Oceanography.

Essentials of Oceanography
Thirteenth Edition
Chapter 14 Lecture
Animals of the Pelagic
Environment
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Chapter Overview
• Pelagic animals use a variety of adaptations to help them
survive.
• Marine mammals share similar characteristics with land
mammals.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Marine Animals Avoid Sinking
• May increase buoyancy
• Use of gas containers
– Rigid gas containers, for
example, cephalopods
Wikipedia
AskNature
– Swim bladders—slowmoving fish
NIWA
Archivist Gallery
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Marine Animals Avoid Sinking
• May increase buoyancy
• Use of gas containers
– Rigid gas containers, for
example, cephalopods
Wikipedia
AskNature
– Swim bladders—slowmoving fish
NIWA
Archivist Gallery
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Swim Bladders
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Avoiding Sinking
• Ability to float
– Zooplankton—some produce fats or oils to stay afloat
– Microscopic zooplankton have shells or tests.
– Highly abundant in oceans
• Ability to swim
– Nekton—larger fish and marine mammals
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Floating Zooplankton
• Radiolarians
– Silica tests
– Intricately ornamented
– Spikes on test increase
organism’s surface area.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Floating Zooplankton
• Foraminifers
– Very small
– Planktonic most abundant, benthic most diverse
– Calcium carbonate tests that are chambered
– Single-celled protozoans
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Floating Zooplankton
• Copepods
– Microscopic
– Shrimp-like crustaceans
– Egg layers
– Segmented bodies, jointed
legs
– Most of ocean’s
zooplankton biomass
Monterrey Bay Aquarium
Photo Macrography
USGS
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Macroscopic Zooplankton
• Krill
– Crustaceans
– Resemble mini shrimp or
large copepods
– Most grow no longer than 5
c m (2 inches)
– Abundant near Antarctica
– Critical in Antarctic food
chains
enti
eter
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Floating Macroscopic Zooplankton
• Cnidarians—soft bodies, stinging tentacles
Plankton Chronicles
– Hydrozoan (Portuguese man-of-war)
▪ Gas-filled float
– Scyphozoan (jellyfish)
▪ Soft, low-density bodies
▪ Range from microscopic to 2 meters (6.6 feet) in diameter
▪ Move via muscular contraction
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Vision in Plankton
• Eyespots and Radar in phytoplankton
• Ocelli
Moldrup & Garme
(2012) JEMBE
Wikimedia Commons
Geographic
Washington.edu
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson National
Education,
Inc. All Rights Reserved
Vision in Plankton
• Compound eyes
• Camera or lens eyes
Getty Images
Brittanica
Boxjelly.org
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Swimming Organisms
• Nektonic
• Fish, squids, sea turtles, and marine
mammals
• Swim by trapping water and expelling
it, for example, some squid
• Swim by curving body from front to
back

Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Fin Designs in Fish
• Paired vertical fins as stabilizers
• Paired pelvic fins and pectoral fins for “steering” and balance
• Tail fin (caudal) for thrust
• Lateral line has network of sensors to detect water pressure changes.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Swimming
• Movement from alternate contraction and relaxation of
myomeres on opposite sides of fish’s body
– Thunniform motion
– Caudal (tail) fin generates thrust.
• Other types of motion
– Amiiform
– Labriform
– Ostraciform
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Swimming




Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Fin Designs in Fish
• Rounded caudal fins
– Flexible
– Maneuver at slow speeds
• Truncate fins and forked fins
– Useful for both maneuvering
and thrust
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Fin Designs in Fish
• Lunate fins
– Rigid, little maneuverability
– Efficient propulsion for fast
swimmers
▪ Tuna, marlin, and swordfish
• Heterocercal fins
– Asymmetrical
– Lift for buoyancy (shark)
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Adaptations for Finding Prey
• Mobility
• Lungers wait for prey and pounce (grouper).
– Mainly white muscle tissue
• Cruisers actively seek prey (tuna).
– Mostly red muscle tissue
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Lungers and Cruisers
• Red v s white muscle tissue
• Red—smaller fibers than white
ersu
– Cruisers have much red tissue.
– Higher concentrations of myoglobin
▪ Red pigment with oxygen affinity
– Supplies more oxygen
– Higher metabolic rate for endurance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRiLBMSrj
Co&feature=emb_logo
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Lungers and Cruisers
• Lungers have little red tissue due to lack of continuous
movement.
• Need white tissue
• Fatigues more rapidly
• Quick bursts of speed to capture prey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX0y7_rRqk
Adaptations for Finding Prey
• Swimming speed
• Speed generally proportional to size
• Can move very fast for short time (mainly to avoid
predation)

Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Cold-Blooded v s Warm-Blooded
ersu
• Most fish are cold-blooded—poikilothermic
– Bodies same temperature as environment
– Not fast swimmers
• Some are warm-blooded—homeothermic
– Found in warmer environments
– Helps them capture prey
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Adaptations of Deep-Water Nekton
• Mainly fish that consume detritus or each other
• Lack of abundant food
• Bioluminescence
– Photophores
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Adaptations of Deep-Water Nekton
• Large, sensitive eyes
• Large sharp teeth
• Expandable bodies
• Hinged jaws
• Counterillumination
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Adaptations to Avoid Predation
• Schooling
– Safety in numbers
– School may appear as single larger unit
– Schooling maneuvers confuse predator

Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Adaptations to Avoid Predation
• Symbiosis—two or more organisms mutually benefit
from association
• Commensalism—less dominant organism benefits
without harming host
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Symbiosis
• Mutualism—both organisms benefit
– Example: clown fish and anemone
• Parasitism—parasite benefits at expense of host
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Marine Mammals
• Land-dwelling ancestors
• Warm-blooded
• Breathe air
• Hair/fur
• Bear live young
• Mammary glands for milk
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Order Carnivora
• Prominent canine teeth
• Sea otters
• Polar bears
• Pinnipeds
– Walruses
– Seals
– Sea lions
– Fur seals
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Order Carnivora
• Sea Otters
– Inhabit kelp in coastal,
eastern North Pacific
– Extremely dense fur, lack
insulating blubber
– Hunted in 1800, made
recovery
– Eat many types of marine
animals, use tools
– High caloric needs
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Order Carnivora
• Polar Bears
– Massive webbed paws
– Excellent swimmers
– Thick fur, hollow hairs
– Eat mostly seals
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Order Carnivora
• Walruses
– Large bodies
– Adults of both genders have ivory tusks
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Order Carnivora
• Seals
– Also called earless seals or true seals
– Differ from sea lions and fur seals
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Seals v s Sea Lions and Fur Seals
ersu
• Seals lack prominent ear flaps.
• Seals have smaller front flippers.
• Seals have fore flipper claws.
• Different hip structures
• Different locomotion strategies
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Order Sirenia
• Herbivores
– Eat shallow-water coastal grasses
• Manatees
– Coastal areas of tropical Atlantic Ocean
– Can grow up to 4.3 m (14 ft) and weigh more than 1360 kg
3000 lbs)
• Dugongs
– Coastal areas of Indian and western Pacific Oceans
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Order Cetacea
• Whales, dolphins, and porpoises
• Elongated skull
• Blowholes on top of skull
• Few hairs
• Fluke—horizontal tail fin for vertical propulsion
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Order Cetacea
• Adaptations to increase swimming speed
– Streamlined bodies
– Specialized skin structure
Riederberger & Rist: DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-23869-7_28
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reynold’s Number
• Viscosity: stickiness of liquid
• Inertia/Momentum
• Reynold’s number (Re) is the ratio of Inertial and Viscous forces
– Low Re = viscous forces dominate, plankton
– High Re = inertial forces dominate, nekton


Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Order Cetacea
• Adaptations for deep diving
• Use oxygen efficiently
– Able to absorb 90% of oxygen inhaled
– Able to store large quantities of oxygen
– Able to reduce oxygen required for
noncritical organs
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. DIVER
All Rights
Reserved
magazine
Order Cetacea
• Muscles insensitive to buildup of carbon dioxide
• Collapsible lungs
• Alveoli—tiny chambers facilitate gas exchange with blood
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Order Cetacea
• Physiologically affected by deep
diving, but debilitating effects
minimized
• Nitrogen narcosis—similar to
drunkenness, occurs when
diving too deep
• Decompression sickness—
“the bends”
– Nitrogen bubbles in blood
from resurfacing too quickly
– Bone damage, excruciating
pain, and possible death
Fahlman et al (2012) Frontiers in Physiology
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Order Cetacea
• Suborder Odontoceti (toothed)
– Dolphins, porpoises, killer whale, and sperm whale
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Dolphins v s Porpoises
ersu
• Porpoises
– Smaller, more stout body shape
– Blunt snout
– Triangular, smaller dorsal fin
– Blunt or flat teeth
Wildwhales.org
USwhales.org
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Dolphins v s Porpoises
ersu
• Dolphins
– Larger, more streamlined shape
– Longer rostrum
– Falcate dorsal fin (hooked)
– Pointy teeth like killer whales (orca)
Science Mag
Popular Science
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Echolocation
• Echolocation to determine distance and direction to objects
• Determine shape and size of objects
• Sound is reflected, returned to the animal, and interpreted.
