermal vents (at the depths of the ocean).
Photosynthesis - Organisms that use light to produce organic compounds (sugars like glucose to live off)
11. Describe the difference between:
a. Halophile – Organisms that lives in extremely salty lakes and seas.
b. Methanogen – Bacteria that produce a natural gas called methane. Live in the guts of animals.
c. Thermophile – Organism that thrives in extremely hot conditions, whether in fresh water or salt water.
12. Draw the Carbon Cycle.
13. Why is the Carbon Cycle so important to primary productivity?
Ocean holds >90% of Earth’s Carbon Dioxide
In addition to Photosynthesis, also used by molluscs to build their CaCo3 shells
Plants take in CO2 to make carbohydrates
Carbs get passed through food chain