Life in Oceans

Sci 7.4

Plankton:• drift with current

• includes smallest organisms

• many are single celled

Question 1

1a. Which appeared first in Earth’s oceans? Plankton, fish, whales, penguins

1b. Are some plankton big enough to see without a microscope? Y/N

• Phytoplankton – plant like

coccolithophores

dinoflagellates

Question 2

2a. If planktos is Greek for wanderer, phyton is probably Greek for what? Plant, animal, rock, paper, scissors

2b. In which layer of the ocean will you find the most phytoplanton? Deepest parts, middle depths, near the surface

• Zooplankton – animal and animal like

Question 3

3a. If the Greek word “phyton” means plant, the Greek word “zoon” means what? Animal, plant, current, wanderer3b. Plankton’s horizontal position in the oceans is primarily determined by what? Currents, temperature, salinity, predators

Nekton:• Animals that actively swim• Ex: fish, whales, turtles, etc…

Question 4

4a. The main thing that determines where nekton travel is: where they swim to, currents4b. Which of the following are plankton? Fish, clams, sponges, jellyfish

Benthos:• Bottom dwellers• Ex: crabs, snails, flounder,

corals, etc…

Question 5

5a. Plankton, nekton, and benthos are the 3 major _______ in the oceans. groups of organisms, types of fish, kinds of environments5b. Which character is technically nekton? Spongebob, Mr. Crab, Plankton, Squidward, Gary

Ecosystem:• Community of organisms (producers,

consumers, decomposers) and the nonliving factors that affect them

Ex:Oak tree

ecosystem

Question 6

6a. Some living things do not live in ecosystems. T/F

6b. An ecosystem includes: plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, all of the above

Producers:• Base of all ecosystems• Make their own food• Photosynthesis with light• Chemosynthesis without

Question 7

7a. If “synthesis” means “to make”, then “photo” means what? Light, food, chlorophyll, ecosystem

7b. Tube worms live at great depths off of bacteria that make food using which process? Photosynthesis, chemosynthesis

Consumers:• Eat the producers • Other consumers eat them

Question 8

8a. Primary consumers get their energy directly from where? The sun, producers8b. Which one is a secondary consumer? Phytoplanton, sharks, algae eating parrot fish

Decomposers:• Bacteria and fungi mainly

• Release nutrients and CO2 back into ecosystem

Terrestrial ecosystem

Marine ecosystem

Question 9

9a. Decomposers provide what useful service for an ecosystem? Trap CO2, make nutrients available to producers, provide food to consumers

9b. In a marine ecosystem, decomposers are found only in the benthic layer (ocean floor). T/F

Food chains: energy transfer: producers consumers

decomposers

Question 10

10a. The source of almost all energy for living things on earth is what? The oceans, the sun, geothermal vents

10b. Which is the first to capture the energy that all living things need? Producers, consumers, decomposers

Food web:• Network of interconnected food

chains• Most species eat more than one other

species

Whale shark

Question 11

11a. What’s the difference between a food chain and a food web? A food chain only involves animals, a food web is more complicated, a food chain starts with phytoplankton, a food web contains more than one species11b. The base of a food web in the ocean is usually what? Small fish, algae, phytoplankton, sharks, whales

Question 12

12a. What’s the largest living species of fish? Humpback whale, blue whale, whale shark

12b. What do whale sharks eat? Anything they want, plankton and krill, fish, seals

Nutrients are recycledEx: carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle

nutrient transfer: producers consumers

decomposers

Aquarium nitrogen cycle

Question 13

13a. Consumers get both energy and nutrients directly from where? The sun, producers, decomposers

13b. Producers get their energy from the sun, and their nutrients from where: the sun, consumers, decomposers