Ocean Management and Conservation Quiz

Ocean Management and Conservation

• Law of the Sea is a United Nations agreement signed by 160+ member countries in 1982 to regulate ocean ownership and resource use within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles from the coastline.
• Members have rights to exploit all resources within their EEZ, including fisheries, minerals, oil/gas, and sea bed.
• The United States has not ratified the treaty and sets its own rules due to its strategic position as a superpower with a strong navy.
• Bycatch, unintended catch and death of species, is a consequence of fishing, and trawling and long lines can cause damage to sea bottoms and unintended catch.
• Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) is the maximum number of fish that can be caught and maintain a constant population size, and overfishing occurs when the catch is beyond MSY.
• Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are areas that protect marine organisms by conserving habitat, limiting use and take, and encompass less than 5% of the ocean.
• Anthropogenic impacts include overfishing, pollution, climate change, habitat destruction, and invasive species, caused by activities like diving, boating, agriculture runoff, and oil spills.
• The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a vortex of trash, much of it composed of microplastics, that comes from land and accumulates in the middle of the ocean.
• Oil is a non-renewable resource formed from ancient plants and animals buried deep underground over millions of years, and extraction and use deplete it.
• Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperature patterns and weather conditions on a global scale caused by human activities, like excess carbon dioxide emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere.
• Climate change negatively affects coral reefs and marine organisms like polar bears by increasing ocean temperatures, melting sea ice, and causing habitat loss and food source reduction.
• High seas beyond the EEZ are unprotected and can lead to over-exploitation and tragedy of the commons, where everyone uses and thinks about their own interest, causing the ecosystem to suffer, and collective whole to suffer.

Ocean Management and Conservation

• Law of the Sea is a United Nations agreement signed by 160+ member countries in 1982 to regulate ocean ownership and resource use within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles from the coastline.
• Members have rights to exploit all resources within their EEZ, including fisheries, minerals, oil/gas, and sea bed.
• The United States has not ratified the treaty and sets its own rules due to its strategic position as a superpower with a strong navy.
• Bycatch, unintended catch and death of species, is a consequence of fishing, and trawling and long lines can cause damage to sea bottoms and unintended catch.
• Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) is the maximum number of fish that can be caught and maintain a constant population size, and overfishing occurs when the catch is beyond MSY.
• Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are areas that protect marine organisms by conserving habitat, limiting use and take, and encompass less than 5% of the ocean.
• Anthropogenic impacts include overfishing, pollution, climate change, habitat destruction, and invasive species, caused by activities like diving, boating, agriculture runoff, and oil spills.
• The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a vortex of trash, much of it composed of microplastics, that comes from land and accumulates in the middle of the ocean.
• Oil is a non-renewable resource formed from ancient plants and animals buried deep underground over millions of years, and extraction and use deplete it.
• Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperature patterns and weather conditions on a global scale caused by human activities, like excess carbon dioxide emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere.
• Climate change negatively affects coral reefs and marine organisms like polar bears by increasing ocean temperatures, melting sea ice, and causing habitat loss and food source reduction.
• High seas beyond the EEZ are unprotected and can lead to over-exploitation and tragedy of the commons, where everyone uses and thinks about their own interest, causing the ecosystem to suffer, and collective whole to suffer.

Ocean Management and Conservation

• Law of the Sea is a United Nations agreement signed by 160+ member countries in 1982 to regulate ocean ownership and resource use within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles from the coastline.
• Members have rights to exploit all resources within their EEZ, including fisheries, minerals, oil/gas, and sea bed.
• The United States has not ratified the treaty and sets its own rules due to its strategic position as a superpower with a strong navy.
• Bycatch, unintended catch and death of species, is a consequence of fishing, and trawling and long lines can cause damage to sea bottoms and unintended catch.
• Maximum sustainable yield (MSY) is the maximum number of fish that can be caught and maintain a constant population size, and overfishing occurs when the catch is beyond MSY.
• Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are areas that protect marine organisms by conserving habitat, limiting use and take, and encompass less than 5% of the ocean.
• Anthropogenic impacts include overfishing, pollution, climate change, habitat destruction, and invasive species, caused by activities like diving, boating, agriculture runoff, and oil spills.
• The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a vortex of trash, much of it composed of microplastics, that comes from land and accumulates in the middle of the ocean.
• Oil is a non-renewable resource formed from ancient plants and animals buried deep underground over millions of years, and extraction and use deplete it.
• Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperature patterns and weather conditions on a global scale caused by human activities, like excess carbon dioxide emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere.
• Climate change negatively affects coral reefs and marine organisms like polar bears by increasing ocean temperatures, melting sea ice, and causing habitat loss and food source reduction.
• High seas beyond the EEZ are unprotected and can lead to over-exploitation and tragedy of the commons, where everyone uses and thinks about their own interest, causing the ecosystem to suffer, and collective whole to suffer.

Life in the Deep Sea: Mesopelagic and Below

• Epipelagic (0-200m) is the surface waters, warmest layer, with abundant marine life and food, most photosynthesis, and well mixed by wind, waves, tides, and currents.
• Mesopelagic (200-1000m) is the twilight, thermocline, with limited food and oxygen, and many specialized species.
• Deep Sea (>1000m) is without light, with very cold temperature and high pressure, and no vertical migration possible.
• Thermocline is a region of rapid change in temperature, with declining temperatures in this region.
• Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) is located at around 500 meters, with many organisms depleting oxygen in this region.
• Chemosynthesis is the process by which chemosynthetic bacteria make sugars/energy using hydrogen sulfide in the absence of light, which helps make hydrothermal vents possible.
• Vertical Migration is done by organisms to the epipelagic or shallower mesopelagic at night to take advantage of better feeding opportunities and avoid predators.
• Hydrothermal vent is a hot spot for biodiversity in the deep, made possible by microbial-initiated chemosynthesis.
• Fish in the mesopelagic and deep sea have hinged jaws and are generalist feeders, and they can eat prey much larger than themselves due to expanding jaws and stomachs.
• Conditions in the deep sea are no light, cold temperature, reduced food, low oxygen, and high pressure.
• Adaptations of marine life in the deep sea include large and tubular eyes, silvery and compressed bodies, and bioluminescence often used as camouflage (counterillumination).
• Successful reproduction in the deep sea is facilitated by hermaphrodites, pheromones, and male parasitism.