Download Marine Biology - Perry Local Schools

Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
Course Description
Students in this course will learn to describe interactions of matter and energy throughout the
lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Students access knowledge to explain how energy
entering the ecosystems, such as sunlight, supports the life of organisms through photosynthesis
and the transfer of energy through the interactions of organisms and the environment. Students
will explore plate tectonics and how waves (water) transfer energy. Students draw on their
previous experience and connect Earth, life, and physical sciences into a coherent study of the
environment. Emphasis is placed on the interactions between humans and Earth, ecosystems,
populations, and diversity. Students also study the importance of the ocean and marine
organisms. The human interactions with science and technology are discussed, as well as how
man has modified current ecosystems and natural systems. Students have the opportunity to use
basic science processes of inquiry, scientific investigation, and the nature of science to examine
past events, current situations, and to develop and revise scientific predictions, ideas or theories.
Prerequisites: The student is either enrolled in biology achieving success in the course (C or
higher) or has previously completed the course with success.
Credit: ½
* 3 hours of post secondary credit is possible for the completion of field experience at a tropical
field station.
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
TOPIC:
 The Ocean Environment (2 weeks)
CONTENT STATEMENT:

Basic principles of ecology as they apply to marine systems and their importance to the
organisms that live in the ocean.
CONCEPTS






VOCABULARY



The ocean is an important source of food and 
other resources for humans.


Marine biology is the study of the sea’s diverse 
inhabitants and their relationships to each other 
and their environment.


The history of marine biology is one of

changing perspectives that have shaped the

modern science and its applications.


Physical factors of the environment, such as

sunlight, temperature, salinity, exposure, and 
pressure, along with biological factors, will

influence where marine organisms can live.



Marine ecosystems consist of interacting
communities and their physical environments. 
Marine and terrestrial environments are
interrelated, interactive, and interdependent.
Photosynthesis
Autotroph
Primary productivity
Light-dark-bottle method
Heterotrophs
Dissolved organic matter (DOM)
Detritus
Ecological efficiency
Pelagic
Water column
Benthic
Neritic
Oceanic
Photic
Aphotic
Nekton
Intertidal
Bathyal
Hadal
Epifauna
Infauna
PERFORMANCE SKILLS:





Describe how the focus of marine biology has changed from early times to the present.
Identify abiotic and biotic factors that affect the distribution of organisms in an ecosystem.
Describe symbiotic relationships found in nature.
Explain a detritus-based food chain.
Analyze why there are fewer marine organisms in the oceans depths.
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
TOPIC:
 Geology of the Ocean (2 weeks)
CONTENT STATEMENT:

Basic principles of geology as they apply to marine systems including the physical aspects of
the marine environment and their importance to the organisms that live in the ocean.
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
CONCEPTS











VOCABULARY



The earth’s crust is composed of moving plates.


New seafloor is produced at ocean ridges and old

seafloor is removed at ocean trenches.


The ocean floor has topographical features similar 
to those found on continents.


The polar nature of water accounts for many of its 
physical properties.


Salts are constantly being added to and removed

from the oceans.


The exchange of energy between oceans and the

atmosphere produces winds that drive ocean

currents and weather patterns.


The density of seawater is mainly determined by

temperature and salinity.


Vertical mixing of seawater carries oxygen to the 
deep and nutrients to the surface.


Waves are the result of forces acting on the surface 
of the water.
The world ocean has four main basins: Atlantic,
Pacific, Indian, and Artic.
The gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on
the oceans produces tides.
Continental drift
Ocean basin
Sea
Midocean ridge
Continental shelf
Continental slope
Continental rise
Abyssal plain
Seamount
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn
Sextant
Oxygen-minimum zone
Coriolis Effect
Westerlies
Easterlies
Doldrums
Gyre
Antarctic Circumpolar Current
Gulf Stream
Ekman spiral
Thermocline
Halocline/Pycnocline
Upwelling
Downwelling
Wave refraction
Tsunamis
Tides (spring, neap, ebb)
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
PERFORMANCE SKILLS:










Compare oceans and seas.
Describe the evidence that supports the theory of continental drift.
Explain the processes responsible for the formation and of the continental shelves.
Summarize the role of photosynthesis and respiration play in the distribution of gases in
seawater.
Describe the factors responsible for the prevailing wind patterns on earth.
Indicate the combination of factors that produces tides.
Explain how the polar nature of water molecules influences water’s physical
characteristics.
Analyze how salt from the sea is returned to the land.
Contrast upwelling and down welling and explain their biological importance.
List different processes that circulate water in the oceans.
TOPIC:
 Marine Organisms (8 weeks)
CONTENT STATEMENT:

Basic biological concepts such as energy transfer in biological systems and biological
classification. The major groups of marine organisms and their interrelationships including
the basis of feeding relationships, from organisms that produce their own food to those that
rely on other organisms for food. Descriptions of animals beginning with invertebrates and
working upward through the vertebrae classes to mammals including he role that each group
of organisms plays in the overall web of marine life.
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
CONCEPTS






VOCABULARY




A species is a group of physically similar,

potentially interbreeding organisms that share a 
gene pool, and are able to produce viable

offspring.


