Deep Sea Review Sheet
Marine Science Honors
1. List the five major zones in order from shallowest to deepest.
2. Why is the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt so important?
3. What causes the motion of these currents?
4. Describe the process in which the Conveyor Belt moves, where it begins, etc.
5. Why is it important to the deep sea?
6. What is upwelling?
7. Why does it take so long for one drop of water to go around the entire world?
8. List the five gyres. Why are they important to know and understand?
9. Define thermocline.
10. List all of the abiotic factors that affect the deep sea habitat. Which has had the greatest effect?
11. How do deep sea organisms adapt to pressure?
12. Explain the role of temperature in the deep sea and how it affects organisms that live in the deep sea.
13. Explain the role of density in the deep ocean.
14. What is bioluminescence? What is it used for (be specific)?
15. Describe the use of bioluminescence in the anglerfish, opossum shrimp, gulper eel, viper fish, stomiatoid fish, and lanternfish.
16. Explain the role of oxygen in the deep sea and how it organisms adapt to it.
17. What is countershading and why is it beneficial?
18. What are photophores and why are they beneficial?
19. Pressure in the ocean increases one atmosphere for every ______meters.
20. Explain the eye of a deep sea organism.
21. What is the base of the food web in the deep sea versus around hydrothermal vent communities?
22. What animal likes to eat the giant squid?
23. Why do deep sea organisms have large mouths?
24. Why is the deep sea so fascinating?
25. Why would deep sea bivalves need siphons?
26. Put the food chain in order: infauna, bacteria, meiofauna.
27. What does chemosynthetic bacteria oxidize?
28. Who discovered hydrothermal vents, when and where?
29. List six deep sea adaptations that have to deal with an organism’s morphology.
30. List four primary consumers in a vent ecosystem.
31. Describe the characteristics of each:
a. Gulper eel
b. Stomiatoids or Black Sea Dragon
c. Anglerfish
d. Vampire squid
e. Tube worms (make sure to explain their symbiotic relationship)
f. Deep Sea Amphipods
32. What three physical features characterize the deep-sea? List them and describe two of them?
33. Why do disphotic zone fishes exhibit countershading but fishes that live in deeper waters do not?
34. Describe at least 3 functions of bioluminescence in deep-sea fishes. Be very specific and provide examples to support your answer.
35. How do animals living in the deep-sea tolerate the high pressure and low temperature of these depths?
36. Why is it necessary for males of some species of anglerfish to parasitize the females?
37. Describe at least 3 adaptations of deep-sea fishes for improving feeding efficiency.
38. Explain how a vent is formed and how long they last. How have animals adapted to live there? Provide some detailed examples.
39. What are the four reasons why vent systems are important?