Ask a Marine Scientist:
answers to Biodiversity questions!
Index To Questions
GENERAL
THREATS
TO BIODIVERSITY
GENERAL
 Number
of Animals in the Ocean - Received from Beth in the
Mid West
Q: How many living animals
live in the ocean? How many different kinds are there?
A: Well, we can't give you an exact number, because new species of ocean animals
are being discovered by scientists every day! We are still a long way from
knowing everything about the ocean - it was only in 1977 that deep sea hydrothermal
vents were discovered on the ocean floor -scientists discovered thousands of
animals that had never been seen before. Frederick Grassle and Nancy Maciolek
wrote an article in the American Naturalist in 1992 that estimated
that there may be as many as 10 million different kinds of organisms (animals,
plants and bacteria) in the ocean!!
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Aquatic
biomes - Received from Lacey in Missouri.
Q: We're doing research
on aquatic biomes and was wondering if you have any information
on this topic. I'd appreciate any help you can give!
A: A biome is a biogeographic
classification primarily used in terrestrial biology to delineate
a particular set of climatic and soil conditions. Examples of
terrestrial biomes include the tropical rain forest, thorn forest,
desert and temperate deciduous forest. Generally aquatic ecologists
and biogeographers do not classify aquatic communities into categories
comparable to those in the terrestrial habitat. The major difference
between these two ecosystems is that terrestrial habitats essentially
exist in two dimensions, while the aquatic habitat is three-dimensional
and many organisms spend much or all of their lives suspended
in the third dimension (the water column).
Changes in salinity, pressure,
light and tidal cycles govern the structure of communities in
an aquatic ecosystem. Instead of biomes, classifications have
been developed for the aquatic habitat which reflect the following
physical characteristics: depth, movement, salinity and relation
to substrate. The first major division in the aquatic realm is
marine vs. freshwater communities. I'll go into detail on the
marine community, since this is the environment which
OceanLink focuses on.
Two of the most important
features of the oceanic environment are light and substrate.
The ocean can be divided into two vertical zones according to
light penetration: photic (surface waters where light penetrates,
about 100 m or 330 ft deep) and aphotic (water below the
depth of light penetration). The photic zone is the only area where photosynthesis
can occur, and therefore almost all of the energy that forms the basis of the
marine ecosystem is produced in these shallow surface waters. Another recently
discovered area of energy production is the deep sea hydrothermal vent community,
where the primary producers utilize the alternate process of chemosynthesis.
The second level of classification
for marine communities is based on the depth and configuration
of the ocean bottom. The shallowest zone is the intertidal, where
the ocean and land converge. This area is governed by tidal cycles
and the organisms which inhabit it must
be able to tolerate dessication (drying out), the physical pounding of waves,
and predation from both terrestrial and aquatic organisms. The subtidal zone
includes the entire remainder of the sea, and is further divided into the neritic,
bathyl and abyssal zones.
The neritic zone extends below
the intertidal to the edge of the continental shelves (approximately
200 m or 660 ft deep). From the edge of the continental plates
the bathyl zone reaches to depths of about 2000 m (6600 ft).
This zone is largely vertical and drops away
to the depths of the abyssal zone, which ranges from 2000 to 6000 m (6600 to
19700 ft) deep. The abyssal zone comprises the majority of the ocean, and is
dark, cold (4 C or 39 F) and of constant chemical composition. This zone also
contains oceanic trenches, the deepest of
which is the Mariana Trench which reaches to 11035 m (36204 ft).
The final level of classification
relates directly to the organisms which inhabit the oceans. Benthic
communities are closely associated with the substrate, and vary
greatly in organization according to the nature of the substrate
(hard vs. soft). Benthic organisms living on
hard substrates form a three-dimensional configuration upwards into the water
column (e.g. low coverings of sponges or tall coral formations). Organisms
living in sandy or muddy habitats also form three-dimensional structures, although
they consist of burrows and tunnels beneath the surface (e.g. clams and burrowing
polychaetes). Pelagic communities are divided into plankton (drifting organisms)
and nekton (active swimmers). Plankton can include phytoplankton such as dinoflagellates
and diatoms, zooplankton such as small
crustaceans and fish larvae, and larger organisms such as passively drifting
jellyfish. Nekton includes organisms that can move against a current or through
turbulent water, such as fish, marine mammals and cephalopods (octopus and
squid).
