25 Questions
What do diatoms and dinoflagellates function as in the ecosystem?
Primary producers
What is the relationship between biomass and trophic level?
There is a decrease in biomass as trophic level increases
What does the biomass pyramid reveal about the mass of primary producers compared to the top predator?
Primary producers have a much larger mass
What is the main difference between a food chain and a food web?
A food web shows a more complex network of feeding relationships
What are copepods eaten by?
Newfoundland herring
What is the primary cause of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone?
Water runoff from the Mississippi River Basin
What is the main factor contributing to the occurrence of red tides?
Increased river runoff carrying chemical nutrients
What is the impact of eutrophication on water bodies?
Rapid primary productivity and harmful algal blooms
What is the consequence of consuming seafood affected by Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)?
Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP)
What activity exacerbates harmful algal blooms (HABs) according to the lecture?
Dumping chemical fertilizers into the ocean
What prevents nutrient resupply to the surface in some open ocean regions?
Subtropical gyres and thermoclines
Which factor contributes to high productivity in polar oceans in summer?
Great photosynthetic primary productivity
What type of open ocean region generally experiences low productivity?
Tropical
What happens to polar ocean productivity in winter?
It is low due to darkness
What helps move material from the photic zone to the seafloor in the open ocean?
The biological pump
What limits productivity in tropical oceans?
Limited nutrients and sunlight
What leads to low productivity in temperate oceans during summertime?
No nutrients at the surface due to the development of a thermocline
What marks the beginning of a huge bloom in temperate oceans?
Abundant nutrients at the surface and increasing sunlight
What depicts the seasonal changes in sunlight and nutrients in marine ecosystems?
The pattern of productivity graphically depicted
What are examples of primary producers in marine ecosystems?
Phytoplankton, seagrass, and kelp
What is the process in which marine organisms take in seawater and filter out usable organic matter?
Suspension feeding
What do decomposers do in marine ecosystems?
They recycle nutrients by breaking down dead organisms and waste products
Which organism skips trophic levels and goes directly to zooplankton as a food source?
Blue whale
What represents different feeding stages in marine ecosystems?
Trophic levels
What makes up the majority of biomass in marine ecosystems?
Producers
Study Notes
Ocean Energy Transfer and Feeding Relationships
- In the upper layers of the ocean, energy enters the system and is transferred through chemical energy to consumers, with much of it expended as moving or mechanical energy and heat loss.
- Decomposers recycle nutrients by breaking down dead organisms and waste products, which serves as nutrients for other organisms in the biogeochemical cycle.
- Nutrient flow in marine ecosystems is cyclical, with algae and plants producing their own food and oxygen and bacteria decomposing the detritus, returning nutrients into the water.
- Marine organisms have developed various feeding strategies including suspension feeding, filter feeding, and deposit feeding.
- Suspension feeding involves taking in seawater and filtering out usable organic matter, as seen in barnacles and clams.
- Deposit feeding involves extracting usable organic matter from sediment, as exemplified by lugworms and mole crabs.
- Carnivorous feeding occurs when an animal captures and eats other animals, such as the sand star preying on clams.
- Trophic levels represent different feeding stages, with energy transferred from producers to consumers, and only about 10% of energy being transferred to the next trophic level.
- The exception is the blue whale, which skips trophic levels and goes directly to zooplankton, feeding on krill.
- In terms of biomass, producers make up the majority, followed by herbivores, and then carnivores, with only about 10% of energy transferred between each feeding stage.
- Flow efficiency shows that only a small percentage of radiant energy is converted to primary producers, and as energy is transferred through trophic levels, biomass and energy efficiency decrease.
- Direct feeding relationships among different organisms form the food chains in marine ecosystems, with 10% efficiency of energy transfer, resulting in smaller populations at the top of the food chain.
Test your knowledge of ocean energy transfer and feeding relationships with this quiz. Explore the flow of energy through marine ecosystems, the role of decomposers, and the various feeding strategies of marine organisms. Dive into concepts such as trophic levels, biomass distribution, and the efficiency of energy transfer in marine food chains.
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