• Increased marine noise pollution may affect echolocation.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Echolocation
• Good vision of marine mammals limited by ocean conditions
• Dolphins and porpoises emit sounds from blowhole through the
melon
• Whale forces air through nasal passage, click travels through
spermaceti organ
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Intelligence in Toothed Whales
• Large brains relative to body size
• Communicate with each other using sound
• Brains highly convoluted
• Trainable
• Wild dolphins have assisted drowning humans in ocean.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Order Cetacea
• Suborder Mysticeti
• Baleen whales
• Blue whale, finback whale, humpback
whale, gray whale, and right whale
• Fibrous plates of baleen sieve prey items.
• Vocalized sounds for various purposes
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Baleen
• Plates in whale mouths instead of teeth
• Whales fill mouths with water and baleen traps fish, krill,
and plankton.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Baleen Whale Families
• Gray whales
– Short, coarse baleen, no dorsal fin, bottom feeder
• Right whales
– Long, fine baleen, no dorsal fin
– North Atlantic and North Pacific right whales most critically
endangered whales in world
Smithsonian
National Geographic
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Baleen Whale Families
• Rorqual whales
– Balaenopterids—long,
slender bodies
– Megapterids—humpback
whales
Whales Forever
National Wildlife Foundation
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Use of Baleen
• Humpback whales feed at surface, creating bubblenet.
• Fill mouths with body weight of water and prey
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Gray Whale Migration
• 22,000 k m (13,700 miles) annual
migration from coastal Arctic Ocean
to Baja California and Mexico
• Feeding grounds in Arctic (summer)
• Breeding and birthing grounds in
tropical eastern Pacific (winter)
• Most gray whales migrate.
ilo
eters
– Resident population of about 200
stays along Pacific coast.
– Takes advantage of food from
coastal upwelling
– Called Pacific Coast Feeding Group
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Gray Whale Friendly Behavior
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Whaling
• International Whaling Commission (IWC) 1948—
established to manage whale hunting
• In 1986, 72 IWC nations banned whaling.
• Three ways to legally hunt whales:
– Objection to IWC ban
– Scientific whaling
– Aboriginal subsistence whaling
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Whales as Endangered Species
• Fewer whales now than
before whaling
• International Whaling Treaty
• Hunting of gray whale banned
in 1938
• Gray removed from
endangered list in 1993 as
population rebounded
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright
This work is protected by United States copyright laws and is
provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their
courses and assessing student learning. Dissemination or sale of
any part of this work (including on the World Wide Web) will
destroy the integrity of the work and is not permitted. The work
and materials from it should never be made available to students
except by instructors using the accompanying text in their
classes. All recipients of this work are expected to abide by these
restrictions and to honor the intended pedagogical purposes and
the needs of other instructors who rely on these materials.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Essentials of Oceanography
Thirteenth Edition
Chapter 15 Lecture
Animals of the Benthic
Environment
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Chapter Overview
• Benthic communities exist in a variety of habitats, including
rocky shores, sediment-covered shores, the shallow
offshore ocean floor, and the deep-ocean floor.
• Corals need specific environmental conditions.
• Hydrothermal vents support diverse communities that rely
on chemosynthesis.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Distribution of Benthic Organisms
• More than 98% of ~230,000 known marine species live in or on
ocean floor.
• Benthic organisms live mainly on continental shelves.
• Benthic biomass matches distribution of chlorophyll in surface waters
• Distribution is affected by surface ocean currents.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Communities on Rocky Shores
• Epifauna
– Attached to substrate (e.g., marine algae)
– Move over sea floor (e.g., crabs, snails)
Oceana
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Organism Adaptations to Rocky Shore
Adverse Conditions
SmartTable 15.1 Adverse conditions of rocky intertidal zones and organism adaptations
Adverse conditions of rocky
intertidal zones
Organism adaptations
Examples of organisms
Drying out during low tide
• Ability to seek shelter or withdraw into shells
• Thick exterior or exoskeleton to prevent water loss
• External surfaces covered with rock or shell fragments
to prevent water loss
• Physiologically adapted to periodic drying out
Sea slugs, snails, crabs,
sea anemones, kelp
Strong wave activity
• In algae: strong holdfasts to prevent being washed
away
• In animals: seeking shelter or employing strong
attachment threads, biological adhesives, a muscular
foot, multiple legs, or hundreds of tube feet to allow
them to attach firmly to the bottom
• In both: hard structures adapted to withstand wave
energy; clustering closely together
Kelp, snails, sea stars,
mussels, sea urchins
Predators occupy area during
low tide/high tide
• Firm attachment of body parts, including a hard shell
• Stinging cells
• Camouflage
• Inking response
• Ability to break off body parts and regrow them later
(regenerative capability)
Mussels, sea anemones,
sea slugs, octopuses,
sea stars
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Organism Adaptations to Rocky Shore
Adverse Conditions
SmartTable 15.1 [Continued]
Adverse conditions of rocky
intertidal zones
Organism adaptations
Examples of organisms
Difficulty finding mates for
attached species
• Release of large numbers of eggs/sperm into the water
column during reproduction
• Long organs to reach others for sexual reproduction
Abalones, sea urchins,
barnacles
Rapid changes in temperature,
salinity, pH, and oxygen content
• Ability to withdraw into shells to minimize exposure to
rapid changes in environmental conditions
• Ability to exist in varied temperature, salinity, pH, and
low-oxygen environments for extended periods
Snails, limpets, mussels,
barnacles
Lack of space or attachment
sites
• Overtake another organism’s space
• Attach to other organisms
• Planktonic larval forms that inhabit new areas, which
limits parental and offspring competition for the same
space
Bryozoans, coral,
barnacles, limpets
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Communities on Rocky Shores
• Intertidal Zonation
– Spray zone—above spring
tide zone
– Intertidal zone
▪ High tide zone—relatively
dry
▪ Middle tide zone—
covered by all high
tides/exposed by all low
tides
▪ Low tide zone—usually
wet
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Rocky Shore Intertidal Zones and
Common Organisms
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Communities on Rocky Shores
• Spray Zone—Supratidal zone
• Organisms
– Avoid drying out
– Many animals have shells.
– Few species of marine algae
– Includes periwinkle snail and rock louse
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Communities on Rocky Shores
• High Tide Zone
• Animals have shells to avoid drying out.
• Marine algae—rock weeds with thick cell walls
• Rock weeds colonize first.
• Sessile animals establish later.
– Barnacles and mussels
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Communities on Rocky Shores
• Middle Tide Zone
• More types of marine algae
• Soft-bodied animals
• Barnacles and mussels
• Carnivorous snails and starfish
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Middle Tide Mussel Bed and Sea Star
Wikipedia
JEB
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Communities on Rocky Shores
• Middle Tide Zone
• Sea anemones
– Stinging nematocysts
on tentacles poison
prey.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Communities on Rocky Shores
• Hermit crabs
– Armored claws and upper body
– Soft abdomen
– Inhabit abandoned shells
• Sea urchins
– Five-toothed mouth
– Hard spherical shell
– Spines for protection
Advanced Aquarist
The living coast
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Communities on Rocky Shores
• Low Tide Zone
• Abundant algae and surf grass
• Many animals hidden by seaweed and sea grass
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Communities on Rocky Shores
• Low Tide Zone
• Various shore crabs
– Scavengers keep shore clean.
– Hide in rock cracks during day
– Feed on algae at night
– Hard exoskeleton prevents
rapid dehydration
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Limits on Rocky Shores
• Generally upper limits are set by physical factors
• Lower limits often set by competition for space
Marine Biological Association, Great Britain
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Communities Along Sediment-Covered Shores
• Sediment size related to wave and current strength
– Course boulder beaches
– Sand beaches
– Salt marshes
– Mud flats
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Communities Along Sediment-Covered Shores
• Infauna—burrowing animals
– Nearly all large organisms along sandy beaches
• No stable, fixed surface
• Burrowing provides more stable environment.
– Less risk of temperature extremes and drying out
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Sandy Beach Organisms and Adaptations
• Bivalve mollusks
– Soft body, hard shell
– Example: clams and
mussels
– Greatest number in low
tide regions
• Annelid worms
– U-shaped burrow
– Sand passes through
digestive tract
Wikipedia
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Sandy Beach Organisms and Adaptations
• Crustaceans
– Segmented body, hard exoskeleton, and paired jointed
limbs
– Sand crabs common
– Bury themselves in sand

Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Sandy Beach Organisms and Adaptations
• Echinoderms
– Spiny skin
– Five tapered legs
– Example: starfish and
heart urchin
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Sandy Beach Organisms and Adaptations
• Meiofauna
– Small, feed on bacteria
– Polychaetes, mollusks, arthropods, and nematodes
– Live in sediment from intertidal zone to deep-ocean
trenches
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Communities Along Sediment-Covered
Shores: Mud Flats
• Eelgrass and turtle grass common
• Bivalves and other mollusks
• Fiddler crabs
– Males have one small and one large claw.
