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Oceanography
Chap 14
Question | Answer |
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Accessory pigment | One of a class of pigments ( such as fucoxanthin, phycobilin, and xanthophyll) that are present in various photosynthetic plants and that assist in the absorbtion of light and the transfer of energy to chlorophyll |
Algae | Collective term for nonvascular plants possessing cholorophyll and capable of photosynthesis |
Bioluminescence | Biologically produced light |
Blade | Algal equivalent of a vascular plants leaf;also called a frond |
Chlorophyta | Green algae |
Coccolithophore | A very small planktonic alga carrying discs of calcium carbonate, which contributed to biogenous sediments |
Compensation Depth | The depth in the wate column at which the production of carbohydrates and oxygen by photosynthesis exactly equals the consumption of carbohydrates and oxygen by respiration. The break-even point for autotrophs. Generally a funciton of light level |
Copepod | A small planktonic arthropod, a major marine primary consumer |
Diatom | Earth's most abundant, successsful, and efficient single-celled phytoplankton. Diatoms possess two interlocking valves made primarily of silicia. The valves contribute to biogenous sediments |
Dinoflagellate | One of a class of microscopic single celled flagellates, not all of which are autotrophic. The outer covering is often of stiff cellulose. Planktonic dinoflagellates are responsible for "red tides" |
Femtoplankton | |
Flagellum | A whiplike structure used by some small organisms and gamets to move throught the environment |
Foraminifera | One of a groupo of planktonic amoeba-like animals with a calcareous shell, which contributes to biogenous sediments |
Frustule | The siliceous external cell wall of a diatom and consisting of two interlocking valves fitted together like the halves of a box |
Gas bladder | In multicellular algae, an air filled structure that assists in floatation |
Holdfast | A complex branching structure that anchors many kinds of multicellular algae to the substrate |
holoplankton | Permanent members of the plakton community; ie diatoms and copepods |
Kelp | Informal name for any species of large phaeophyte |
Krill | Euphausia superba, a thumb sized crustacean common in Antarctic waters |
Macroplankton | Animal plankters larger than 1 or 2 cms....jellyfish |
Mangrove | A large flowering shrub or tree that grows in dense thickets or forests along muddy or silty tropical coasts |
Meroplankton | The planktonic phase of the life cycle of organisms that spend only part of their life drifting in the plankton |
Multicellular algae | Algae with bodies consisting of more than one cell; ie kelp |
Nanoplankton | |
Nekton | Swimming organisms |
Nonconservative Nutrient | A compound or ion that is needed by autotrophs for primary prodction and that changes in concentration with biological activity |
Oxygen Minimun zone | A zone in which oxygen is depleted by animals and not replaced by phytoplankton |
Phaeophyta | Brown multicellular algae; including kelps |
Phytoplankton | Plantlike, usually single-celled members of the plankton community |
Picoplankton | Extremly small members of the plankton community, typically .2 to 2 cm (4 to 40 millionths of an inch) |
Plankter | Informal name for a member of the plankton community |
Plankton | Drifitng or wealky swimming organisms suspended in water. their horizontal position is to a large extent dependent on the mass of flow of water rather than on their own swimming efforts |
Plankton Bloom | A sudden increase in the number of phytoplankton cells in a volume of water |
Plankton net | Conical net of fine nylon or Dacron fabric used to collect plankton |
Rhodophyta | Red, multicellular algae |
Stipe | Multicellular algae equivalent of a vascular plant's stem |
Thallus | The body of an algae or other simple plant |
Unicellular algae | Consisting of a single cell |
Valve | in diatoms, each half of the protective silicia-rich outer portion of the cell. |
Zooplankton | Animal members of the plankton community |