THE QUESTION: The oceans harbor a wide variety of living organisms, each exhibiting adaptations for survival in their particular marine niches.  First analyze the relationship between structure and function in the living organisms studied this semester.   Then compare and contrast representative members of the major marine animal phyla in terms of structure, adaptation, lifestyle, and evolutionary history.









Here is a picture of a food web.  Every Organism in the web belongs in its own separate niche then the others.  even though they are all separate they are also all connected to one other.  organisms from the very bottom such as bacteria can be connected to an organism like a whale or shark. 


PLANKTON: one of the smallest organisms in the marine web.  plankton can not swim against the current so they literally " go with the flow" These organisms include drifting animals,  protists, archaea, algae, or bacteria  that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas or bodies of fresh water; that is, plankton are defined by their ecological zone rather than phylogentic or taxonomic  classification.





Plankton are primarily divided into trophic levels:

• Phytoplankton autotrophic , prokaryotic  or ekaryotic algae that live near the water surface where there is sufficient light to support photosynthesis.
• Zooplankton small protozoans that feed on other plankton
• Bacterioplankton,bacteria and archaea, which play an important role in reminerlising organic material down the water column

This scheme divides the plankton community into broad producer, consumer and recycler groups.

FISH: are members of the paraphyletic group which is a group of organisms who bare gills and lack limbs with digits.  are organisms higher up the plankton  on the marine food web. they play a major role in all organisms life such as other marine life and humans! as fish can feed off plankton we feed off of fish. 

 

After fish the organisms on the scale keep getting bigger and bigger. 

things like birds or seals, sharks and whales.  these predators are more consumers where they eat other organisms in the food web. organisms at the top are whales, sharks etc.

                

IN CONCLUSION:  all organisms in the marine food web are connected to each other.  organisms eat each other which helps then survive.  if one organism was to disappear and become extinct the whole food web would suffer and possibly destroy the whole ocean planet.  humans would also suffer for marine life plays a huge role in how we survive.  we catch and use marine organisms as food  everyday and are a huge source of food and income.  the marine food web is very important because without it we would suffer.  all the organisms work together to create a huge web of resources for humans. by working together they crea

Hot Turtles

1) Climate Change
Our earth has warming.  over the past century our Earths temperature has risen 1.4 degrees F. and is still warming up this very moment.  When the climate of the Earth changes everything is affected.  everything living on this earth has adapted to the earth and its original form.  when climates change humans and other organisms aren't prepared to live in those conditions which causes them to have serious problems.  People are the main reason for climate change.  Humans can produce bad carbons and gases that get traped in the earth and make a blanket which blocks out what we need.  this affects us all.


2) Amazon Turtles
When turtles lay their eggs the temperature of the sand determines the whether the turtle will be male or female.  when the sand is hotter the baby turtle will be female and if its a colder temperature the baby turtles will be male.  the concern that turtles face when dealing with temperature is if the climate changes and increase there could be a risk of all the turtles becoming female which means there would be no possible way to pro create.  which would adventully mean the turtle would die off. turtle play a major role in the world turtles eat plants and berries and the when they poop the seeds from the plants land and re plant.


3) what can we do
Well we know turtles lay their eggs on the sand and the temperature determine the gender of the new turtle.  if we are worried all the turtles will be born female, we should dig up some of the eggs and relocate them to a much cooler area or an incubater that keeps the eggs cooler.

protecting marine life

What role does the marine wildlife and nature play in your life?


Marine life plays a big role in my life and all humans. marine life can provide us with food and resources like water and things that come from the sea. humans depend a  need on the wild life. we depend on it to survive. 


How does the use of marine resources impact you on a personal level?
 on a personal level I feel the impact we have on marine life is not good. we kill a lot of marine life and hurt and damage a lot of marine life for our personal needs.  I understand that we need marine life to survive but we should only take as much as we need and not take more and kill marine life that we don't  need or use.  such as over fishing. 


Specifically, what new thoughts do you have about marine resources and the way they are used by people?
I believe having marine resources is good. it helps people survive and communities grow but at the same time I feel they are only good when we treat the marine life good and do not abuse or power. 


what Code of Ethics will you take to protect marine resources both now and in the future?
 a code of ethics i show is bye not going to sea world. finding out how sea world treats its whales is horrifying.. whales belong in the wild and not trapped in a bath tub their whole life.  the whale are not fed and abused by other whales making the whales emotionally distraught.  sea world is not a good place and i will not be going there

Project

This past Thursday I did not go on the field trip.  I worked on my project. 


Coral bleaching:
 my project was all on coral bleaching.  I learned how coral can become stressed and lose all of its color.  when coral loses its color it dies which effects all of marine life.  coral is the home to many organisms and with out coral all marine life will suffer.
    the way I found out all about this information is by researching the web and using multiple sources.  I really liked this project a lot and I enjoyed picking a topic of my pleasing.  coral bleaching is something that really interests me because I love coral.  I think coral is stunning and with my research I found that humans are one of the giant reasons coral becomes stressed. 
   we need to try to prevent bleaching because it harms more then just coral. and when all marine life suffers we all suffer.