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Every
Species in the Indian Ocean?! - received from Todd in
Oregon
Q: List all the species in the Indian Ocean please.
A. This is quite the request, and we'd love to be able to comply, but we simply
don't have enough time or space to even begin listing all of the species of
organisms in the Indian Ocean! Just to give you an example, a study done on
reef fishes found in the Chagos Archipelago
in the middle of the Indian Ocean revealed almost 600 different species of
fish. There are also hundreds of different species of coral, hundreds of species
of sponge, not to mention molluscs,
crustaceans, bryozoans, polychaetes, phytoplankton, etc., etc. In addition,
many species in the tropical oceans have not yet been described. Given a 1992
estimate of 10 million different species in the world's oceans, a figure of
1 million species in the Indian Ocean would not be unreasonable. Even if we
could list all of these organisms, the list would take up about 34,000 pages!
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Invertebrate
phyla - Received from Chris at Hallett Cove School
in Australia.
Q: Our class is studying
biodiversity, and im stuck. I need to know the phylums for
some marine creatures. They are: single celled animals, sponges,animals
with stinging tenticals, worms without segments(flat worms),
segmented worms, joint legged animals, softbodied animals(shellfish)
and spiny skinned animals. Thanks!
I'm surprised that you were
not able to find such general information as phylum names in
a textbook on invertebrate zoology. Did you check in your school
library? Here is the information you're looking for:
Single-celled animals - Phylum
Protozoa
Sponges - Phylum Porifera
Animals with stinging tentacles - Phylum Cnidaria
Non-segmented worms (flatworms) - Phylum Platyhelminthes
Segmented worms - Phylum Annelida
Joint-legged animals - Phylum Arthropoda
Soft-bodied animals (shellfish) - Phylum Arthropoda
Spiny-skinned animals - Phylum Echinodermata (I'm assuming you mean spiny animals
like sea urchins, sand dollars and sea stars)
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Marine
Organism Classification System - Received from Gina
Laughton in Ohio
Q: I'm suppose to discuss,
fully, the biological classification system. I don't know what
the heck I'd be looking for to start for that report. Its on
a unit of Marine Biology for my Advanced Biology Class. I just
need to know where to start because I don't know what that
is.
A: In 1758 Carl Linne (Linnaeus)
organized the biological classification system. Linnaeus's naming
system is referred to as binomial nomenclature, which named every
organism with a two-part Latin name based on the genus (genera
is plural) and species (singular and plural, and abbreviated
sp. and spp., respectively). Every living organism is classified
into the following sections:
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
If you would like to look
at the classification of marine organisms, you have a huge task
ahead of yourself. You may want to choose one specific group
of seaweed or animals, such as hermit crabs of the Northwest
Pacific. Here is a book that can help you out with that and you
should be able to find it in your local library:
"Pacific Coast Crabs
and Shrimps" by Gregory C. Jensen, 1995, Sea Challengers,
Monterey, California
Another great book that demonstrates
an excellent overview of invertebrate classification is:
"Invertebrate Zoology,
6th edition" by Ruppert and Barnes, 1994, Saunders College
Publishing.
You can also check out the
OceanLink website under the SaltyScience section you will find
previously asked question on classifying animals in the Phylum
Echinodermata, Phylum Cnidaria,
and General Whale Biology. In
the General Whale Biology section check out the question under
Whales populations titled "Number of marine mammals in the
world".
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THREATS
TO BIODIVERSITY
Threats
to Biodiversity - Received from Aazani in
Malaysia
Q:
I am suppose to write a scintific article tittled " Crown of Thorns Outbreaks-
impacts to the coral reef ecosystem and marine biodiversity ".
My question is, what are the impacts to the marine biodiversity
and how serious are they? Are there any efforts going on now
in the South East Asian Region to curb these outbreaks? Could
you offer me some links to current projects?
A. I'm assuming in your question
that you're asking what the threats to marine biodiversity are,
or how humans are impacting marine biodiversity, particularly
in coral reef systems. When talking about biodiversity we can
generalize threats to biodiversity into 5 groups, represented
by the acronym HIPPO.
