Background
Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? So many questions
ponder through each individual's head. The main question of the experiment
performed is "Why are plankton so small?" As a group, the main concept that
was explored was how the Nutrient Feeding of Phytoplankton leads to its
size. The Independent Variable of the experiment was the Surface Area to
Volume Ratio, the Dependent Variable was the Percent Fed, the Control was
the Untreated Plankton, and the hypothesis proposed acknowledged that if
the Surface Area to Volume Ratio is large, then it will be 100 percent fed.
What is plankton? According to the handout "Plankton," "the word
plankton means 'that which is made to wander.'" It is the primary producer
in the ocean and can be found in the form of an animal, known as
zooplankton, and in the form of a plant, known as phytoplankton. Plankton
is microscopic and can be found floating on the surface of the ocean with
the currents. Three things can classify plankton: type, lifestyle, and
size. Phytoplankton is plant plankton and Zooplankton is animal plankton.
Meroplanktons are plankton that spend a mere portion of their life as
plankton. Holoplanktons are plankton that spend their whole life as
plankton.
There are many different types of sizes of plankton everywhere in our
ocean waters. And there are also different classifications of plankton such
as Macroplankton and Holoplankton. Holoplankton spends their whole life in
a plankton community. Macroplankton is also a classifacation and they are
most likely larger than one centimeter. Others that are also phytoplankton
are Diatoms and dinoflagellates witch are both plant plankters. All theses
phytoplankton are a big key in marine life of today. They are the key to
preventing global warming in many cases. These singled cell organisms are
microscopic but size is not a factor in marine life. All phytoplankton
inhabit three quarters of the earth. " Every drop of water in the top 100
meters of the ocean contains thousands of free floating microscopic flora
called phytoplankton" (The Oceans.). Phytoplankton is all over the place
and has a drastic affect on the ocean and the things that happen in it.
Plankton most likely reproduces in the springtime. Because the
Dinoflagellates are one of the four main types of phytoplankton, which are photosynthetic, single celled and free living organisms in the ocean. Dinoflagellates cause the Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) also known as the red tide effect (Hackett et al 2004). Toxicity persisting at upper levels of the food chain is detected in them from the ones which are toxic, but not all such blooms are toxic. Enhanced detection capabilities may in part contribute to observed high frequency and severity of toxic blooms. As they are also important in the health of coral reefs their study has gained significant interest. Species are often selected for genome sequencing based on their importance as a model organism or relevance to human health, such as the HAB case.
Glibert, Patricia M. and Daniel E. Terlizzi. “Nutrients, Phytoplankton, and Pfiesteria In the Chesapeake Bay.” Available: http://www.arec.umd.edu/policy/Pfiesteria/terlizzi/terlizzi.htm (22 Nov. 1999).
Imagine a creature that has a skeleton on the outside of its body, that has eyes that protrude on stalks, and whose blood doesn't flow through blood vessels but, instead, pools and surrounds body tissues. What is this monstrous creature? What if I were to tell you this isn't a monster, but something you've probably seen and maybe even eaten?! Yep, this strange creature is a __crustacean__! There are over 50,000 species of crustacean and they come in all shapes and sizes, from an ocean-dwelling crab to an immobile barnacle! But before we delve into the types of crustaceans, let's take a moment to go over the characteristics and anatomy they share.
According to NOAA phytoplankton are microscopic organisms that continuously convert sunlight and nutrients into living tissue. Phytoplankton can be harmful to the bay because they at an uncontrollable rate causing harmful algae blooms when there is an abundance of nutrients. Phytoplankton also serve as the main food source for a larger but still microscopic organism named Zooplankton. Marine Bio.org did a study on zooplnkton revealing that they are very weak swimmers making them an easy food source for any larger organsim. Zooplanktons’ main purpose serves as the main food source for small fish and
For Example, Documents B shows that the amount of algae is increasing through steps. The oligotrophic stage how the beginning of the marine life's habitat before fertilizer was used. The mesotrophic stage shows that the fertilizer is being used which is helping the soil and bacteria began to increase and algal blooms start to form. It is affecting the algae amount a little. The eutrophic stage shows the over use of the fertilizer. The algae a The amount of algae has reach its maximum amount in the water. This is because so much fertilizer has been used that it continues to run into the bodies of water. The run off of fertilizers and caused many of the sea creatures to
In the coral reef habitat, food consumption is based on sunlight. The sunlight gives food to the plants, bacteria and algae, which is eaten by the plant eaters or herbivores, such as parrotfishes. The bigger carnivores, such as the Whitetip Reef Shark, in the ecosystem then eat those fishes along with the bacteria and plankton in the water. On the other hand, the deep sea is based on dead animal bodies or waste, shown in the fake whale carcass in the deep sea exhibit. Organisms of the deep sea feed on waste because sunlight does not have the ability to reach that deep in the ocean. Nektons are the fishes that feed on the waste produced by the epipelagic zone.
