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Directions: You may use any resource available to you to complete this test. If you use other people’s ideas (e.g. websites, study groups, Mr. Dunn) you should cite your sources in the reference section at the conclusion of this document. As usual, plagiarism will not be tolerated and your answers should be in your own words and voice. Please use a word processor to record your answers using one-inch margins and size 11-point font. There is no need to rewrite or restate the questions but your answers should be in full sentences and a dark color that is not black. For your convenience the test shell has been posted online and you can enter answers there. Final products are due on Wednesday, November 27, 2013. Anything later without previous consent will be considered late and graded at 50 percent. You may turn in a hard copy or email me an attachment with the tag line [Your name] - Mid-term.

Currents

  1. Identify the two forces responsible for currents then describe how they influence the direction and nature of currents.
  2. Explain what a gyre is and how it is made up of geostrophic currents. Also include how many major ocean gyres exist and where they are found.
  3. What makes coastal upwelling and downwelling occur? Also describe the biological effects they have.
  4. How does thermohaline circulation differ from wind-driven surface circulation?
  5. Look at maps showing the world’s surface currents and the ocean conveyor belt. How could these currents relate to international politics? Consider fishing resources, pollution, trash dumping, and the cost of shipping.
  6. Speculate on how a decrease in the ocean conveyor belt would affect diverse aspects of society. Include the effects on habitable areas, agriculture, tourism, politics, and recreation.
  7. Which do you think would make a better “instrument” for studying currents: 50,000 empty, bright colored, capped plastic bottles or 50,000 neutral-colored biodegradable sponges? Would one type of cargo be better in some situations but not in others? Why or why not?

Plankton and the food web

  1. Define the terms primary producer, autotrophy, and heterotrophy.
  2. Compare and contrast photosynthesis, chemosynthesis, and respiration.
  3. Define primary consumer and secondary consumer then describe how they relate in a trophic and in a food web.
  4. What happens to the available energy at each level in a trophic pyramid and describe why it is important.
  5. Without primary producers, we do not have the oxygen we need to breathe, and toxic carbon dioxide may accumulate. How does the deforestation of large areas relate to this issue? Why might it be difficult for cultures with economic development not to deforest?
  6. It takes significantly more primary production to make a kilo-gram of tuna than a kilogram of corn or beef. However, the marine environment is much more efficient in primary production. There are other factors that give both environments advantages and disadvantages for agriculture. Discuss the possible problems and considerations these issues raise for someone who is deciding whether to farm the land or the sea.
  7. Discuss why it is as much of a concern to dump large concentrations of nutrients in the ocean as it is to dump large concentrations of toxins? (Hint: Red tides are only part of the issue.)

Fish and Sharks

  1. Briefly describe the classification system used by taxonomists, including how they determine into which taxa to place an organism. Include the seven main taxa and explain why it is important to classify organisms.
  2. Explain what makes an animal a vertebrate.
  3. What is the significance of the class Agnatha?
  4. Compare and contrast how sharks and rays reproduce with how bony fish reproduce. How do their reproduction strategies differ?
  5. List and explain the traits that make sharks and rays successful predators. Include what the largest shark is and what it eats.
  6. What characteristics make a fish a member of class Osteichthyes?
  7. Compare and contrast the diversity of fish that live on reefs and bottom with those that school or live in the open ocean. What is the explanation for this difference?
  8. Tuna and shrimp fisheries have bycatch problems that they are attempting to solve with exclusionary devices. These devise work to varying degrees, but they increase the cost of catching tuna and shrimp, which makes the price of these foods high. Argue the case either for or against the need to bear this cost.
  9. Some people (like me) point out that lightning kills more people every year than do sharks. Do you agree that it is a realistic argument that sharks are not a substantial threat to people? Why or why not?
  10. Assume that whale populations have returned to the levels that existed before 1900. Would you allow the resumption of whaling? Why or why not?

History

  1. Describe a major innovation in Marine Science. Include the date, creator and any pertinent information.

Extra Credit

  1. The military could train dolphins for warfare roles that include detecting and killing enemy frogmen or placing explosives on enemy ships. Argue the cases for and against such a practice.

References