Aquarium Field Trip

New England Aquarium

In the New England Aquarium I really took some time to observe the Leidys Jellyfish.  they were little jellyfish and they lived in dark water where they would light up due to electric flow going through them.  the electricity made the jellies light up rainbow. the jellies would float around and bump off of each other sometimes latching on to one an other. 
   the aquarium was filled with many cool organisms from penguins, fish, sharks, eels and more.  one part of the aquarium that I really enjoyed was the shark and ray tank.  there was one ray who would come up to my hand every time and try swimming up my arm while sucking on my skin.  the rays were soft and slimy in touch.  their stomachs shouldn't be touched because the stomachs are very sensitive in comparisons the top of them. 
  Another cool thing about the aquarium I saw was the giant fish tank in the middle of the aquarium that was filled with all sorts of organisms.  one animal was myrtle the sea turtle.  she was 85 yrs old and still living. they also had a turtle named Carolina.
   over all I thought the aquarium was a fun and educational field trip.  I learned a lot about marine life and how we need to protect it.  I also thought the movie was awesome! I learned a lot about saving coral reefs and it also made me want to travel.

Here is a picture of a ray just like the ones in the touch tank!
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=sting+rays&FORM=HDRSC2#view=detail&id=3BAC55B1C6741A31BBD4984DF7A7F0837A5BDECA&selectedIndex=0

seaweed web quest

Here is a picture of seaweed under water. 

http://en.es-static.us/upl/2012/03/seaweed.jpeg

Pre-Lab: Diversity of Algae and Seaweed Questions:

Why are seaweeds assigned to the Protista rather than Plantae?

They aren't  plants because they don't have a vascular system like regular plants have.

List, describe, and state the function of the four basic parts of a seaweed. Also, state the name for the entire seaweed body. 

The stalk or stem of a seaweed is called a stipe and its main function is to support the rest of the plant. Blades function is to provide a large surface area for the absorption of sunlight. Holdfasts, attach them to the sea floor. Floats or pneumatocysts help to keep the photosynthetic structures of the seaweed buoyant so they are able to absorb energy from the sun.

What are the most important ecological roles filled by seaweeds?

They provide shelter for other organisms and they are also a source of food for other organisms.

List several types of environmental stress seaweeds encounter.

seaweeds can have stress by many things.  one they can be exposed to the weather and air.  also changes in temperature in the water can cause stress along with the constant motions of the water.

Briefly describe sexual and asexual reproduction in seaweed.

They  reproduce asexually through fragmentation or division.Seaweeds can reproduce sexually, by the joining of specialized male and female reproductive cells, called gametes. 

Upon what characteristic are seaweeds classified?

The red algae , the green algae , and the brown algae .

1) What are diatoms?

Diatoms are photosynthesizing algae

a) Explain the role of diatoms in the carbon cycle.

They reduce the amount of CO2 in the air during photosynthesis.

b) What are the major characteristics of diatoms?

 Diatoms are unicellular eukaryotes that are microscopic in appearance. For the most part, they are photosynthetic micro-organisms, although some may live heterotrophically

c) Describe the life cycle of a diatom. 

When a cell divides each new cell takes as its epitheca a valve of the parent frustule, and within ten to twenty minutes builds its own hypotheca; this process may occur between one and eight times per day.

d) List five human uses for diatoms. 

 clean the human colin, reduce one's weight, lowers cholesterol, reduce high blood pressure, and finally strengthens hair, nails, gums, and teeth.

e) To what division and class diatoms assigned?

Division Chrysophyta, Class Bacillariophyceae

Algae Type	Brown	Green	Red
Division	Phaeophyta	Chlorophyta	Rhodophyta
Specific Example	Egregia menziesii	Codium fragile	Chondracanthus exasperatus
Form(s)	Large and complex	single-celled	simple, fleshy plants
Pigment(s)	chlorophyll	chlorophyll	chlorophyll, phycocyanin and phycoerythri
Habitat(s)	intertidal zone,	intertidal zones	Deep water
Human Uses	food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals fertilizer	food	toothpaste
Useful Substances	food and medicinal use	lettuce	toothpaste, canned meats

Photosynthesis Lab

   Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light into energy, and nutrients. The chemical equation is 6CO₂ + 6H₂O ------> C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O_2.  In this lab we took  spruce and placed it in to water. We then put baking soda into the tube with the plant, and placed this under the light. We then watched the test tube for signs of photosynthesis. When the water began to bubble  this showed photosynthesis. The more light we had and the longer the water was under light the more bubbles, meaning more photosynthesis. We then added phenol red to the test tube and covered it with tinfoil. Then we inserted a straw and blew into the straw and the solution turned yellow because of the carbon dioxide in the oxygen. though when the test tube was left in the dark it turned back to red. 