• Sand Bubbler Crab https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XJtq2d_lFs&feature=emb_logo
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Shallow Offshore Ocean Floor Communities
• Subtidal zone—rocky
bottom
• Kelp
– Attaches to rocky
bottoms with strong
holdfast
– Stipes and blades
supported by
pneumatocysts
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Shallow Offshore Ocean Floor Communities
• Kelp forests—beds of giant brown
bladder kelp and bull kelp
– Fast growing
– Highly productive ecosystems
– Shelter for variety of organisms
Monterrey Bay Aquarium
SeaOtters.com
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education,
Inc. All Rights Reserved
Kelp Distribution
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Rocky Bottom Shallow Offshore Ocean
Floor Communities
• Lobsters
– Large, spiny antennae
– Live in water deeper than 20 meters (65 feet)
– Scavengers
– Also feed on live animals
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Rocky Bottom Shallow Offshore Ocean
Floor Communities
• Oysters
– Sessile bivalve mollusks
– Thick shell
– Food for sea stars, fish, crabs, and snails that bore through shell
• Oyster beds—empty shells with living generation on top
NPR
Charleston Waterkeeper
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Rocky Bottom Shallow Offshore Ocean
Floor Communities

ure=emb_logo
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reefs
• Reefs—shallow water communities restricted to tropics
• Polyps—individual corals
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reef Distribution
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Conditions for Coral Reef Development
• Warm seawater
• Sunlight for zooxanthellae—symbiotic photosynthetic microscopic
algae in coral tissues
• Strong waves or currents
• Clear seawater—lack of turbidity
• Normal ocean salinity
• Hard substrate
Div Earth & Life Studies
National Academies of
Sciences, Engineering, Medicine
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Symbiosis of Coral and Algae
• Coral reefs made of algae, mollusks, and
foraminifers as well as corals
• Hermatypic coral—mutualistic
relationship with algae
– Algae provide food.
– Corals provide nutrients.
Smithsonian
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reefs
• Other reef animals with symbiotic relationships
• Mixotrophs—derive part of nutrition from algae
– Include coral, foraminifers, sponges, and mollusks
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reef Development
• Typical reefs many kilometers thick
• Top experiences sunlight corals need
• Bottom was once in surface waters
• Charles Darwin noticed reef development stages.
– Hypothesized development related to subsidence of
islands
– Published ideas in 1842—The Structure and
Distribution of Coral Reefs
– Hypothesis lacked subsidence mechanism
▪ Later substantiated with plate tectonics theory
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reef Development
• Three stages of reef development
– Fringing
– Barrier
– Atoll
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/media/supp_
coral04a.html
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reef Development
• Fringing reefs
– Develop along margin of
landmass
– Ideal temperature, salinity, and
turbidity conditions
– Not thick or well-developed
– Subject to influences from
landmass
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reef Development
• Barrier reef
– Follows fringing reef stage
– Well-developed lagoon separates from landmass
– Grows upward as landmass subsides
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reef Development
• Atoll
– Follows barrier reef stage
– Reef around volcano subsides and grows vertically.
– Volcano submerges completely after millions of years.
– Circular reef left behind
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reef Zonation
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reef Zonation
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reef Zonation
Living Oceans Foundation
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reef Zonation
Living Oceans Foundation
ZooChat
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reef Zonation
• Many fish species inhabit shallow
water near reef.
• Reef lagoon habitat for other
animals
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Mantis Shrimp – Stomatopod
• Two types based on hunting style: Spearers & Smashers
• Extremely complex eyes
• Complex social interactions
Wikipedia
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Cephalopods
• Master mimics – skin color & texture
• Octopus, reef squid, cuttlefish

e=emb_logo
Wikipedia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os6HDsCRn8&feature=emb_logo

ure=emb_logo
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Importance of Coral Reefs
• Largest structures created by living organisms
– Great Barrier Reef, Australia, more than 2000 km (1250 mi) long
• Great diversity of species
• Important tourist locales
• Fisheries
• Reefs protect shorelines
Australian Geographic
NASA Visible Earth
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reefs and Nutrient Levels
• Fishing, tourist collecting, and sediment influx due to shore
development harm coral reefs.
• Sewage discharge and agricultural fertilizers increase nutrients in
reef waters.
– Hermatypic corals thrive at low nutrient levels.
– Phytoplankton overwhelm at high nutrient levels.
– Bioerosion of coral reef by algae-eating organisms
Scripps
NOAA
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education,
Rights
Reserved
HassInc.
et alAll
(2015)
PeerJ
Crown of Thorns Phenomenon
• Sea star eats coral polyps.
• Outbreaks (greatly increased
numbers) decimate reef.
• Problem in Pacific since 1962
• May be part of long-term cycle
Great Barrier Reef Foundation
NOAA
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Bleaching and Other Diseases
• Coral bleaching—loss of color in corals
– Symbiotic zooxanthallae die, leave, or become toxic.
– Bleached coral lacks nourishment from algae.
• Linked to climate changes and ocean warming
• Some causes
– High surface water
temperatures
– Elevated UV levels
– Decrease in sunlightblocking atmospheric
particles
– Pollution
– Salinity changes
– Disease
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Bleaching Events
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Other Diseases
• Causes still under investigation
– Bacteria, viruses, and fungi
– Human population stressors
– Increased nutrients and turbidity
– Environmental stress
• Diseases include white plague disease, white
band disease, white pox, black band disease,
yellow band disease, patchy necrosis, and rapid
wasting disease.
White Band, Phys.org
Yellow Band, Jason Flower
White Plague, USGS
White Pox, Live Science
Black Band, USGS
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reefs in Decline
• 30% healthy today, down from 41% healthy in 2000
• One third of corals—high risk of extinction
• Threats include
– Hurricanes
– Global warming
– Floods
– Tsunami
Coralvita.co
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reproduction – Budding/Fragmentation
• Asexual reproduction
• Budding – juvenile grows directly from the adult, breaks off
when large enough
• Fragmentation – portion of the adult/colony splits off and
forms a new adult/colony
Pt-lobos.com
MarineBio
Young et al (2012) Bull Mar Sci
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Coral Reproduction
• Corals reproduce via:
– Budding
– Fragmentation
– Broadcast Spawning
Copyright © 2020,Coral
2017,
2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Digest
Reproduction – Broadcast Spawning
• Often synchronous
• Palolo worm (Eunice viridis)
• Mussels
Clark University, Dept. Biology
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reproduction – Internal Fertilization
• How do you reproduce if you are stuck
in one spot and do not broadcast
spawn?
– Gregarious settlement
– Simultaneous hermaphrodite
– Internal fertilization
Dreanno et al (2006) Biology Letters
Mesa.edu.au
MarLIN
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Deep-Ocean Floor Communities
• Less known about than shallower water communities
– Expensive to explore the deep
– Limited oxygen
– Robotic technology for exploration
NOAA Ocean Explorer
NOAA Ocean Explorer
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Deep Ocean Physical Environment
• Bathal, abyssal, and hadal zones
• Light absent below 1000 meters (3300 feet).
• Temperature usually between −1.8°C (28.8°F) and 3°C (37°F)
• High oxygen
• High pressure
• Abyssal storms
– Affect bottom currents
– Created by warm and cold core eddies of surface currents
– Can last weeks
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Deep Ocean Food Sources and
Species Diversity
• No primary productivity
• Only 1–3% of euphotic food present
• Special adaptations for detecting food
• Species diversity equivalent to rain forest
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent
Biocommunities
• Discovery—Alvin in 1977
– Galapagos Rift near equator in Pacific Ocean
– Complete darkness
– Water below 2500 meters (8200 feet)
• Water temperature 8–12°C (46–54°F)
• Chimney vents and hot acidic water
Copyright © 2020, 2017,
2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
WHOI
Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent
Communities
• Hydrothermal vent
biocommunities
– Organisms previously
unknown to science
– Unusually large for
depth in ocean
• Black smokers—
underwater chimney vents
emit sulfides
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Locations of Hydrothermal Vent
Communities
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Hydrothermal Vent Species
• Giant tubeworms
• Giant clams
• Giant mussels
• Crabs
• Microbial mats
• Life supported by
chemosynthesis
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Chemosynthesis
• Microscopic archaea
– Thrive on hydrogen sulfide
from vents
– Manufacture sugar, carbon
dioxide, and dissolved
oxygen
• Base of hydrothermal vent food
chain
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Chemosynthesis v s Photosynthesis
ersu
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Hydrothermal Vent Communities
• Vents active for years or decades
• Animal species similar at widely separated vents
• Larvae drift from site to site
• “Dead whale hypothesis”
– Large carcasses may be stepping stone for larvae
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Hydrothermal Vent Communities
• First Atlantic vents with
biocommunities discovered in 1985
• First Indian Ocean vent found in 2000
• Vents differ in chemical and
geological characteristics.
