349 MBCB

Challenge Questions

Chapter 2:  Plankton and Plankton Communities

Answer these questions completely with sentences and paragraphs.  You will need to do some research.  Use the internet and library.

1.                   How did the advent of sonar influence our understanding of oceanic processes?

2.                   Discuss the relative significance of eukaryotic and prokaryotic phytoplankton.

3.                   What is the difference between plankton and nekton?  How does size play a role in the difference between organisms that fit into one or the other of these groups?

4.                   What determines the maximum and minimum sizes of individuals of a particular diatom species?

5.                   What function do spines serve in diatoms?

6.                   Besides aiding in slowing their sinking rate, what functions do the very large antennae serve in the copepods?

7.                   What is a copepod?  To what common freshwater, marine, and terrestrial organisms are they related?  To which phylum do they belong?

8.                   Why are copepods important in marine systems?

9.                   Why is the sky blue?  Why are the oceans blue ( sometimes ) and green ( sometimes )?  Why is the sky red in the A.M. and P.M.?

10.               Why are the oceans considered by some to be like deserts?  Is this a realistic view?  Discuss.

11.               Discuss the development of the spring bloom.

12.               How does a Red Tide affect a coastal shellfish industry?

13.               Summarize three effects zooplankton populations have on phytoplankton populations.