Recommendations to follow:
1. Answers are thought to be short in most of the cases
2. Try as much as you can to connect the terms and understand the association between some of the concepts, to get the whole picture about the topic. Memorizing alone can give you probably around a 70/100 in the exam, , but some questions always require to connect two or more ideas to come up with a short and precise answer.
3. If you know most of these review questions you should do fine in the test, questions in the test will be variations of the same themes covered in these questions.
Chapter 15: Life Near the Surface
1. “epi” means “above” and “pelagic” means “open water”, so this is the community living on the top part of the open ocean, above the oceanic crust that lies some 12,000 feet down. What is the limit in depth for the epipelagic realm? What is used to establish this limit?
2. What are the unique features of the pelagic realm?
3. What is the main producer in the epipelagic ecosystem?
4. The two types of biological communities in this ecosystem are the nekton and the plankton. Review the definition for each one
5. What is the difference between phytoplankton and zooplankton?
6. How are picoplankton and nanoplankton different to “rest” of the plankton.
7. Considering the size of the phytoplanktonic organisms, what type of phytoplankton is responsible for most of the photosynthesis in the open ocean?
8. Explain the differences between a red tide and a “spring bloom”. Explain the problems associated with harmful red tides
9. Define “eutrophication”. Why does it happen? What the ultimate result for the biological community when eutrophication takes place?
10. List the four main types of herbivore zooplankton
11. Protozoans are unicellular heterotrophic organisms, why are these tiny organisms important in the epipelagic community?
12. What are the two main crustaceans, members of the zooplankton, which inhabit the epipelagic? Which one predominates in most parts of the ocean, reaching 70% of the community? Which one is dominant in cold regions like Antarctica?
13. Salps and larvaceans are included in the same taxonomic phylum than you and me: Chordata. Why are larvaceans important in the epipelagic?
14. What is the difference