Kelley et al (2005) Science
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Life Span of Hydrothermal Vents
• Vents controlled by sporadic volcanic activity
• Vent may be active for only years to decades.
• Organisms die when vent is inactive.
• Increased volcanic activity can kill organisms.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Hydrothermal Vents and the Origins of
Life
• Life on Earth may have originated at hydrothermal vents.
– Uniform conditions
– Presence of archaea bacteria
– Microbes with genes identical to those found in
humans
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Low-Temperature Seep Biocommunities
• Chemosynthetically support life
• Hypersaline seeps
– High salinity
– Florida Escarpment—
seeping water from
limestone fractures
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Low-Temperature Seep Biocommunities
• Gulf of Mexico seep from limestone escarpment fractures.
• Sulfide rich waters support diverse biocommunity.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Low-Temperature Seep Biocommunities
• Hydrocarbon seeps
– Oil and gas seeps
– Hydrogen sulfide and/or
methane
• Hydrocarbon seep
biocommunities
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Low-Temperature Seep Biocommunities
• Subduction zone seeps
– Juan de Fuca plate
– Folded sedimentary rocks
– Methane
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Low-Temperature Seep Biocommunities
• Recently discovered on a research cruise off California by the
EV Nautilus
• >1000 brooding octopi on the Davidson Seamount ~3 km
deep
• Second aggregation of deep sea brooding octopi discovered
in 6 months
Nautilus Live
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Beneath the Sea Floor
• A new frontier
• Deep biosphere
– Exists within sea floor
• Microbes live in pore fluids
• Might represent much of Earth’s total biomass
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright
This work is protected by United States copyright laws and is
provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their
courses and assessing student learning. Dissemination or sale of
any part of this work (including on the World Wide Web) will
destroy the integrity of the work and is not permitted. The work
and materials from it should never be made available to students
except by instructors using the accompanying text in their
classes. All recipients of this work are expected to abide by these
restrictions and to honor the intended pedagogical purposes and
the needs of other instructors who rely on these materials.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Essentials of Oceanography
Thirteenth Edition
Chapter 11 Lecture
Marine Pollution
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Chapter Overview
• Pollution is a major issue in the ocean.
• The marine environment has problems associated with
petroleum pollution.
• Chemical pollution in the ocean is hazardous to marine
environments.
• Marine environmental problems are associated with point
source and non-point source pollution, including trash.
• Biological pollution is a concern in the ocean.
• There are steps people can take to prevent marine
pollution.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Marine Pollution
• Pollution—Broadly defined as any harmful substance
• May be aesthetically unappealing but not harmful
• May be undetected by humans but causing harm to the
environment
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Marine Pollution
• Harmful to living organisms
– Standard laboratory bioassay—concentration of pollutant that causes
50% mortality among test organisms
• Hindrance to marine activities
• Reduction in quality of seawater
• Environmental bioassay
– Widely used technique for determining how particular pollutant
affects marine organisms
– Pollutant concentration limits established
• Drawbacks of environmental bioassay
– Does not predict long-term effect of pollution
– Does not affect pollutants combining with other substances
– Time-consuming and organism-specific
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Waste Disposal in Ocean
• Diluting pollutants with huge volume of ocean water
• Long-term effects not known
• Debate about dumping wastes in ocean
– Some say none at all
– Some say okay, as long as properly disposed and monitored
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Main Types of Marine Pollution
• Petroleum
• Sewage sludge
• DDT and PCBs
• Mercury
• Non-point-source pollution and trash
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Petroleum
• Commonly called “oil”
– Naturally occurring liquid made of hydrocarbons.
• Oil spills—often from transport accidents
• Some from extraction
– 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon blowout
• Some from loading/unloading accidents
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
• March 29, 1989
• Almost 44 million liters (11.6
million gallons) of oil spilled into
Prince William Sound, AK
• Many animals, including birds
and otters, killed outright
• Long-term consequences
unknown
Bright Hub Engineering
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
• Exxon spent $2 billion in
cleanup, $900 million in
restoration
• Very hot water used to clean
rocky beaches also killed shore
organisms
• Puddles of oil still being found
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Notable Oil Spills
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Notable Oil Spills
• Kuwait—intentional dumping of
oil into Persian Gulf in 1991
– More than 908 million liters
(240 million gallons) spilled
– 20 times the amount of Exxon
Valdez
CBC
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Notable Oil Spills
• Ixtoc #1 Mexico spill
– World’s largest spill from
well until 2010
– Took 10 months to cap
– Spilled 530 million liters
(140 million gallons)
ASU.EDU Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Notable Oil Spills
• Gulf of Mexico—2010 explosion of
Deepwater Horizon oil drilling
platform
– World’s largest accidental ocean oil
spill
– Spilled more than 780 million liters
(206 million gallons)
– 11 crew members killed
– Birds, sea turtles, marine
mammals, fish, and shellfish most
affected
– Long-term studies of damage are
ongoing
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Wikipedia
CNN
NOAA
Irish TImes
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Notable Oil Spills
• Iranian oil tanker Sanchi in
2018 collided with another
boat
• Leaked 570,000 liters
(150,000 gallons) petroleum
distillate into South China
Sea
• Tanker burned and sank
Business Insider
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Notable Oil Spills
• MV Wakashio near several
Mauritius nature preserves
• Carried more than 4000 tn of
petroleum. Around 1000 tn leaked
into the sea
• The ship cracked in half, 3 weeks
after running aground. Salvagers
plan to sink the ship in deep
water.
BBC
Forbes
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Petroleum
• Made of various hydrocarbons
– Contains hydrogen and carbon
– Organic and can be biodegraded
• Oil that enters ocean is result of small, frequent,
widespread release of oil related to human consumption
• Toxic compounds—capable of causing injury or death,
especially by chemical means
– Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Cleaning Oil Spills
• Can sicken humans, animals, and
plants in small doses
• Can have long-term impacts on
organisms
– Change gene expression
– Developmental abnormalities
– Decreased embryo survival
• Marine organism fur or feathers
lose insulation properties when
covered in oil
• High fatality rates
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Recovery of Organisms after Exxon
Valdez Oil Spill
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Oil in the Ocean
• Oil spills not primary source of ocean oil
– Petroleum seeps
• Most petroleum in oceans from human activity
– Small but frequent widespread oil releases
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Cleaning Oil Spills
• Oil initially floats
• Can disperse
• Can be skimmed
• Oil and water mix to form
mousse
• Bioremediation—use of
bacteria and fungi to help clean
oil spills
– Releasing bacteria directly
into marine environment
– Creating conditions to
stimulate growth of naturally
occurring oil-degrading
bacteria
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Preventing Oil Spills
• Oil Pollution Act of 1990
– After Exxon Valdez spill, defined fiscal responsibility for cleanup
• Single-hulled tankers barred from U.S. ports, not allowed
within 320 k m (200 miles) of France and Spain
• Double-hulled tankers required
• Redesigning ships
ilo
eters
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Preventing Oil Spills
• Japanese-owned freighter
New Carissa ran aground
near Oregon in 1999
• Intentionally burned to
prevent larger oil spill
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Sewage Sludge
• Semisolid material after treatment
– Contains human waste, oil, zinc, copper, lead, silver,
mercury, pesticides, and other chemicals
• Primary treatment
– Solids are allowed to settle and dewater
• Secondary treatment
– Sludge exposed to bacteria-killing chlorine
• No dumping of sludge in ocean after 1981
– Clean Water Act, 1972
• Many exceptions/waivers
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
New York’s Sewage Sludge Disposal
at Sea
• First, shallow-water sites
• Then (1986), deeper-water
site
• Adverse effects on fish
• 1993—all sewage disposed
on land
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Boston Harbor Sewage Project
• Court-ordered cleanup of
harbor where sewage dumped
in shallow water
• Treated sewage released into
deep water via tunnels (1998)
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Indian River Lagoon
• Direct discharge of Secondarily treated sewage banned in
1990
• Regulations allow 90 days per year of “emergency wet
weather” surface discharge
• Infrastructure growth has not kept pace with population growth
Florida Today
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
DDT and PCBs
• Pesticide DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane)
• Industrial chemicals PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls)
• Widespread in oceans
• Persistent organic pollutants
– Toxic
– Long life, dissolved in seawater
– Accumulated in food chain
Extreme Marine, Bangor University
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
DDT
• Decline in bird populations
• Thin eggshells
– Long Island osprey
– California brown pelican
• DDT widely used in 1950s,
banned in United States in
1972
• Rebound of some marine bird
populations
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
PCBs
• Once widely used—liquid coolant and insulation in power
transformers
• Also in wiring, paints, caulking, and hydraulic oils
• Cause harmful genetic mutations and reproductive issues
MySafetyLabels
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
DDT and PCBs in Environment