The binomial system of nomenclature uses two 
words, the genus and the species epithet, to

identify an organism.


Phylogenetic trees and cladograms indicate

evolutionary relationships among groups of

organisms.


Microbial life in the sea is extremely diverse, 
including members of all three domains of life, 
as well as viruses.


Photosynthetic and chemosynthetic bacteria

are important primary producers in marine

ecosystems. Heterotrophic bacteria play
essential roles in recycling nutrients in the
marine environment.
Natural selection favors the survival and
reproduction of those organisms changes over
time.
Morphology
Sexual dimorphism
Bionomial nomenclature
Taxonomy
Alga
Chemosynthetic bacteria
Marine snow
Nitrogen fixation
Deep-sea vent
Photophores
Bioluminescence
Chitin
Lichens
Diatom
Diatomaceous sediment/earth
Dinoflagellate
Zooxanthellae
Foraminiferans
Radiolarians
Frond
Stipe
Holdfast
Turbidity
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
CONCEPTS

Marine eukaryotic microbes are primary
producers, decomposers, and consumers, and
some contribute significantly to the
accumulation of deep-sea sediments.

Populations of several kinds of photosynthetic
marine microbes may form harmful blooms that
affect other marine and maritime organisms
directly and indirectly.

Multicellular marine macroalgae are divided
into three major groups according to their
photosynthetic pigments.

Seagrasses are important primary producers and
sources of detritus, and they provide habitat for
many animal species.

Salt marsh plants and mangroves stabilize
bottom sediments, filter runoff from the land,
provide detritus, and provide habitat for
animals.

Sponges are asymmetric, sessile animals that
filter food from the water and provide habitat
for other animals.

Cnidarians and ctenophores exhibit radial
symmetry and highly specialized stinging cells
to capture prey and for protection.

Most marine animals exhibit bilateral symmetry.

Molluscs have soft bodies that are usually
covered by a shell.
VOCABULARY (cont’d)



























Salt marsh
Salt glands
Mangrove
Prop roots
Pneumatophores
Propagule
Invertebrate
Vertebrate
Sessile
Ostia
Osculum
Choanocytes
Spicules
Spongin
Filter feeder
Hermaphrodite
Cnidaria
Cnidocyte
Radial symmetry
Polyp
Medusa
Gastrovascular cavity
Mesoglea
Nematocyst
Hydrozoan
Scyphozoan
Anthozoan
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
CONCEPTS

Polychaete diversity stems from the
evolution of a segmented body that
increased motility.

Arthropods have external skeletons,
jointed appendages, and sophisticated
sense organs.

Echinoderms exhibit radial symmetry and
have a unique water vascular system that
function in locomotion, food gathering,
and circulation.

Fish consist of jawless, cartilaginous, and
ray-finned fish composed primarily of
bone.

Shape of a fish’s body is primarily
determined by the characteristics of its
environment.

Color in fishes function in camouflage,
species recognition, and communication.

Sharks maintain neutral buoyancy by
storing oily material in their liver, rayfinned fish use a swim bladder.

Fish have a lateral line system to detect
water movement.

Sea turtles have streamlined bodies and
appendages modified into flippers.

Sea turtles mate at sea and lay eggs on the
same beaches where the females hatched.
VOCABULARY (cont’d)

































Ctenophore
Bilateral symmetry
Mollusca
Annelid
Setae
Polychaete Incurrent/Excurrent Siphon
Cephalopod
Chromatophore
Gastropod
Operculum
Adductor muscle Mantle
Radula
Prismatic layer
Chiton
Arthropod
Exoskeleton
Molting
Cephalothorax
Carapace
Abdomen
Telson
Mandible
Crustacea
Swimmerets
Chelipeds
Cirripeds
Ectoparasite
Endoskeleton
Ossicles
Pedicellariae
Water vascular system
Madreportie
Ampulla
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
CONCEPTS

The marine iguana of the Galapagos Islands is
the only marine lizard.

A variety of bird species, including gulls,
pelicans, and tubenoses are adapted to feeding
on marine organisms.

Penguins are the birds most adapted to life in
the sea.

Many marine reptiles and birds are
endangered by human activities.

Mammals have a body covering of hair,
maintain a constant warm body temperature,
and nourish their young with milk produced
by the mammary glands of the mother.

Pinnipeds have limbs modified to form
flippers and are better adapted to life at sea
than to life on land.

