Marine Bio

I was not in school for the Marine Food Web activity.

Phytoplankton
a. Phytoplankton are very important to marine food webs. Phytoplankton are the base of almost every marine food web. Organisms such as Plankton and Capepods are in the neuston ecosystem, and feed off of bacteria. Other animals then eat the organisms in the neuston ecosystem, starting a food web. The Nueston ecosystem is very thin. It is most commonly only a few millimeters. It receives the maximum sunlight, and it covers about 71% of the Earth's surface. 

b. Hypothesis:
What are the characteristics of diatoms?
Diatoms are photosynthetic micro organisms that rely on sunlight for energy. Diatoms must stay at the surface of the ocean to collect the light they need and to that end have structural adapations for floating. Some species have needle-like spines and ragged edges and other species have oil that helps their buoyancy. 

How are they affected by nutrients?
Diatoms depend on nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus to support their life processes. During springtime upwelling nutrients from the ocean floor are brought to the surface. These nutrients are a combination of dead organisms and feces. 

What adaptations do they have for abiotic factors in the ecosystems in which they are found?
Because diatoms need to stay on the surface of the water in order to collect the energy they need, they have many structural adaptations for flotation. Some species have needle-like spines and ragged edges and other species have oil that helps their buoyancy. Their trick to being able to float is to have a lower density than the fluid that you are in. Diatoms' increased surface area through flattened bodies with spines and ragged edges use the viscosity of water to full advantage.

Activity 1 Results
What is diatomacious earth?
Soil that contains diatoms or their fossils

What causes the reflection of light?
The diatom shells

What characteristic of diatoms makes them useful for reflective paint?
Their shells are used to put the glitter into reflective paint

Conclude and Communicate:
Write what you learned from these activities, were your original ideas supported by your data?
I learned a lot about diatoms and their characteristics. Originally I did not know much about this organism at all and I was surprised to learn what I did about them. After examining a small amount of diatomacious earth under a microscope, I learned what it looks like and how very small of a micro-organism diatoms really are.

Salinity Lab

1. Look at the direction of the surface currents in the oceans and at the direction of the wind. What evidence do you find that wind influences the direction of the surface currents in the oceans? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 2. What pattern can you see in the direction of the global winds? Look at global winds near the equator, in the middle latitudes, and in the polar regions. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 3. Notice the location and flow of warm and cold ocean currents. Why do you suppose that currents flowing toward the equator are generally cool while currents flowing away from the equator are warm? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Look at the black outline map of the world and the world maps of average ocean currents and average winds in January and July. Locate your assigned study region on the black outline map of the world and draw a box around it.

 4. Using Google Earth, trace the flow of water from your study region. Start upstream at the source, then move downstream through your study region to an ocean, noting the names of bodies of water and the regions through which it passes. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 5. Using the world maps of average ocean currents and average winds to guide you, draw the pathways of wind and water into and out of your region on the black outline map: from where it meets an ocean, across that ocean to other continents, to around the globe. NOTE: You may want to use pencil at first; then use different colored pens or pencils to distinguish wind direction and water currents from each other. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 6. Write the geographic names of regions along the water's pathway and through which the wind passes. a. What are the regions from which wind blows into your region? Write down real geographic names (for example, write the name of a mountain chain, not just "mountains"). _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ b. What might the wind be bringing into your region? Think about the places the wind is coming from, what happens there, what lives there. Think about dust, insects, tiny seeds, smoke, air masses of cooler or warmer temperatures, and moisture. Be specific in your responses. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ c. When wind blows out of your region, what region does it blow into? Again, write down real geographic names. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ d. What might the wind be carrying out of your region? Is it the same as what it brought in? Be as specific as you can about what is being carried, and where it goes. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ e. What are the regions from which water flows into your region? Write down geographic names. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ f. What might the water be bringing into your region? Be as specific as you can. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ g. When water flows out of your region, what region does it flow into? Again, write down geographic names. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ h. What might the water be carrying out of your region? Be specific. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________