• Banned by most but not all countries
• Sink to sea floor bottom
• Pervasive in marine environment
• Found even in Antarctic
Extreme Marine, Bangor University
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Mercury and Minamata Disease
• Methyl mercury toxic to most
living organisms
• Chemical plant in Minamata
Bay, Japan, released mercury
in 1938
• First reported ecological
changes in 1950
• By 1953 humans poisoned
– Neurological disorder
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification
• Bioaccumulation—organisms
concentrate pollutant from seawater
• Biomagnification—organisms gain
more pollutant by eating other
contaminated organisms
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Mercury Accumulations
• Safe levels of mercury determined by
– Rate of fish consumption by people
– Mercury concentration in fish consumed
– Minimum ingestion rate of mercury to cause damages
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Other Chemical Pollutants
• Prescription, non-prescription, and illegal drugs from municipal
waste treatment systems
– Not all compounds break down; some travel into the ocean
• Hormones
• Caffeine
• Fertilizers
• Radiation from Fukushima power plant in Japan
– Damaged in 2011 by tsunami
• Pacific bluefin tuna
– Trans-oceanic swimmer
– Safe levels of radiation found in tissues
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Non-Point-Source Pollution and Trash
• Non-point-source-pollution—poison runoff
• Pollution enters ocean from multiple sources
• Trash
• Pesticides and fertilizers
• Road oil
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Non-Point-Source Pollution and Trash
• Difficult to pinpoint origin
• Trash washed down storm drains to ocean
• Road oil, pesticides, and fertilizers washed into drains
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Plastics as Marine Debris
• Plastics are vast majority of marine debris
– Float
– Not readily biodegradable
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Plastics as Marine Debris
• Plastics such as 6-pack
rings entangle fish, marine
mammals, and birds
• Plastic bags choke turtles
– Mistake for jellyfish
• Birds ingest plastic and die
of starvation
• Floating plastics attract oily
toxic compounds such as
DDT and PCBs
– Accumulate high levels
of poisons
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Ocean Dumping Law
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Plastics
• Debut in 1862
• Commercial development
during World War II
• Disposal strains environment
– Lightweight—float
– Strong—entangle
– Durable—don’t biodegrade
– Inexpensive—mass
produced
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Plastics
• Nurdles—small
pre-production plastic pellets
• Found in ocean and all beaches due to spillage
– Orange County, CA—98% of beach debris are nurdles
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Microplastics
• Microbeads
– Between 1 and 5 millimeters (0.04
and 0.2 inches)
– In cleaners and scrubbers
▪ Hand cleaners
▪ Exfoliating facial scrubs
▪ Toothpaste
• Transport pollutants
• Eaten by fish
• 46 million pounds in Pacific Ocean
Colby College
Chemical & Engineering News
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Plastics in the Ocean
• Floating plastics photodegrade
– Break into smaller pieces
• Marine plastic particles increasing significantly
• Regions of floating trash
– Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reducing the Amount of Plastics in the
Ocean
• People can:
– Limit use of single-use plastics
– Recycle plastics
– Dispose of plastic trash properly
• In 2014, California banned plastic grocery bags.
• Nearly 200 U.S. cities and counties have banned plastic
grocery bags and single-use polystyrene take out
containers.
• Worldwide, more than three dozen countries have banned
plastic grocery bags.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reducing the Amount of Plastics in the
Ocean
• In 1988, International Convention for the Prevention of
Pollution from Ships (MARPOL):
– Proposed treaty banning disposal of plastics
– Regulating other trash dumping at sea
– 122 nations ratified by 2005
• Facilities not available for garbage disposal
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
What Can You Do to Help Prevent
Marine Pollution?
• Minimize impact on the environment
– Avoid single-use plastics and Styrofoam
– Avoid products with excessive packaging
– Support environmentally-conscious companies
– Use nontoxic household products
– Reuse and recycle
EWG.org
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
B Corp

Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
What Can You Do to Help Prevent
Marine Pollution?
• Seek creative solutions
– Toothbrushes with replaceable heads
– Compostable and recyclable dental floss
– Metal reusable straws
– Reusable food wraps
– Compostable six-pack rings
Ethical Earth Store
NY Times
Georganics
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
What Can You Do to Help Prevent
Marine Pollution?
• Seek creative solutions
– Toothbrushes with replaceable heads
– Compostable and recyclable dental floss
– Metal reusable straws
– Reusable food wraps
– Compostable six-pack rings
Earth Hero
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
What Can You Do to Help Prevent
Marine Pollution?
• Become politically aware
– Voters need to approve proposals before they become law
– Future political issues may involve oceans
• Educate yourself about how the ocean works
– Understand how science operates
– Science not for the elite few
• Share what you know
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Plastic Recycling?
• Most recycling companies were sending their plastic to
China, Malaysia and other countries for processing
• China stopped accepting plastic trash ~2 years ago,
followed by many other countries
• Much plastic waste is now disposed of as garbage
NPR
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Biological Pollution: Non-Native Species
• Originate elsewhere,
introduced by humans
intentionally or accidentally
• Outcompete and dominate
native populations
• Invasive species cause
extensive damage annually
Piola et al (2009)
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Shipping and NIS
• Shipping is one of the primary transport vectors for NIS
Seebens et al (2013)
Hewitt & Campbell (2010)
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Invasion Risk
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Biological Pollution: Non-Native Species
• Caulerpa taxifolia—tropical seaweed
– Cold-tolerant clone introduced to Mediterranean,
overwhelmed ecosystem
– Also in Southern California, Australia
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Biological Pollution: Non-Native Species
• Zebra mussel
– Invaded Great Lakes of North America
– Drove out local mussels
– Altered ecology of freshwater lakes, streams
– Blocked water pipes of industrial facilities
WesternBass.com
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Biological Pollution—Non-Native Species
• Atlantic Comb Jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi introduced via ballast
water to the Black Sea
• Caused crash in fisheries and tourism industries
• Spread throughout the region
• Some recovery because of the introduction of another comb
jelly Beroe that is a predator
Science
Jernelov (2017))Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Biological Pollution—Non-Native Species
• Red lionfish Pterois volitans proliferation in southeast
U.S. and Caribbean
Lionfish Hunting
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Prevention
• Prevention is key
• Eradication is difficult & costly
– Darwin Harbor, Australia
– Black striped mussels (Mytilopsis sallei)
ABARES
MESA
Wikipedia
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright
This work is protected by United States copyright laws and is
provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their
courses and assessing student learning. Dissemination or sale of
any part of this work (including on the World Wide Web) will
destroy the integrity of the work and is not permitted. The work
and materials from it should never be made available to students
except by instructors using the accompanying text in their
classes. All recipients of this work are expected to abide by these
restrictions and to honor the intended pedagogical purposes and
the needs of other instructors who rely on these materials.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Essentials of Oceanography
Thirteenth Edition
Chapter 16 Lecture
The Oceans and Climate
Change
Slides in this presentation contain
hyperlinks. JAWS users should be
able to get a list of links by using
INSERT+F7
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Chapter Overview
• The carbon cycle is a part of Earth’s climate system.
• Human activities are causing Earth’s climate change.
• Earth’s greenhouse effect impacts life on the planet.
• Climate change will cause many severe problems in the
ocean environment.
• It is necessary to reduce and mitigate the effects of these
changes.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Earth’s Climate System
• Climate—long-term atmospheric conditions in a region
– Temperature
– Precipitation
– Wind
• Earth’s climate includes interactions of:
– Atmosphere
– Hydrosphere
– Geosphere
– Biosphere
– Cryosphere
• Climate system—exchanges of energy and moisture
among Earth’s five spheres
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Major Components of Earth’s Climate System
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Earth’s Climate System
• Feedback loops—modify atmospheric processes
– Positive feedback loops—enhance initial change
– Negative feedback loops—counteract initial change
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Earth’s Climate System
• Global climate system has many feedback loops.
• Components of feedback loops include:
– Aerosols
– Air pollution
– Water vapor
– Ice reflectivity
– Oceanic heat uptake
Nature Communications
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Carbon Cycle
• Flow of carbon between atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere,
biosphere, and cryosphere
• Affects every aspect of climate
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Carbon Cycle
• Fossil fuels include oil, natural gas, and coal.
• Carbon dioxide also product of biological respiration
– Fixed during photosynthesis
– Carbonate buffering reactions in oceans
– Removed from seawater by shell-forming organisms; shells
later become rock
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Carbon Cycle
• Ocean as biological pump
– Most atmospheric carbon dioxide efficiently cycled into ocean
– Ocean acts as repository or sink for carbon dioxide.
– Limitations on ocean’s capacity for CO2 absorption
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Determining Causes of Earth’s Climate Change
• Paleoclimatology
– Study of ancient climate
• Paleoclimatologists study Earth’s past climates.
