Question 1

Tube worms at seafloor vents get their energy by ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  catching small organisms for food
B)  absorbing the thermal energy of the heated water from the vent
C)  hosting chemosynthetic bacteria
D)  performing photosynthesis C

Question 2

The intertidal zone represents one of the most stressful environments in terms of changing environmental conditions. Explain this comment using specific examples of stresses and how organisms are able to survive in the intertidal zone.

Accepted Answer

First, organisms must deal with changing water levels between low and high tide. They must also withstand the force of crashing waves. Freshwater runoff and rainfall can cause osmotic shock to organisms adapted to saltwater. In sand or cobble beaches, movement of the sand grains and cobbles creates even more problems. Rolling sand is abrasive to small organisms, and capillary forces can trap small organisms between the grains. The motion of cobbles battered by waves and trap and crush organisms between them.

Question 3

Nutrients in coral reefs are ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  extremely limited, which is why productivity lower than the deep ocean
B)  so plentiful that there is no limit to phytoplankton growth
C)  largely trapped below the pycnocline
D)  recycled efficiently because the water is shallow

Question 4

____ are vascular plants that are successful in low, muddy coasts in tropical and semitropical areas.

Accepted Answer

A)  Mangroves
B)  Ahermatypic corals
C)  Kelp
D)  Diatoms

Question 5

Desiccation is a threat to organisms living in ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  seafloor vent communities
B)  the pelagic zone
C)  the intertidal zone
D)  the disphotic zone

Question 6

Which list provides the stages of evolution of coral reefs around volcanic islands in the correct order?

Accepted Answer

A)  atoll, fringing reef, barrier reef
B)  fringing reef, barrier reef, atoll
C)  barrier reef, fringing reef, atoll
D)  fringing reef, atoll, barrier reef

Question 7

An estuary is where rivers meet the ocean and where freshwater and seawater mix.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

The rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere threatens corals because it lowers ocean pH and decreases the availability of carbonate ions.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Hydrothermal vents that support biological communities exist because of primary productivity in the form of chemosynthesis.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

Which of the following is FALSE with regard to seafloor communities?

Accepted Answer

A)  Many deep sea organisms have fragile bodies.
B)  Phytoplankton thrive.
C)  Chemoautotropic bacteria are common at hydrothermal vents.
D)  Gigantism is a common characteristic of deep sea organisms.

Question 11

Tropical coral reefs typically form in areas of high wave energy.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

Perhaps the most difficult oceanic habitat is/are ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  the abyssal zone
B)  intertidal coarse sand and cobble beaches
C)  intertidal rocky shores
D)  the epipelagic zone

Question 13

Benthic organisms live ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  on or associated with the bottom
B)  suspended in the water column
C)  by drifting through the water, unable to swim against currents
D)  near the water's surface

Question 14

Because seaweeds don't need to transport water up from their base, ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  they lack many of the structures common in terrestrial vascular plants
B)  vessels circulate water around the rest of the organism instead
C)  the roots are instead dedicated to gathering nutrients and carbon dioxide
D)  they actually grow upside down

Question 15

The most common pattern for benthic organism distributions is ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  clumped distribution
B)  linear distribution
C)  random distribution
D)  uniform distribution

Question 16

Why are organisms in rocky intertidal zones sorted into horizontal bands?

Accepted Answer

A)  crashing waves remove weaker ones close to the water line
B)  some float and are carried upward at high tide
C)  some can better tolerate drying out between high tides
D)  some need to stay out of the water to breathe

Question 17

Deep sea vent communities depend on specialized photoautotrophs that extract the exceedingly dim light that filters down to that depth.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 18

What do scientists think might form the "stepping stones" that would enable organisms to disperse from one seafloor vent to another?

Accepted Answer

A)  high spots on the seafloor that extend into the photic zone
B)  whale carcasses
C)  coral reefs
D)  large fish that swim from vent to vent

Question 19

Seaweeds are ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  vascular plants
B)  unicellular algae
C)  muticellular algae
D)  phytoplankton

Question 20

Mangrove trees have distinctive roots that trap and hold sediment.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 14: Benthic Communities

Tube worms at seafloor vents get their energy by ____.

Correct Answer
verified
C

The intertidal zone represents one of the most stressful environments in terms of changing environmental conditions. Explain this comment using specific examples of stresses and how organisms are able to survive in the intertidal zone.

Nutrients in coral reefs are ____.

Correct Answer
verified

____ are vascular plants that are successful in low, muddy coasts in tropical and semitropical areas.

Correct Answer
verified

Desiccation is a threat to organisms living in ____.

Correct Answer
verified

Which list provides the stages of evolution of coral reefs around volcanic islands in the correct order?

Correct Answer
verified

An estuary is where rivers meet the ocean and where freshwater and seawater mix.

Correct Answer
verified

The rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere threatens corals because it lowers ocean pH and decreases the availability of carbonate ions.

Correct Answer
verified

Hydrothermal vents that support biological communities exist because of primary productivity in the form of chemosynthesis.

Correct Answer
verified

Which of the following is FALSE with regard to seafloor communities?

Correct Answer
verified

Tropical coral reefs typically form in areas of high wave energy.

Correct Answer
verified

Perhaps the most difficult oceanic habitat is/are ____.

Correct Answer
verified

Benthic organisms live ____.

Correct Answer
verified

Because seaweeds don't need to transport water up from their base, ____.

Correct Answer
verified

The most common pattern for benthic organism distributions is ____.

Correct Answer
verified

Why are organisms in rocky intertidal zones sorted into horizontal bands?

Correct Answer
verified

Deep sea vent communities depend on specialized photoautotrophs that extract the exceedingly dim light that filters down to that depth.

Correct Answer
verified
False

What do scientists think might form the "stepping stones" that would enable organisms to disperse from one seafloor vent to another?

Correct Answer
verified

Seaweeds are ____.

Correct Answer
verified

Mangrove trees have distinctive roots that trap and hold sediment.

Correct Answer
verified

Exam 14: Benthic Communities

Tube worms at seafloor vents get their energy by ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedC

The intertidal zone represents one of the most stressful environments in terms of changing environmental conditions. Explain this comment using specific examples of stresses and how organisms are able to survive in the intertidal zone.

Nutrients in coral reefs are ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

____ are vascular plants that are successful in low, muddy coasts in tropical and semitropical areas.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Desiccation is a threat to organisms living in ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which list provides the stages of evolution of coral reefs around volcanic islands in the correct order?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

An estuary is where rivers meet the ocean and where freshwater and seawater mix.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere threatens corals because it lowers ocean pH and decreases the availability of carbonate ions.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Hydrothermal vents that support biological communities exist because of primary productivity in the form of chemosynthesis.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following is FALSE with regard to seafloor communities?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Tropical coral reefs typically form in areas of high wave energy.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Perhaps the most difficult oceanic habitat is/are ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Benthic organisms live ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Because seaweeds don't need to transport water up from their base, ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The most common pattern for benthic organism distributions is ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Why are organisms in rocky intertidal zones sorted into horizontal bands?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Deep sea vent communities depend on specialized photoautotrophs that extract the exceedingly dim light that filters down to that depth.

Correct AnswerverifiedFalse

What do scientists think might form the "stepping stones" that would enable organisms to disperse from one seafloor vent to another?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Seaweeds are ____.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Mangrove trees have distinctive roots that trap and hold sediment.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct Answer
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C

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False

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