The ocean is inhabited by many and loved by all. Whether you surf the waves or use it for recreational purposes, its important to us all. There are dangers to the ocean that anyone who bathes in it should be aware of. Besides the obvious dangers of the current and the pounding waves, there are possible microscopic enemies at large. Every year the beaches are closed for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it may be for a surfing contest, or if the waves are too dangerous, but the most overlooked may be ocean contaminants. Around 20% of ocean water pollution occurs naturally. Its important for the public to aware of the contaminants that reach our waters and how they get there.
Ocean Acidification is the act of CO2 dissolving into seawater, decreasing its alkalinity and increasing it's hydrogen ion concentration; making organisms sensitive to shifts in the water. Anything from temperature change to toxic waste inflicts some sort of change upon the ocean and the creatures it engulfs. As most people are aware, humans are altering the earth’s climate through producing greenhouse gas that is blanketing our atmosph...
the ocean affecting the animal life in the sea. Birds and fish are ingesting little pieces of
Ocean Pollution is a serious issue in today's global politics. The delicate balance of Earth's ecosystem is put in jeopardy when the ocean is not clean. Problem evolving from ocean pollution directly harm marine life and indirectly affect human health and the Earth's many valuable resources. Ocean Pollution is a Broad term that encpompasses any and all foregin matter that directly or indirectly makes its way into the ocean. This includes everything from the extreme: oil spills, Toxic Waste dumping and industrial dumping-- to the small scael: human activities and basic carelessness. Because the oceans and all other water bodies are invariably, somehow connected, and because they account for 3/4 of the Earth's surface, they are an ideal method of transportation for pollution, allowing the rapid spread of seemingly far away toxins into a river near you! It is increasingly important that we educate ourselves as to what, exactly, ocean pollution is, so that we can identify the causes at their source and take action in small and large ways, and hopefully, prevent this terrible form of pollution from getting any worse than it is today.
28 October 2010. 16 April 2014 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0607_040607_phytoplankton_2.hyml. “Solutions to Plastic Pollution in our Ocean” Natural Resources Defense Council. 3 March 2014. web.
Crustacea is a large subphylum of Arthropoda, consisting of almost 52 000 described species, including animals like crabs, lobsters, shrimp and barnacles. The majority of these are aquatic, living in marine or fresh water environments, though some have adapted to living on land like some crabs and woodlice. Most crustaceans are relatively small, though there are some exceptions. All of them have a hard, strong exoskeleton, divided into two parts, which has to be shed in order to allow the animal itself to grow. They have a large circulation system, where blood is pumped around the body by the heart. Only some crustaceans have sexes separate, and those that are usually mate seasonally and lay eggs. The study of Crustacea is called carcinology.
...with warm currents or have a general amount of warm water, are more likely to be struck by tropical storms. There is another way that the ocean can change the environment is when tsunamis occur. These large waves move through the ocean and strike the land, but unlike normal waves that recede when they strike land, tsunamis continue miles inland. The ocean cycle is also responsible for the movement of nutrients through the environment. When tides move through the ocean they pull up nutrients that are located at the seafloor. Those nutrients then are moved with currents throughout the world. This is how the Ocean Cycle plays a role in the environment and Earth.
“In the creation of the heavens and earth, and the alternation of the night and day, and the ships which sail the seas to people's benefit, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky - by which He brings the earth to life when it was dead and scatters about in it creatures of every kind - and the varying direction of the winds, and the clouds subservient between heaven and earth, there