– Geologic evidence and other records of Earth’s past
climates
– Build computer models to understand how climate
works
– Monitor Earth’s current climate
• Detailed reconstruction of Earth’s past climate aids in
predicting future climates.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Determining Causes of Earth’s Climate Change
• Proxy data—indirect evidence using natural recorders of
climate variability
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Natural Causes of Climate Change
• Solar energy changes
– Variable energy from the Sun over time
– Luminosity
– Sunspots—cooler, episodic dark areas on Sun
– Faculae—bright spots on Sun
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Natural Causes of Climate Change
• Solar energy changes
– Variable energy from the Sun over time
– Luminosity
– Sunspots—cooler, episodic dark areas on Sun
– Faculae—bright spots on Sun
Space.com
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Natural Causes of Climate Change
• Lack of correlation between solar activity and average
Earth temperature
• Total solar irradiance increases with more sunspots.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Natural Causes of Climate Change
• Variations in Earth’s Orbit
• Milankovitch Theories
– Eccentricity of Earth’s orbit—100,000
year cycle
– Obliquity of Earth’s axis—41,000 year
cycle
– Precession of Earth’s axis—23,000
year cycle
• These variations contributed to Earth’s
alternating glacial and interglacial cycles
over past few million years.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Natural Causes of Climate Change
• Large volcanic eruptions
– Dust and ash in upper atmosphere filter out some solar radiation.
– Mt. Tambora—1815 responsible for Year without Summer
– Krakatoa—1883
– El Chichon—1982
– Mt. Pinatubo—1991
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Natural Causes of Climate Change
• Volcanism
• Cooling effect of single eruptions small and short-lived
• No major volcanism in last 100 years
• Deccan Traps
ScienceDaily
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Natural Causes of Climate Change
• Movement of Earth’s Plates
– Change ocean circulation
– Extremely slow process
– Climate change would be very gradual over millions of years.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
http://www.nsf-margins.org/DLProgram/09-10/Presentations/reconstruct.gif
Natural Causes of Climate Change
• Linked to Pleistocene Ice Age, Little Ice Age, and
Medieval Warm Period
• Recent change unprecedented
– More likely result of human activity than natural causes
Nature
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Natural v s Human Caused Climate Change
ersu
• Scientific consensus of large human contribution
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Documenting Human-Caused Climate
Change
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC)
– Global group of scientists
– Peer-reviewed literature
– Published assessments since 1990
– 4 reports between 2001 and 2018
strengthen argument for humancaused climate change.
– Predict further global temperature
changes of 1.1–6.4°C (2–11°F )
elsius
ahrenheit
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Documenting Human-Caused Climate
Change
• Climate change models can mimic modern conditions only if human
emissions are taken into account.
• IPCC assessments continue to provide strong documentation of humaninduced climate change.
NASA Earth Observatory
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Documenting Human-Caused Climate
Change
• IPCC and Al Gore Jr. shared 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for “their efforts to
build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate
change….”
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
2018 IPCC Update
• Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C
– Impacts and costs of 1.5°C of global warming will be greater
than expected
– Record breaking storms, forest fires, droughts, coral bleaching,
heat waves & floods world wide after 1°C increase over the past
decade
– With no cuts in CO2, this level could be reached in 11 – 20
years. Immediate cuts will only delay the warming.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Documenting Human-Caused Climate
Change
• Other scientific reports confirm IPCC findings.
– U.S. Global Change Research Program—2009
▪ Global warming is unequivocal and primarily
human-induced.
▪ Global average temperature risen 1.5°F (0.8°C )
since 1900
– U.S. National Research Council—2011
▪ Actions taken now can reduce risk of major
disruptions to human and natural systems.
ahrenheit
elsius
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Documenting Human-Caused Climate Change
• U.S. Climate Science Special Report—2017
– New Federal Reports warn that disasters like the California
wildfires and more intense hurricanes are worsening because
of global warming
– Warming enhanced extreme weather has become more
frequent, intense, widespread or of long duration
– Damaging weather has cost nearly $400 billion since 2015
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Atmosphere’s Greenhouse Effect
• Global warming—increase in
Earth’s global temperatures
• Greenhouse effect—keeps
Earth’s surface habitable
– Incoming heat energy is
shorter wavelengths.
– Longer wavelengths—some
trapped, some escape, and
net warming effect
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Earth’s Heat Budget
• Heat Budget—addition to or subtraction from heat on Earth
• Incoming radiation from Sun—shorter wavelengths
• Outgoing radiation from Earth—longer wavelengths
• Rates of energy absorption and reradiation must be equal.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Earth’s Heat Budget
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Greenhouse Gases
• Water vapor
– Most important
– 66–85% of greenhouse effect
Smithsonian Magazine
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Greenhouse Gases
• Carbon dioxide
– Natural part of atmosphere
– Greatest relative contribution from human activities
– Burning of fossil fuels
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Keeling Curve of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
• David Keeling—began measuring atmospheric CO2 on Mauna Loa
in Hawaii in 1958, measurements continue today.
• Seasonal pattern of CO2 concentrations—natural cycle of plants
• First significant evidence of increasing atmospheric CO2
• Data measurement taken over by son Ralph Keeling
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Greenhouse Gases
• Methane
– Second most abundant
human-caused greenhouse
gas
– Great warming power per
molecule
– Landfill decomposition
– Cattle
• Other trace gases
– Nitrous oxide, CFCs, and
ozone
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Human-Generated Greenhouse Gases
Atmospheric
gas
Humancaused
sources of
gas
Pre-industrial
(circa 1750)
concentration
(ppbva)
Present
concentration
(ppbva)
Current rate
of increase or
decrease (%
per year)
Relative
contribution to
increasing the
greenhouse
effect (%)
Infrared
radiation
absorption per
molecule
(number of
times greater
than CO2)
Carbon
dioxide (CO2)
Combustion of
fossil fuels
280,000
411,000
+0.5
58
1
Methane
(CH4)
Leakage,
domestic
cattle, rice
agriculture
722
1834
+1.0
15
28
Nitrous oxide
(N2O)
Combustion of
fossil fuels,
industrial
processes
270
328
+0.2
5.9
265
Tropospheric
ozone (O3)
Byproduct of
combustion
237
338
+0.5
12
2000
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC
s)
Refrigerants,
industrial uses
0
0.82
−1.0
7
12,000–15,000
Hydrochlorofluorocarbons
(HCFCs)
Refrigerants,
industrial uses
0
0.28
+0.5
1.7
800–2000
Hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs)
Refrigerants,
industrial uses
0
0.08
+8−20
0.4
Up to 14,800
Total
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014100
Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Greenhouse Gases Past and Future
• Continuous ice core data from Antarctica records past atmospheres.
• Carbon dioxide varied from 180 to 280 ppmn
• High levels of carbon dioxide and methane today
• Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) 56 million years ago
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Future Scenarios from Global Warming
• Earth would continue to warm even if greenhouse gas
concentrations stabilized today.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Other Considerations
• Aerosols
– Suspended particles in atmosphere
– Affect atmosphere’s reflectivity and ability to trap heat
– Black carbon or soot—1 gram is 100 to 2000 times
more potent than equal amount of carbon dioxide for
global warming
• Earth’s surface albedo—reflectivity
– Dark surfaces absorb more solar radiation.
– Light surfaces reflect more solar radiation.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Future Scenarios from Global Warming
• Melting glaciers and ice caps
• Shorter winters
• Species distribution shifts.
• Global temperature rise
• Sea surface temperature increases.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Documented Changes Due to Global Warming
• Earth’s average surface temperature risen 0.6°C (1.1°F) in last 30 yrs
• Rate of warming in last 50 years double that of past 100 years
• Ten warmest years on instrumental record mostly occurred since
2005, 2015–2017 warmest years on record
• Sea surface temperatures increased worldwide
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Documented Changes Due to Global Warming
• Temperature change over time
NASA
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Documented Changes Due to Global Warming
• Increasing severe heat waves
– 2017 heat wave in Australia
– 2014 heat wave in India killed over 2300 people.
– 2012 U.S. heat wave
– 2010 heat wave in eastern Europe and Russia
NASA
USGCRP
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Predicted Changes from Global Warming
• Earlier, hotter summers
• More severe droughts in some places, flooding in others
• Worldwide retreat of mountain glaciers and ice fields
• Water contamination issues
• Ecosystem changes and extinctions
IFLScience
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Changes in the Oceans
• Increasing ocean temperatures
– Sea surface temperatures risen mostly since 1970
– Deep waters showing increases
• Oceans absorbed most of increased atmospheric heat.
– Warmer waters documented to depths of 2 km (1.2 miles)
• Marine heatwaves predicted to become more intense—2018 study
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Ocean Heat Waves
• Ocean heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense
• From 1982 – 2016 the number of marine heatwave days
doubled
• The recent heat wave in the northeast Pacific was so intense it
killed an estimated billion sea creatures
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Changes in the Oceans
• Increased hurricane activity
– Warmer water fuels hurricanes.