H -
Habitat loss:
Many plants and animals have very specialized habitats defined
by specific physical (subtrate, light, nutrient flow, temperature)
and biological (interactions between animals - food, symbiosis
or other) factors. Human activities can often destroy the physical
environment to the extent that very few or none of the original
species can still exist in the area. In this way, entire ecosystems
can be destroyed. Habitat alteration can come in the form of
heat and noise pollution, logging, construction, agriculture,
fishing, dredging, trawling, damning, anchoring and trampling(to
name a few). In coral reef systems, dynamite fishing is a good
example of habitat destruction. Coral reefs support a huge
diversity of fish, plants and invertebrates, thus when the
coral is destroyed by dynamite the ecosystem is altered and
biodiversity is severely reduced.
I -
Introduced species:
Also known as biological invasions, biological pollution, or
nonindigenous secies, these are organisms transported by human
activities, either intentionally or accidentally, into regions
where they do not, or have not naturally occurred. The introduction
of exotic species can arise from activities such as fisheries,
mariculture, aquarium trade, scientific research, canals that
link previously unconnected water bodies, and shipping. Humans
can also personally transport seeds or small species to new
areas on clothes or in the treads of shoes. Exotic species
can be detrimental to biodiversity because they can outcompete
native species for natural resources and can thus lead to fundamental
changes in natural communities.
P - Population:
One of the basic principles of ecology is that larger animals
are less abundant than smaller animals. Because larger animals
require more resources to live, an ecosystem cannot support as
many of them. Humans however, have long been an exception to
this rule and the human population continues to grow at an outstanding
rate. As humans multiply they continue to consume, divert, and
destroy the resources that they have become accustomed to. Many
terrestrial resources have already become exhausted and the oceans
are being sought after more and more to fill the void. The human
population either initiates or contributes to all other threats
to biodiversity.
P -
Pollution: The
ocean has long been thought of as a sink for undesirable by-products,
as wastes seem to simply dilute and disapear. I'm sure you
know though, that the sea has a limited capacity to absorb
such waste and it is beginning to take a heavy toll on coastal
ecosystems. Pollution can take the form of both chemical and
solid waste. Chemical pollution can take the form of trace
metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, copper, zinc, iron,
arsenic; petroleum products, namely oil from spills and chronic
seepage; radioactive forms of hydrogen, carbo, potassium, and
uranium; and synthetic organic compounds such as PCB's, DDT,
and HCH (hexachlorohexane). Such materials are toxic to the
environment and are harmful to biological processes and thus
can decrease biodiversity. Nutrient chemical pollution, that
comes primarily from sewage, is perhaps an even bigger problem.
Excessive nutrients can cause unnatural and uncontrolled growth
of some species at the expense of others and thereby reduce
biodiversity. For example, reef coral rely on algae within
their tissues to supply most of their energy and they grow
and survive best in clear waters with very low nutrients. Added
nutrients can stimulate the growth of phytoplankton that can
cloud the water and prevent sunlight from reaching growing
corals, or benthic algae that competes with the coral for light
and space. Chemical pollutants are of particular concern because
once they are released into the environment they are practically
impossible to retrieve. Prevention therefore, is a much more
effective and less costly means of dealing with pollution than
cleaning it up or suffering the consequences.
Solid waste takes the form
of plastics, metal, paper, and glass thrown or washed into the
ocean in mass quantities. Plastic, because of its strength, durability
and buoyancy makes up the greater part of all debris found in
the ocean and is by far the most harmful. Marine mammals, birds,
turtles, fish, and crabs can often become entangled in plastic
loops, strings and bands that can entangle them, wound them or
prevent them from swimming. Marine animals are also very susceptible
to ingesting all forms of plastic debris, in particular cigarette
filters.
** For more information on marine pollution see the relevant section in the
Ask A Scientist Answer File under General Questions on the OceanLink website.
O -
Overconsumption: Humans
use a wide variety of marine organisms for food, medicines, raw materials,
pets and curios. Although in theory any marine organism could be
exploited at a sustainable rate, increasing demands, advancing technologies
and decreasing cultural inhibition means that overexploitation is
becoming the norm. Overconsumption not only reduces the exploited
population, but can also cause genetic changes within the population
and affects biological interactions within an ecosystem (ie. predators,
prey, competitors, and symbionts).
I hope this gives you a good
overview of the threats to marine biodiversity. Each of these
topics in and of themselves are very in depth and require much
more reading for complete understanding. Just by thinking about
the things that you and the people around you do in everyday
life and relating them back to the ocean, i think you will begin
to see how severely the human race has affected biodiversity
in some parts of the world.