Here is a picture of the process of photosynthesis 

Geographical TimeLine

Geographical Timeline:


During this learning activity the skills and knowledge that was gained was being able to learn about different time periods.  i gained a lot of knowledge on each time period and characteristics about each of them.  i also learned the orders in which the periods went.
  During this project i contributed to many things.  i made the index cards for both of out time periods, which were permian and Triassic.  that involved digging up information and researching the periods.  i also drew the picture for the Permian time period.  other work i did was i wrote 150 words on the Triassic time period.  Along with that i made the clay fossil and a silohette.  doing all these things allowed me to gain more knowledge and learn more about the permian and triassic periods.
    what i gained from others in this project was information from the time periods they were assigned.    by everyone going up and talking about their period helped me learn about the other periods besides my own.
   Finally i think group collaboration went well and we all talked well in such a way the the others would gain knowledge about our period of time

the decline of phytoplankton is reaching an all new low.

    throughout the articles they all made the point of while oceans waters are increasing in temperature, the phytoplankton is decreasing.  In the Article " Phytoplankton Population Drops 40 Percent since 1950" (written in 2010).  expresses the concern with the drop of phytoplankton.  This is the first article that is really starting to take a concern in the decline of phytoplankton. In the artcle they took into consideration as what might happen in 10 years if the population of phytoplankton continues to decrease. scientist did some research and came to the conclusion that rising sea temperatures do in fact kill phytoplankton.  the warmer water deprives the phytoplankton the materials they need in order to turn CO2 and sunlight into energy.  scientists new that the decline would have a big impact on many other species.
   in the article " Plankton will suffer as oceans warm" (written in 2013) really expressed the importance of phytoplankton. phytoplankton are an important role in the carbon cycle, they remove half of all CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis.  they are also a big role in the wood web, they are the source of food for many organisms. with water temperatures rising and the population decreasing it affects other species in the wood chain. without phytoplankton all will suffer.


throughout all the articles they all give the concern of how everything will die off and be affected if the temperatures of ocean waters continue to rise and kill off phytoplankton. we need to do something about this before its to late.

Relationships Amoung Marine Organisms

Marine Food Web:

In the food web I played the role of a krill.  Krill are only about 2 inches long but they play a big role in the food chain.  Krill feed on phytoplankton, microscopic, single-celled plants that float near the ocean’s surface and live off carbon dioxide and sunlight. They play a big role in the diets of literally hundreds of different animals, from fish, to birds, to whales. Krill is near the bottom of the trophic pyramid and falls slightly above the autotroph section.  krill's diet consumes of  phytoplankton which fall right under krill on trophic levels.  If one organism was to disappear from the food chain every species would suffer.  say phytoplankton became extinct, everything would be in danger.  phytoplankton are the beginning of the food web and everything depends on it.  without it krill would have nothing to eat and soon die off. with krill gone fish, birds, whales and many others would have no food.  Simply put, without phytoplankton and krill, most of the life forms in the Antarctic would disappear. During the class activity where we connected with string many organisms ate krill.  If I dropped my end of the string which meant krill had died off, all those had no food.  which would result in everything dying off. 


This is an image of Krill.
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/krill/

 

Below we have a picture of a marine food web, showing us how organisms rely on each other

http://rohlenscience.pbworks.com/f/MarineFoodWeb.jpg

 

Phytoplankton:
A) Phytoplankton are very important to the ecosystem because the phytoplankton are the basis of everything.  phytoplankton are the bottom of the food chain which is very important because without it nothing else would have food resulting in nothing to survive.  they take up 60% of the world.
B) Diatoms depend on sunlight for energy to preform photosynthesis and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus to support their life process. During the springtime upwelling nutrients from the ocean floor are brought to the top of the water.  these nutrietns are a combination of dead organisms and feces. this sets off algae blooms. Diatom communities are a popular tool for monitoring environmental conditions, past and present, and are commonly used in studies of water quality. which is an abiotic feature.  Diatomaceous earth is  a naturally occurring, soft, sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into powder. It has a  size  from less than 3 micrometres to more than 1 millimeter.
"Reflection is the change in direction of a wavefront at an interface between two different media so that the wavefront returns into the medium from which it originated." that is the definition of reflection.  diatoms are used in reflective paint because diatoms give off the reflection that helps make the signs stand out. Diatoms are also good for pools.

This is a picture of a diatom.
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/GeolSci/micropal/images/diat/dia_intro.gif


Energy Flow:
Energy is transferred from different trophic levels by consuming other organisms. when consuming other organisms the consumer gets energy.  When a lower trophic level in the food web is eaten by one higher up the energy level 90% of energy is lost.  It is hard to receive energy when you are higher up on the food chain.

Human Impacts:
 Humans play a big role in marine food web.  Humans are at the very top of the marine food web.  We eat a lot of marine life, such as fish, clams, scallops and sometimes sharks. Though we need to be careful because our actions can upset the food web.  If we hunt/ eat to much marine life it can ruin the food web and kill of and make many organisms extinct.