– Severity of recent Atlantic hurricanes
– Number of global tropical storms have not increased
worldwide.
– Intensity of storms has increased.
▪ More Category 4 and 5 hurricanes
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Changes in the Oceans
• Changes in deep-water circulation
– North Atlantic especially sensitive
– Melting glaciers
– Warmer surface waters
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Changes in the Oceans
• Polar Ice Melting
• Arctic amplification
• Loss of more than 2 million square kilometers (800,000 mi2)
of Arctic sea ice in last decade
• Loss of ice = enhanced warming due to lower albedo
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Changes in the Oceans
• Polar Ice Melting
– Arctic ice melting affects polar bear survival.
– Food sources are dwindling for human Arctic dwellers.
▪ Marine species migration
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Changes in the Oceans
• Polar Ice Melting
– Antarctica shrinking, glaciers thinning
– Larsen Ice Shelf decreased more than 40% over last decade.
– 200 billion metric tons of ice lost in 2006 alone
– Byrd Station, West Antarctica one of the fastest-warming on Earth
• 2017—Delaware-sized iceberg broke off Antarctica
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Changes in the Oceans
• Ocean acidification
– Some atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves in ocean water.
– pH difference of 0.1 = 30% increase in hydrogen ion
concentration
– pH decline threatens calcifying organisms.
▪ Coccolithophores
▪ Foraminifers
▪ Sea urchins
▪ Corals
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Pteropods Dissolved by Acidic Waters
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Dissolved Carbon Dioxide and Ocean pH
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Changes in the Oceans
• Rising sea level—already occurring
• Main contributors
– Melting of Antarctic and Greenland
ice sheets
– Thermal expansion of ocean surface
waters
– Melting of land glaciers and ice caps
– Thermal expansion of deep-ocean
waters
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Global Sea Level Rise Determined by
Satellites
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Rising Sea Level
• Severely affect areas with gently sloping coastlines
– U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
• Models predict rise between 0.6 and 1.6 meters (2 and 5.2
feet) by year 2100.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Changes in the Oceans
• Other predicted changes
– Sound transmission in ocean
– Reduced dissolved oxygen—marine dead zones
– Increased wind speeds and wave heights
UCSC.edu
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Changes in the Oceans
• Migration of mangroves
– Florida’s mangroves migrating north
• Oceanic productivity
– Increased ocean stratification and stronger thermocline
– Decreased productivity due to diminished upwelling
– Decline in global phytoplankton biomass
NASA Earth Observatory
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Changes in the Oceans
• Effect on marine organisms
– Many organisms sensitive to water
temperature changes
– Change in populations of various fish
groups
– Migration of marine organisms to
deeper waters and towards poles
Smithsonian
Nature
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Changes in the Oceans
EPA Climate Change Indicators
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reducing Greenhouse Gases
• Paris Climate Agreement—most world countries agreed to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2025
• Kyoto Protocol—1997
• Copenhagen Accord—2009, at United Nations Climate
Change Conference
• Durban Platform—2011, international delegates in Durban,
South Africa
• COP26 – 2021 UN Climate Summit
Earthday.org
Wikipedia
Copyright © 2020, 2017,
2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reducing Greenhouse Gases
• Approach #1: Renewable Clean Energy
• Four ocean-related sources—wind, ocean currents, wave,
and tidal energy
• Others include solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal
• Investigations of new ways to harness clean energy
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reducing Greenhouse Gases
• Electricity generated from mechanical compression of metal
rods during ocean wave activity
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reducing Greenhouse Gases
• Approach #2: Changing Behavior
• Personal choices impact carbon footprint—how much
carbon put into atmosphere
• Many choices for individuals to change behavior
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reducing Greenhouse Gases
• Approach #3: Global Engineering Solutions
• Global engineering—attempts to counteract human-caused
climate change
– Reducing sunlight reaching earth
– Removing human-caused greenhouse gases
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reducing Greenhouse Gases
• Iron hypothesis
– Fertilize ocean to increase productivity
– Increase phytoplankton and increase carbon dioxide
removal from atmosphere
• Sequestering excess carbon dioxide in oceans
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reducing Greenhouse Gases
• Marine Permaculture
• Use of ocean primary productivity
• Planting of kelp forests
• Kelp takes up dissolved carbon dioxide and buffers seawater
acidity.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Reducing Greenhouse Gases
• Sequestering Excess Carbon Dioxide in the Oceans
– Capturing emissions and pumping gas into sea floor
basalts
• Unclear how long excess carbon dioxide would stay in
deep ocean
• May impact marine chemistry and ecosystems
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Thinking Like a Scientist: What’s Next?
• Solutions to greenhouse
gas emissions may come
from:
– Individual choices
– Local action
• Impacts of today will
continue long into the
future
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright
This work is protected by United States copyright laws and is
provided solely for the use of instructors in teaching their
courses and assessing student learning. Dissemination or sale of
any part of this work (including on the World Wide Web) will
destroy the integrity of the work and is not permitted. The work
and materials from it should never be made available to students
except by instructors using the accompanying text in their
classes. All recipients of this work are expected to abide by these
restrictions and to honor the intended pedagogical purposes and
the needs of other instructors who rely on these materials.
Copyright © 2020, 2017, 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Started: Dec 15 at 2:22pm
Quiz Instructions
This is an open book and open note test. You should work alone. Please make sure your answers are in
your own words. You are on the honor system. If you use an outside source in the short answer section,
make sure you include a citation.
This exam consists of 40 multiple choice questions from the new chapters: 14, 15, 11 & 16. The
remainder are short answer questions. You have 2 questions from each of the new chapters and 1 from
each of the chapters you have previously been tested on. As with previous exams, the multiple choice
questions are worth 1 point and the short answer questions points are listed. There is a single bonus
question which is listed as 0 points. You can receive up to 5 bonus points for this question.
Question 1
1 pts
The function of a swim bladder is ________.
to assist the organism in steering with the currents
to increase the density of the organism to keep it afloat
to increase the surface area of the organism to prevent sinking
to prevent predators from eating the puffer fish
to allow a fish to change position in the water column
Question 2
1 pts
Which set of fins is used for turning and braking?
Anal and caudal
Anal and dorsal
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
1/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Caudal and dorsal
Caudal and pelvic
Pectoral and pelvic
Question 3
1 pts
The caudal fin shape that is asymmetrical, with most of the mass in the upper lobe, is
a ________.
rounded fin
truncate fin
lunate fin
heterocercal fin
forked fin
Question 4
1 pts
Jellies are an example of which of the following?
Cnidarians
Coccolithophores
Ctenophores
Foraminifers
Radiolarians
Question 5
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
1 pts
2/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
An example of a “cruiser” is a ________.
flounder
grouper
mackerel
shark
tuna
Question 6
1 pts
The muscle tissue of a “lunger” is predominantly ________.
blue
gray
pink
red
white
Question 7
1 pts
An organism such as a fish whose body temperature is nearly the same as the
environment is referred to as ________.
homeothermic
warm-blooded
poikilothermic
endothermic
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
3/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Question 8
1 pts
Which of the following is the most important function of schooling in small fish?
Aggressive species can’t chase away the whole school.
Invade the territory of larger species
Male fertilization of eggs released into the water
Moving in the same direction
Protection from predators
Question 9
1 pts
In which Order are Manatees and Dugong classified?
Carnivora
Sirenia
Cetacea
Chondrichthyes
Question 10
1 pts
In dolphins and porpoises, an organ called the ________ focuses the sounds they
generate.
junk
melon
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
4/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
museau du singe
nostril
spermaceti organ
Question 11
1 pts
The distribution of benthic biomass is related to ________.
current patterns
primary productivity
sediment variety
thermocline depth
wave energy
Question 12
1 pts
The most important limiting factor in rocky intertidal communities is ________.
food
light
nutrients
predation
space
Question 13
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
1 pts
5/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
A sea urchin has a ________-toothed mouth centered on the bottom side of its hard,
spherical shell, consisting of fused calcium carbonate plates perforated to allow tube
feet and water to pass through.
three
four
five
six
Question 14
1 pts
The most successful adaptation for living on a sediment-covered shore is ________.
attachment to the substrate
burrowing into the sediment
flattened body shape
sessile lifestyle
swimming
Question 15
1 pts
Organisms that live in the spaces between sediment particles are called ________.
epifauna
microfauna
meiofauna
mesofauna
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
6/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
subfauna
Question 16
1 pts
Sewage discharge and fertilizer runoff is detrimental to coral growth because it
increases the ________.
amount of inorganic nutrients in the water that stimulates excessive algal growth
amount of toxic synthetic chemicals which stimulate excessive bacterial growth
salinity of the water that results in coral bleaching
water temperature that kills zooxanthellae
water temperature that results in coral bleaching
Question 17
1 pts
Which of the following animals feed directly on living kelp?
Lobsters
Mollusks
Otters
Sea stars
Sea urchins
Question 18
1 pts
The crown-of-thorns sea star destroys coral reefs by ________.