As far as ongoing projects
dedicate to helping biodiversity in South East Asia, I only know
of a few. Coral Cay Conservation (http://www.coralcay.org)
based in Indonesia and the Philippines, is a project dedicated
to providing resources to help sustain livelihoods and alleviate
poverty through the protection, restoration and management of
coral reefs and tropical forests. Project Seahorse
at University of British Columbia, is a team of biologists
and social workers committed to conserving and managing seahorses,
their relatives and their habitats while respecting human needs.
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Protecting
Marine Biodiversity - Received from Stephanie Schramel
in Chadron, Nebraska
Q: I am doing a presentation on ocean pollution and the affects on marine animals.
I have been looking for pictures to convince my classmates to start recycling
or even just cut their pop rings. I would like to know where I could find a
baby seal with a pop ring around their neck, this may help my classmates understand
how important recycling is. We also have to do an action part of our presentation
so I would like to adopt a whale or something to that sort. We cant spend alot
of money so any help would be appreciated. I wish i would have seen this website
earlier because today is sunday and our presentation is on tuesday. If you
could help out in any way possible it would be greatly appreciated. Thankyou,
Stephanie
A: To find a picture that
demonstrates the effects of plastic pollution my suggestions
are to search more on the web or simply draw one of your own.
As far as things you can do to help protect biodiversity from pollution, there
are many things that you and your class can do quite cheaply. Here are just
a few ideas:
- findout what species are at risk in your area and get involved in local recovery
efforts by volunteering with wildlife agencies, such as Sierra Club, NAME,
WC2 etc.
- organize a letter writing campaign to pressure federal, state and county
governments to develop stricter environental laws
- develop a community data center to keep track of local habitats and species
- identify potential problems for wildlife in your community, such as poor
waste disposal and oil spills. Urge local governments to eliminate these threats.
One hand written letter is often worth 10 000 people!!!
- promote the use of organic alternatives to chemicals
- become a guardian for endangered species. Volunteers in the Maritimes set
an excellent example by patrolling beaches to protect the Piping Plover habitat.
They also educate the public about this shorebird.
- build and maintain nesting and roosting boxes for birds inyou area.
- take on wildlife habitat improvement projects in your own yard or community
- adopt a stream in your community. Remove debris from the water and shoreline.
-inform your family,friends, neighbours and co-workers about mportant wildlife
issues.
Here are a few suggestions
of things that you and your classmates can do in your everyday
lives to help protect biodiversity:
- Use less water! Stay in
the shower for less time, install water saving devices on showers
and toilets, turn off water when brushing your teeth or shaving.
- Use less paper! Print only when necessary, use the reverse side of paper,
make double-sided photocopies and reuse paper by making it into notepads.
- Use recycled paper.
- Use cloth napkins instead of paper.
- Try to avoid use of disposable dishes, cups and utensils.
- Take lunch to work or school in reusable containers.
- Seperate your food waste and other organc materials from the rest of your
garbage, recycle and compost.
- Use public transportation, car pool, ride a bike, blade, board or walk.
- Buy a morefuel efficient car and service your engine regularly.
- Get the most efficient tire for your car as this improves fuel economy.
- Turn off lights in rooms not being used.
- Set up a recycling program at home, school, or work.
- Bank at small locally responsible institutions.
- Don;t buy tissue paper products that have been dyed. The dye contriutes toward
water pollution.
- Buy returnable bottles and cans.
- Bring your own bags shopping, or use as few as possible. Reuse shopping bags
as garbage bags.
- Reduce packaging! Buy food and other products wrapped in the least amount
of packaging possible.
- Buy local! Shop at farmers' markets or co-ops that support local farms and
low-input agriculture. Insist on chemical free foods.
- Try not to buy food served on polystyrene plastic.
- If you must buy batteries, buy the nickel-cadmium rechargeable type. Don't
toss used batteries in the trash. Save them in a box on a shelf and bring them
to a disposal facility.
- Use a solar-dryer - clothes line - or use gas rather than electric dryer.
- Use baing soda and vinegar instead of bleach or other toxic household cleaners.
If you must use these cleaners, use them sparingly.
- When choosing souvenirs, make sure they are not from an endangered species.
Good Luck!!
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Number
of endangered marine animals - received from Jennifer
in Maryland
Q: How many endangered marine animals are there(an estimate would be nice,
like near 1000) ?
