Download Chapter 15 - Life Near the Surface

Chapter 15 - Life Near the Surface
Name ______________________
The scientific word for the vast, open ocean is the ______________ realm. This region of the sea is
important because it regulates our ________________, conditions our _________________________,
and provides ___________________________________________. The pelagic realm includes the water
of the seas - away from _________________________________________.
Organisms living here must remain suspended in the water column because it is lacking what three
things?

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________
The epipelagic zone is the upper part of the pelagic realm, generally from the surface to about
___________m deep. It is generally ___________________ and ______________________. This is
similar to the photic zone. The key to the definition of the photic zone is that there is enough light for
____________________________ to occur. The surface waters beyond the continental shelf is known as
the ____________________ part of the epipelagic.
THE ORGANISMS OF THE EPIPELAGIC
What is primary production? ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
The Plankton: A New Understanding
How does the epipelagic zone provide food to these other communities:
Community
Epipelagic Provides Food By:
Lower pelagic
Shallow water
Land Dwelling Birds and
Mammals
Marine Predators (Fish, Squid, &
Mammals)
What two things made early studies of plankton by collection with nets ineffective?

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________
The division of plankton into phytoplankton and zooplankton is based primarily on the organism’s ability
to _____________________________.
Phytoplankton perform more than ____________ of the photosynthesis in the ocean. And nearly
_________ of the world’s oxygen in the atmosphere. The two most important phytoplankton are
____________________________ and ___________________________.
Compare and contrast diatoms and dinoflagellates:
Diatoms
Both
Dinoflagellates
A large growth of dinoflagellates is called a ______________ and can cause _________ ____________.
The Zooplankton
Why are zooplankton such an important part of the food web of the epipelagic zone?_______________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Protozoans that move using flagella are known as __________________________. Examples of these
include _______________________, ________________________, and __________________________.
What are copepods? ____________________________________________________________________
Copepods make up _________ of the zooplankton community.
How do copepods find and “capture” prey? __________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Generally, the most well known type of zooplankton are the shrimp-like ______________. Their primary
habitat is __________________________________________________.
What do krill eat? ______________________________________________________________________
How do they eat? ______________________________________________________________________
What disadvantage to survival do krill possess that copepods do not? ____________________________
What animals prey on krill? ______________________________________________________________
Copepods and krill are the most abundant zooplankton, there are also the larval form of many decapods
including ____________________________, ___________________, ______________________. These
organisms almost exclusively eat _________________________________________________________.
The difference between meroplankton and holoplankton is _____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
For the most part, meroplankton are the ____________ _____________ of invertebrates and fishes.
The Nekton
The difference between nekton and plankton is that nekton _____________ while plankton __________.
The most abundant nekton are ______________, _____________________________, and ___________.
But also include _______________, ______________________, and ________________________.
Practically all nekton feed _______________________________________________________________.
Why would fish (like the lanternfish) that lives in deep water, come to the surface to feed? ___________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Although a few nekton organisms eat plankton, most eat ______________________________________.
LIVING IN THE EPIPELAGIC
What are the two main needs of epipelagic organisms that force them to adapt? __________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Why do phytoplankton need to stay in relatively shallow water? _________________________________
The two ways organisms that don’t swim can keep from swimming are:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Small organisms reduce their drag by increasing their ___________________________ in relation to
their ______________________________. This also helps to keep them from _____________________.
Some shapes/adaptations which help reduce organisms from sinking are:
________________________________
____________________________
________________________________
____________________________
Some organisms increase buoyancy by storing _________________ in their bodies. These can also aid by
storing _____________________.
Another way to stay afloat is by storing ________________________. Many bony fish do this through an
organ called a _____________________ ____________________. Fish can then adjust their position in
the water column by changing ____________________________________________________________.
Not all plankton are microscopic. Two groups which float on or near the surface of the ocean are
______________________ and _______________________. We commonly think of these organisms as
being _______________________________.