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
7/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
covering the coral with sediment
depleting dissolved oxygen
eating the coral polyps
excreting waste on the coral
releasing toxins that kill zooxanthellae
Question 19
1 pts
The most serious threat to coral reefs is ________.
floods
humans
hurricanes
sea stars
tsunami
Question 20
1 pts
Primary producers in hydrothermal vent communities are ________.
algae
eyeless shrimp
giant clams
Riftia tubeworms
sulfur-oxidizing archaea
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
8/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Question 21
1 pts
The toxicity of marine pollutants is evaluated through bioassays by ________.
calculating the concentration at which 50% of the test organisms die
determining the length of time that the pollutant remains in the environment
determining the total biomass of affected organisms in the environment
estimating the number of trophic transfers in the food web affected by the pollutant
the EPA
Question 22
1 pts
The two most significant human sources of oil pollution in the marine environment are
________.
blow out accidents and urban run-off
natural seeps and urban run-off
normal oil tanker/shipping operations and urban run-off
oil tanker and blowout accidents in marine coastal waters
tar balls and oil tanker accidents
Question 23
1 pts
Petroleum in the ocean is not considered a pollutant when ________.
it leaks from a ruptured pipeline
it results from extraction on the sea floor
it was already sent to a refinery
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
9/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
natural seepage is responsible
oil tankers run aground
Question 24
1 pts
Secondary sewage treatment is distinguished form primary sewage treatment by the
________.
addition of bacteria to process organic contaminants
aeration of liquid effluent following chlorination
chlorination of the liquid effluent
removal of inorganic nutrients from the liquid effluent
separation of the suspended solids from the liquid effluent
Question 25
1 pts
Which of the following characterizes the pesticide DDT and industrial chemicals such
as PCBs?
Persistence in the environment
Biologically active
Relatively high toxicity
Propensity to accumulate in food chains
All of these are correct.
Question 26
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
1 pts
10/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Minamata disease is associated with ________.
dinoflagellates in tropical reef ecosystems
eutrophication
harmful algal blooms
illegal fishing in tropical areas
ingestion of methyl mercury-contaminated fish and shellfish
Question 27
1 pts
Which of the following best describes how DDT use lead to a serious decline in the
brown pelican population of Anacapa Island, California during the 1960s?
DDT was sprayed on the grasses and contaminated the pelican chicks that walked through
the grass.
The pelican chicks ate insects that were contaminated with DDT which lead to chick mortality.
The adult pelicans ate DDT contaminated fish and died from eating the poisonous fish.
Adult pelicans could not produce normal thickness eggs due to DDT in their food supply.
DDT was sprayed on the nesting sites in an attempt to eradicate mosquitos on the island.
Question 28
1 pts
Which type of trash constitutes the majority of debris in the ocean?
Paper
Plastic
Metal
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
11/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Glass
Question 29
1 pts
What are nurdles?
Metal pellets
Plastic pellets
Paper pellets
Wood pellets
Question 30
1 pts
Some plastics accumulate poisons such as DDT and PCBs to levels as high as a
________ times their concentrations in seawater.
fifty
one hundred
one thousand
one million
one billion
Question 31
1 pts
An increase in cloud cover and a corresponding decrease in absorption of solar
radiation is an example of a(n) ________.
positive-feedback loop
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
12/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
negative-feedback loop
neutral feedback loop
reversible feedback loop
irreversible feedback loop
Question 32
1 pts
The ________ describes the flow of carbon between the atmosphere, hydrosphere,
lithosphere, and cryosphere.
phosphorus cycle
carbon cycle
calcium cycle
oxygen cycle
Question 33
1 pts
Numerous climate science studies suggest that ________ are the cause of the recent
documented changes in Earth’s climate.
human activities
lunar cycles
natural variability
solar variability
sunspot cycles
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
13/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Question 34
1 pts
Variations in Earth’s orbit that influence long-term climate changes include ________.
the shape of Earth’s orbit (eccentricity)
the tilt of Earth’s axis of rotation (obliquity)
the wobbling of Earth’s axis of rotation (precession)
eccentricity, obliquity and precession
Question 35
1 pts
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued which of the following
statements?
Climate change models can mimic present-day conditions only if human emissions are taken
into account.
Human climate alterations have not yet produced significant impacts on biological systems.
Ocean acidification is not a problem because the ocean does not absorb carbon dioxide gas.
Recent regional climate changes have not yet affected physical systems on Earth.
The temperature increases observed since the mid-20th century are very likely due to natural
causes.
Question 36
1 pts
How much are global surface temperature expected to increase by the year 2100 if
humans follow a “business-as-usual” scenario?
2°C
2.5°C
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
14/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
3°C
3.5°C
4°C
Question 37
1 pts
A person who refuses to listen to our experts and to accept the overwhelming
evidence regarding human-caused climate change is a climate ________.
believer
denier
gullible
hiatus
skeptic
Question 38
1 pts
The ________ is one of the locations where the effects of global warming are being
most keenly felt and likely will experience quite dramatic changes in the future.
Pacific
Atlantic
Antarctic
Arctic
Question 39
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
1 pts
15/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Circulation in which of the following oceans is particularly sensitive to changes in its
deep-water circulation pattern that dramatically and abruptly affect climate?
The North Atlantic Ocean
The North Pacific Ocean
The South Atlantic Ocean
The South Pacific Ocean
The Southern Ocean
Question 40
1 pts
Based on a comparison of satellite images from 1984 to 2011, which of the following
trees has migrated by about 12 square kilometers north, along Florida’s Atlantic
coast?
Buttonwood
Mangrove
Oak
Pine
Spruce
Question 41
7 pts
Define symbiosis and compare and contrast the different types of symbiotic
relationships and give an example of each.
Edit
12pt
View
Insert
Format
Tools
Table
Paragraph
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
16/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
p
0 words
Question 42
5 pts
Briefly describe some of the differences between cetaceans of the Suborder
Odontoceti (toothed whales) with those of the Suborder Mysticeti (baleen whales).
Edit
12pt
View
Insert
Format
Tools
Table
Paragraph
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
17/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
p
0 words
Question 43
4 pts
Compare and contrast the environmental conditions that favor the growth of kelp
forests and corals.
Edit
12pt
View
Insert
Format
Tools
Table
Paragraph
p
0 words
Question 44
4 pts
What is coral bleaching? List the environmental conditions that contribute to the
development of coral bleaching.
Edit
12pt
View
Insert
Format
Tools
Table
Paragraph
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
18/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
p
0 words
Question 45
3 pts
What variables need to be considered in order to estimate how much mercury-rich
seafood is safe to eat?
Edit
12pt
View
Insert
Format
Tools
Table
Paragraph
p
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
0 words
19/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Question 46
5 pts
What properties have contributed to plastics being considered a miracle substance?
How do those same properties cause plastics to be unusually persistent and
damaging in the marine environment?
Question 47
7 pts
Briefly discuss the human-caused greenhouse gases in terms of their relative
concentrations in the atmosphere and their relative contributions to global warming.
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
20/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Question 48
6 pts
Briefly describe some of the changes that are already occurring in the oceans
because of global warming.
Question 49
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
4 pts
21/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Discuss the origin of the Solar System using the nebular hypothesis.
Question 50
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
3 pts
22/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
How is the age of the ocean sediments related to the distance from a mid-ocean
ridge?
Question 51
3 pts
Briefly describe how submarine canyons are created.
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
23/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Question 52
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
5 pts
How is the carbonate compensation depth (CCD) related to the worldwide distribution
of calcareous oozes?
Question 53
5 pts
Explain how the pH of seawater remains slightly alkaline AND relatively constant.
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
24/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Question 54
4 pts
Discuss the impact of the Coriolis effect on atmospheric circulation. Provide at least
two examples where the Coriolis effect significantly impacts global atmospheric
circulation.
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
25/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Question 55
4 pts
Discuss the biological impact of upwelling and downwelling on marine ecosystems.
Provide examples of marine systems that are impacted by these processes in your
answer.
Question 56
4 pts
Describe the relationship between the following: wave height, wavelength, wave
speed, and wave steepness.
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
26/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Question 57
3 pts
Differentiate between apogee and perigee and briefly discuss the effect on tidal height
when perigee coincides with spring tide.
Question 58
6 pts
Distinguish between estuaries, lagoons, and marginal seas and give an example of
each.
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
27/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Question 59
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
5 pts
Compare and contrast warm and cold water marine species in terms of life span,
body size, and relative abundance.
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
28/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Question 60
3 pts
Why do algal blooms frequently occur during spring and fall in temperate oceans?
Question 61
0 pts
List and describe something you studied that wasn’t on the exam and why it
resonated. Give up to 5 facts/examples.
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
29/30
12/15/22, 2:22 PM
Quiz: OCN 1010 Final Exam Fall 2022
Not saved
https://fit.instructure.com/courses/611118/quizzes/966593/take
Submit Quiz
30/30