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Chapter 17 The Open Ocean
Chapter 17 The Open Ocean
43
Biology
Undergraduate 3
07/28/2011

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Term
akinetic
Definition
Descriptive of planktonic organisms that have no recognizable method of movement.
Term
appendicular swimmer
Definition
An organism that swims with legs, fins, wings, or other extensions from the body.
Term
bacterial loop
Definition
A subcomponent of a food web in which bacteria convert dissolved and particulate organic matter into bacterial biomass, available for consumption by suspension and deposit feeders; particularly applied to bacteria that use dissolved organic material (DOM) released by phytoplankton.
Term
bacterioplankton
Definition
Prokaryotic members of the plankton.
Term
centrifuge plankton
Definition
Components of the plankton that are so small that they are not retained by standard plankton nets; best sampled by centrifugation of water samples; composed mainly of nanoplankton, picoplankton, and femtoplankton.
Term
countershading
Definition
A camouflage pattern in which the upper surface of pelagic animals is dark and the lower surface light to blend in with the ocean depths or the surface, respectively when observed by a potential predator. Also known as obliterative countershading.
Term
deep scattering layer
Definition
A mixed group of zooplankton and fishes that causes sonar systems to generate a false image of a nearly solid surface hanging in midwater.
Term
dissolved organic matter (DOM)
Definition
Organic molecules dissolved in seawater that were lost or released from living organisms.
Term
DOM
Definition
See dissolved organic matter.
Term
epipelagic zone
Definition
The waters over the continental shelf, or to 200 meters deep in the open sea, occupied by zooplankton and nekton.
Term
femtoplankton
Definition
Plankton that range in size from 0.02 to 0.2 micrometers, composed primarily of viruses.
Term
frictional drag
Definition
Resistance to movement that is generated by the passage of the medium (for example, seawater) over the surface of an object.
Term
gelatinous zooplankton
Definition
Components of the plankton that have a high content of body water.
Term
gymnosome pteropod
Definition
A carnivorous oceanic gastropod that has no shell and swims by flapping lateral extensions of its foot.
Term
holoplankton
Definition
Organisms that are planktonic throughout their life cycles.
Term
kinetic
Definition
Descriptive of planktonic organisms that are able to move by flagella, limbs, jet propulsion, or other devices.
Term
larvacean
Definition
A free-swimming tunicate that resembles a tadpole.
Term
macroplankton
Definition
Plankton that range in size from 2 to 20 centimeters, composed primarily of animals.
Term
marine snow
Definition
A loose network of live and dead particles in the plankton arising from webs of mucus released by many kinds of microbes and zooplankton.
Term
megaplankton
Definition
Plankton that range in size from 20 to 200 centimeters, composed primarily of the larger jellyfishes, siphonophores, salps, and floating mats of sargassum weed.
Term
meroplankton
Definition
Planktonic stages of an organism that is benthic or nektonic at other stages in its life history.
Term
mesoplankton
Definition
Plankton that range in size from 0.2 to 20 millimeters, composed primarily of larger phytoplankton and larvae of zooplankton as well as many kinds of adult crustaceans and other zooplankton groups.
Term
micropatchiness
Definition
The small-scale clumped distribution of organisms within an ecosystem, often explained by the similarly small-scale variation in the physical and chemical environment or disturbance effects of other organisms.
Term
microplankton
Definition
Plankton ranging from 20 to 200 micrometers, composed of many kinds of phytoplankton, marine invertebrate larvae, and smaller adult zooplankton.
Term
nanoplankton
Definition
Plankton ranging from 2 to 20 micrometers, composed primarily of small phytoplankton and larger bacteria. Also known as centrifuge plankton.
Term
net plankton
Definition
Components of the plankton that are large enough to be sampled with standard plankton nets; mainly composed of microplankton and larger organisms.
Term
neuston
Definition
Plankton that live at or near the surface of the ocean.
Term
particulate organic matter (POM)
Definition
Particles of organic matter suspended in seawater; largely synonymous with detritus and tripton.
Term
pelagic ecosystem
Definition
The animals, plants, and microbes of the water column and their realm of the open sea.
Term
picoplankton
Definition
Plankton that range in size from 0.2 to 2.0 micrometers, composed primarily of larger viruses and many kinds of bacteria.
Term
pleuston
Definition
Components of the neuston that breach the surface of the ocean and are carried by wind as well as water currents.
Term
POM
Definition
See particulate organic matter.
Term
pteropod ooze
Definition
Calcareous sediments of the seafloor formed by the accumulation of shells of thecosome pteropods.
Term
pyramid of production
Definition
A pyramid-shaped diagram that indicates the rate that organic matter is produced or the rate at which it is converted to the next level in the food chain.
Term
pyrosome
Definition
Large colony of pelagic tunicates that move by cilia of the pharynx. A colony may contain as many as 500 individuals per cubic meter of water and stretch over several meters.
Term
salp
Definition
A free-swimming tunicate belonging to the class Thaliacea.
Term
seston
Definition
Particles, living or dead, suspended in seawater.
Term
standing crop
Definition
The amount of biomass in any trophic level in a food chain at a given time.
Term
thecosome pteropod
Definition
An herbivorous oceanic gastropod that has a highly reduced shell and swims by flapping lateral extensions of its foot.
Term
tripton
Definition
Particles of dead organic matter suspended in seawater; largely synonymous with detritus and POM.
Term
twilight zone
Definition
The region of ocean between 150 and 450 meters deep where there is not enough light to power photosynthesis. Also known as the disphotic zone.
Term
viriplankton
Definition
Planktonic virus particles.
Term
zooplankton
Definition
Components of the plankton that feed by ingestion of detritus or of other zooplankton.
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