Chapter 6
Aquatic Biodiversity
Core Case Study: Coral Reefs
1. In terms of biodiversity, rainforests are to land as _______________ are to water.
2. Are corals plants or animals?
3. Explain that symbiosis that occurs within the tissues of corals.
4. Name 2 important ecological benefits of coral reefs.
5. Name 2 important economic benefits of coral reefs.
6. According to a 2005 report, _____ % of the world’s coral reefs have been lost to __________
development, _______________ , _______________ , _______________ temperatures, and
_______________.
7. What are 2 causes of coral bleaching?
6-1 Aquatic Environments
8. Saltwater covers _____ % of the earth’s surface.
9. Name the 5 marine life zones.
10. Name the 5 freshwater life zones.
11. What is the Greek meaning of phytoplankton? For zooplankton?
12. What group of organisms account for 70% of the primary productivity near the ocean surface?
13. What are the 4 factors that differ in the 3 layers of an aquatic life zone?
14. What is the importance of upwelling in the open ocean?
15. What is a limiting factor in the open ocean?
16. What is a limiting factor on the bottoms of aquatic life zones?
6-2 Saltwater Life Zones
17. We know more about the _______________ than we do about the earth’s oceans.
18. The coastal zone makes up less than __________% of the world’s ocean area, but contains __________
% of all marine species.
19. What 2 factors provide the high net primary productivity for coastal zones?
20. What are the important ecological services of mangrove forests?
21. What are the important economic services of mangrove forests?
22. Why are mangrove forests destroyed?
23. What controls when tides occur?
24. What are 3 ways intertidal organisms deal with their changing environment?
25. Give 2 examples of barrier islands that have been developed.
26. Are coral polyps generalists or specialists?
27. Projections predict that by 2050, another _____ % -_____ % of the world’s coral reefs could be lost on
top of the already _____ % that are so damaged they are unlikely to recover.
28. A square kilometer of coral reef is worth $______________ to $_______________ .
29. What is limiting corals from surviving warmer temperatures?
30. Name the 3 zones of the open sea.
31. Name an organism that can be found in each of the 3 zones.
32. There are ocean trenches deeper than _______________ .
33. Name the planet’s highest mountain range.
34. What is marine snow?
35. Explain the difference between a deposit feeder and a filter feeder.
36. If NPP per unit area is so low in the open sea, why is the open sea the largest contributor to the overall
NPP of the earth?
37. By 2010, as much as _____ % of the worlds people are projected to be living in or near the coastal
zones.
6-3 Freshwater Life Zones
38. Define lentic and lotic.
39. How were the Great Lakes formed?
40. Name the 4 zones of a freshwater lake.
41. What is the benefit of overturns?
42. Name the 3 zones to a river.
43. Name an organism from each of the 3 zones of a river.
44. Where do streams receive their nutrients?
45. Why are most of the world’s river deltas sinking rather than rising?
46. Do you think that a sinking city such as New Orleans should be rebuilt and protected with higher levees
or should the lower parts of the city be allowed to revert to wetlands?
47. Name 5 inland wetlands.
48. Inland wetlands in the USA provide water-quality protection worth $ _______________ per year.
49. In the USA, scientists estimate that natural floodwater storage is worth $ _______________ per year.
50. Name 4 impacts of human activities on freshwater systems.
51. Which state has the most inland wetlands?
52. Of the inland wetlands in the 1600, more than _____ no longer exist.
53. About _____ % of these wetlands were destroyed to grow crops.
54. The state of __________ has lost 99% of its original inland wetlands.
Critical Thinking
55. Someone tries to sell you several brightly colored pieces of dry coral. Explain in biological terms why
this is not a sale of an authentic, natural piece of coral.
56. Why do aquatic plants such as phytoplankton tend to be very small, whereas most terrestrial plants such
as trees to be larger and have more specialized structures such as stems and leaves for growth?
57. Why are some aquatic animals, especially marine mammals such as whales, extremely large compared
with terrestrial animals?
58. How would you respond to the idea of using deep oceans to store our radioactive waste, because the
deep oceans are vast and far away from humans?
59. List four factors in your lifestyle that contribute directly or indirectly to the destruction and degradation
of coastal and inland wetlands.
60. Developers want to drain a large area of inland wetland in your community and build a large housing
development. List the main arguments the developers would use to support this project, then list the
main arguments ecologists would use in opposing it.
…the sea, one it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonders forever.
-Jacques-Yves Cousteau