Marine Biology Final Exam Review
The following list is intended as a guide, to help you study for the final. It contains most,
but not necessarily all, of the subject matter we discussed throughout this course.
1. Water
- What makes water unique?
- What temperature is water most dense?
- What is the average salinity in the ocean?
- What are the most abundant ions in seawater?
- How does salinity and temperature affect density and buoyancy?
- Aquaria
o DO
o pH
o Filters
o Salt
- Pycnocline, Halocline, Thermocline
2. Physical Characteristics of the oceans
- Tides
- Ebb
- Flood
- Neap
- Spring
- Tide charts
- Tidal cycles – diurnal, semidiurnal, mixed semidiurnal
- Tidal day
- What causes the bulge of water on the opposite side of the earth?
- Waves
- What 3 factors affect the height of a wind driven wave?
- pH
- Salinity
- Coriolis Effect – what is it? What causes it?
- Currents
- gyres
- Zones
- Continental shelf
- Shelf break
- Continental slope
- Guyot
- Abyssal plain
3. Characteristics of
- Estuary
- What is an estuary
- What is a salt wedge
- Pycnocline, halocline, thermocline
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Marine Biology Final Exam Review
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- Salt marsh zonation
Coral reef
- Fringing
- Barrier
- Atoll
- Zooxanthellae
- Hermatipic
Sandy beach
Rocky shore
- Zonation
- adaptations by marine life for living in each of the above environments
4. Know the characteristics of, major examples, and parts of algaes
a. red (Rhodophyta) (Chondrus – irish moss, … )
b. green (Chlorophyta) (Ulva –sea lettuce, … )
c. brown (Phaeophyta) (Laminaria – kelp, Sargassum, …)
d. holdfast
e. stipe
f. blade
5. Know characteristics, classes, diagrams, and examples of:
 Protista (Protozoa)
 Porifera
 Sessile (does not move)
 Cnidaria
 Polyp
 Medusa
 Classes – be able to identify organisms by class
 Alternation of generations – know life cycle of typical cnidarian
 Mollusca
 Echinodermata
 Classes and examples – be able to identify
 Test
 Arthropoda
 Exoskeleton
 Molting
 Symmetry
 Open circulatory system
 Agnatha
 Condrichthyes
 Osteichthyes
 Reptilia
 Aves
 Mammalia
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Marine Biology Final Exam Review
6. Be able to identify organisms we identified in class such as (but not only):
a. hermit crab
b. spider crab
c. flounder
d. skate
e. oyster drill
f. squid
g. mussel
h. quahog
i. sea cucumber
j. sea urchin
k. sea star
l. various sea grasses – Spartina alterniflora, S. patens, Pickle weed
m. jellyfish
n. comb jelly
o. anemone
p. various fish such as flounder, skates, sharks, eels, butterfly fish, tang, etc…
7. Zooplankton vs. Phytoplankton
8. Holoplankton vs. Meroplankton
9. Nekton, plankton, benthos, epifauna, epiflora, infauna
10. Herbivore, producer, consumer, carnivore, omnivore, decomposer
11. Estuary characteristics
12. Salt Water Aquarium information
- pH
- Ammonia
- Salinity
- Needed equipment
- Types of filters
- Gravel (kind, why)
- Where to/not to set up and why
13. Fish
- characteristics
- classes
- agnatha
- condrychthyes
- osteichthyes
- body forms
- fins
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Marine Biology Final Exam Review
- digestion
- excretion
- Stenohaline vs. Euryhaline
14. Marine Reptiles; Maine Birds
- characteristics
- examples
- adaptations
15. Marine Mammals
- 3 major groups
- Pinnipeds
- Sirenians
- Cetaceans
- Mysticeti
- Odontoceti
- Adaptations
- Diving depth
- Diving duration
- Swimming
- Breathing
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