Midterm 1

• the study of organisms that live in the sea, including all water that has some degree of salinity, like the estuaries at river mouths • Marine biology is not a separate science. It is an applied field of biology and incorporates many other sciences • Oceanographers typically study the non-living components of the ocean whereas marine biologists study living organisms

• How an organism carries out basic functions, e.g., reproduction

• factors involved in distribution, abundance and appearance of organisms

• number of species

-charles darwin - circumnavigated world, theory of coral reef subsidence (among many others)

• First major exploration devoted to the study of marine organisms. • The crew discovered thousands of species previously undescribed and published 50 volumes of information from the data collected over the next 19 years

• remote sensing • sonar • scuba • remotely operated vehicles (ROV) • research vessels

Satellites are used to study large expanses of the ocean surface

Used to map seafloor depths and formations

Used for the study of the marine environment for longer periods and at depths otherwise unavailable to humans

Allows for direct exploration of the marine environment when scuba is not an option

These floating laboratories allow oceanographers and marine biologists to explore the marine environments for weeks, months, or even years without returning to a land-based facility

• Cold, dark, high pressure low oxygen environment • Immense ancient environment • Scientific progress is highly dependent on technological innovations

where the tide goes in and out

• region of ocean floor that is below the lowest point of the tide • usually very productive

region between shelf and abyssal

region after bathyal but before hadal (very very deep region)

below 6000 m

water above the shelf

water not above the shelf

• water at the very top • above 200m

• water where photosynthesis can take place • up to 200m

-200m - 700/1000m - no photosynthesis but some animals with big eyes can see -twilight zone

• 700/1000m - 2000/4000m • most ocean is here