Cetaceans have a fishlike body shape and are
the mammals most suited to life in the sea.

Special physiological adaptations allow some
marine mammals to dive to great depths and
to remain submerged for long periods.

Some cetaceans use echolocation to navigate,
find prey, and avoid predators.

Baleen whales have plates of baleen instead of
teeth and feed primarily on plankton, such as
krill.
VOCABULARY (cont’d)







































Echinoderm
Regeneration
Echinoidea
Agnatha
Catilaginous
Placoid scales
Spiracles
Mermaid’s purse
Pectoral, dorsal, caudal, pelvic and anal fin
Test
Aristotle’s Lantern
Chordate
Notochord
Fusiform
Laterally compressed
Disruptive coloration
Cryptic coloration
Gill filaments
Osmoregulation
Swim Bladder
Lateral line
Ampullae of Lorenzini
Reptile
Carapace
Plastron
Pinniped
Cetacean
Blubber
Spy hopping
Breaching
Head lunge
Tail lobbing
Peduncle
Fluke
Pec slap
Baleen
Spermaceti
Echolocation
Melon
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
PERFORMANCE SKILLS:






















Explain how the cells of diatoms and dinoflagellates differ.
Identify what factors affect the distribution of alga in the marine environment.
Describe the adaptations that have evolved in salt marsh plants or mangroves to help them
survive in areas where the salt content is high.
Indicate what characteristics of salt marshes make them such ideal nurseries.
Predict the effects of coastal zone development on seagrass and mangrove communities.
Evaluate how a sponge’s body structure affect its size.
Describe the advantages of bilateral symmetry and why radial symmetry is advantageous to
sessile organisms.
Explain how the cnidarian stinging cell functions.
Construct a food web that includes meiofauna, marine worms, and larger predators such as
fish.
Explain how symbiotic relationships can allow marine animals to live in habitats where they
normally could not survive.
Identify commercially important crustaceans.
Explain how the radula is modified in gastropods for different types of feeding.
Describe how a sea star uses its water vascular system to move.
Determine the important ecological contribution burrowing organisms make to the
environment.
Compare two adaptations that help prevent fish from sinking because of their relatively high
density.
Explain what is meant by disruptive coloration.
Distinguish how the characteristics of the environment influence the shape of a fish’s body.
Show how marine turtles are adapted to life in the sea.
Hypothesize what human activites are contributing to the decline in sea turtle populations.
Explain how the arrangement of blood vessels in the flippers and tail flukes of cetaceans
helps them to retain body heat.
Describe how toothed whales use echolocation to navigate.
Summarize the effects of whaling over the past several centuries on cetacean populations.
TOPIC:
 Marine Ecosystems (6 weeks)
CONTENT STATEMENT:

How the interactions of the physical and biological environment influence the number and
kinds of marine organisms that inhabit a given area.
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
CONCEPTS








VOCABULARY




Organisms that inhabit the intertidal zone must 
be able to tolerate wave shock, desiccation, and 
radical changes in temperature and salinity.


Organisms on rocky shores tend to be found in 
definite bands, or zones, on the rocks.


Rocky shores in contrast to sandy shores

provide a relatively stable surface for

attachment.


Estuaries form where freshwater from rivers

and streams mixes with seawater.


Estuarine communities include oyster reefs,

mud flats, and seagrass meadows.


Wetlands such as salt marshes and mangrove 
forests are frequently found bordering

estuaries.


The salinity of water in estuaries varies both

vertically and horizontally.

The intertidal zone is that part of the marine
environment alternately exposed and
submerged by tides

Coral reefs are primarily found in tropical clear
water, usually at depths of 60 meters or less.

Both physical and biological factors determine
the distribution of organisms on a reef.
Intertidal
Rocky Shore Zonation
Spralittoral
Infralittoral
Tide pool
Ecological Succession
Sandy shores
Meiofauna
Estuary
Tidal flats
Wetlands
Brackish water
Coral
Fringing reef
Barrier reef
Atoll
Patch reef
Forereef
Spur-and-groove
Reef crest
Back reef
Coral Bleaching
Epibenthic
Kelp
Holoplankton
Meroplankton
Particulate organic matter (POM)
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
CONCEPTS

Corals obtain up to 90% of their energy from
zooxanthellae that use coral wastes, produce
carbohydrates, and aid in calcium carbonate
deposition.

Coral reefs are oases of high productivity in
nutrient-poor tropical seas. Nutrients are
stored in reef biomass and efficiently recycled.

The number and kinds of benthic organisms on
continental shelves are influenced by waves,
currents, light penetration, and sediment
characteristics.

Hard-bottom communities are dominated by
epibenthic organisms.