A. First of all, we should
define some terms. We're assuming that you're talking about all
marine animals here, not just marine mammals. The Committee on
the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has three
categories; Vulnerable, Threatened and Endangered. These terms
are used to distinguish between the seriousness of the animal's
plight.If we examine the 1992 COSEWIC list for evidence of marine
animals (which of course include
mammals, birds, fish, echinodersm clams, snails, jellyfish, crabs, and on and
on),, there were: Four marine mammals and one marine turtle on Canada's endangered
listThree marine mammals and one marine bird on the threatened list,Four marine
mammals, two marine birds
and one marine fish on the vulnerable list. Lists from other countries would
be similar - an emphasis on large mammals and birds, with no mention whatsoever
of other marine animals.
There is virtually no knowledge
about the population status of other marine animals, which include
most of the major animal groups on the planet. We have a very
long way to go before we understand the oceans and their inhabitants.
Unfortunately, we still have a very poor
knowledge of the number of animals in the world's oceans, and
the extent to which they may be endangered. According to Elliot
Norse, in his book, Global
Marine Biological Diversity, "There are two great obstacles to understanding
the extent to which humans have reduced marine biological diversity:
1. Our ignorance of the scale
and rate of such activity in modern times
2. A Catastrophic decline
in scholarly work in systematics, natural history and the biogeography
of invertebrates, algae and microorganisms. (p. 68)
So Jennifer, the bottom line
is that we really have no idea about the number of endangered
marine animals in the world. There is still lots of work to be
done!
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North
Sea Devastation - Received from Lukas in Switzerland
Q: I would like to know,
if it is true, that the northsea is dying and, if yes why.
What are the actually existing dangers for this ocean?
A: Yes, the North Sea is in
serious trouble. The effects of industrialization, dumping, land
reclamation, and extensive overfishing has lead to the devastation
of this once rich ecosystem.
Virtually all fished stocks are below safe population levels,
and may take years to regain a strong foothold again. Although
regional governments have
been warned by biologists about the effects of their actions, and overfishing
in other parts of the world has had serious consequences, they continue to
employ short-term harvesting methods. Hopefully things will change before the
damage becomes irreversible. For more indepth information, go to the Green
Peace website and do a search on "North Sea".
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Introduced
Marine Species in California -Received from Eric in
Iowa
Q: Hi I am a bioilogy student from Iowa and I have to do a report on the influx
of forienge species on the California coast. Can you please tell me at least
a page worth of information on this subject? Thanks.
A. Hello Eric:
We're assuming that you are a biology (not bioilogy) student, and you are interested
in foreign (not forienge) species. We're also not sure where you got the
impression that we'll write your whole report for you!!!!! We'll give you
a start, but the rest of the research and writing is up to you!!!!
The "foreign" species
that you're interested in are more commonly called "introduced" species.
One common animal that was introduced to the California coast
is the Atlantic oyster, (latin name Crassostrea virginica). When
this was introduced, many animals were also brought along, "piggybacking" on
the oyster shells, including the barnacles, Balanus amphitrite
and Balanus improvisus, as well as the Bryozoans Schizoporella
unicornis and Schizoporella errata, along with hundreds of others.
If you look for more information
about these animals in California, particularly the Atlantic
Oyster, you should find lots of stuff. If you use the Latin names
to search with, it will make your job much easier!
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Whale
and dolphin protection
Q: Why doesn't
the government try harder to protect whales and dolphins?
A: The government
is meant to be a reflection of society, so what is important
to society is important to the government. If the government
doesn't value whales and dolphins, that means there are probably
people in our society who do not value whales and dolphins (and
the variety of species in the world). This is why it is important
for the people to be educated about the value of biodiversity
(biodiversity = variety of species) and of the threats that exist
for many species of the world.
There are many people dedicated to educating society about the threats to the
diversity of life on our planet - and this is where you can be very important.
You can educate yourself and the kids in your class about the threats to the
animals you care about. If you can bring awareness to all the kids in your
class, just imagine how that awareness can spread! See if your class wants
to start a campaign to educate other people in your school and in your community.
You could write a play and present it, make an informative poster, write songs,
have an art display inspired by the animals you're studying... be creative!
You could invite guest speakers into your school to talk about the animals
you are interested in, and the threats that they face. You could find out who
to write to in your government, and compose a well-informed letter about why
you are concerned with signatures from people in your class, school, and community.
Education may be the most important step in finding support to help protect
the species of our world. And you have the power to help!
Good luck!
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