In areas north and south of the tropics, kelps
dominate the subtidal zone where the water is
cold and the sediments are hard.

Soft-bottom communities are dominated by
suspension feeders and deposit feeders.

The distribution of organisms in benthic
communities of the continental shelf is patchy.
VOCABULARY (cont’d)


Barbel
Black smoker
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
CONCEPTS

The high productivity of coastal seas supports
large numbers of fish, birds, and marine
mammals.

Plankton range widely in size, taxonomic
diversity, and lifestyle.

Phytoplankton are the primary producers in
open-ocean food webs, and their productivity
is limited by the scarcity of nutrients.

The lack of light has had the most impact in
shaping the organisms of the deep sea

Many deep-sea animals exhibit
bioluminescence, which helps them find mates
and prey in their dark environment.

Several structural features and behaviors have
evolved to keep afloat organisms that are not
strong swimmers.

Deep-sea fish display a variety of adaptations
such as sharp teeth, large mouths, and huge
stomachs that help them survive in a habitat
with limited food.

Thriving marine communities that depend on
chemosynthetic bacteria for primary
production exist on the ocean floor around
hydrothermal vents.
VOCABULARY(cont’d)
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
PERFORMANCE SKILLS:














Describe the environmental challenges are encountered by organisms that live in a tide pool.
Explain some of the adaptations exhibited by organisms inhabiting rocky coasts that help
them survive wave shock.
Generalize the vertical zonation of a sandy beach.
Identify the factors that contribute to the productivity of estuaries.
Describe the process of succession in a salt marsh.
Compare a lagoon with an estuary.
Sketch a chart that traces energy flow in a mud flat.
Predict what effect agricultural runoff would have on a neighboring estuary.
Explain how the physical characteristics of the reef environment influence the species of
corals that inhabit them.
Describe how a coral colony is formed. Identify the factors that affect the size of plankton
populations.
Describe some of the ways that animals living in the open sea hide from predators.
Explain some of the strategies animals use to increase their survival in the open sea.
Evaluate the role bioluminescence play in life in the deep.
Identify food sources available for animals that live on the ocean floor.
TOPIC:
 Humans and the Sea (2 weeks)
CONTENT STATEMENT:

The impact that humans have had and continue to have on the marine environment including
fisheries management and the consequences of overfishing as well as problems associated
with the extraction of nonliving products from the seas. How the use of these natural
resources has changed over the past century and the effects of this change on the marine
environment including marine pollution, global warming, and habitat destruction.
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
CONCEPTS



VOCABULARY
Fish and shellfish are renewable resources that 
must be properly managed to produce a

sustainable yield.


The advent of mechanized fleets and better

fishing techniques, coupled with natural

phenomena, has caused a decrease in the size 
of commericial fish catches.


Overfishing has brought some fisheries to the
brink of collapse.

Techniques such as aquaculture have helped
relieve fishing pressure on natural populations,
but not without new effects on natural
environments.

Large numbers of noncommercial animals are
killed as a result of current, mechanized fishing
techniques.

The sea is an important source of minerals,
including salf and manganese, and the sulfides
of valuable metals such as gold and uranium.

Fresh water for drinking and irrigation can be
produced from seawater by removing the salt.

The oceans contain energy reserves in the form
of fossil fuels and methane hydrate.
Renewable resource
Tagging
Bycatch
Aquaculture
Fossil fuel
Sustainable yield
Biological magnification
Eutrophication
Longshore currents
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
CONCEPTS

Some pollutants accumulate and magnify in
food chains, posing serious problems for
higher-order consumers.

Plastic trash is deadly to many organisms,
especially large marine animals. Dumping
wastes into coastal seas decreases their
economic and recreational value and creates
health hazards.

Pollutants enter coastal seas by way of
agricultural and urban runoff, as well as by
direct dumping.

Oil spills damage significant amounts of
habitat and injure and kill marine life.

Global warming affects marine ecosystems
by changing species ranges, decreasing the
oxygen carrying capacity of water, and
altering rainfall and wind patterns.

Development of coastal areas leads to loss
of habitat and diminished numbers of
marine life.

Destruction of wetlands results in decreased
ocean productivity.
VOCABULARY (cont’d)
Pacing Guide
Marine Biology
2011-2012
Science Course of Study
PERFORMANCE SKILLS:









Determine the goal of fisheries management.
Identify the problems associated with overfishing.
Compare potential yield with sustainable yield.
Provide some benefits of aquaculture.
Suggest some ways that commercial fishers could decrease the size of their catch without
becoming unemployed or going bankrupt.
Identify activities most damaging to wetland.
List some of the major problems that are associated with the agricultural runoff that enters
the ocean.
Describe how an oil spill causes injury to birds and mammals.
Describe how recreational and commercial use of beaches affects beach ecology.