Deep Sea Quiz

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Key Vocabulary

Bioluminescence - the biochemical emission of light by living organisms such as fireflies and deep-sea fishes

Vertical migration - the synchronised movement of zooplankton and fish up and down in the water column over a daily cycle.

“Marine snow” - a continuous shower of mostly organic detritus falling from the upper layers of the water column.

Camouflage - the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see or disguising them as something else

Chemoautotroph - an organism, typically a bacterium, which derives energy from the oxidation of inorganic compounds.

Filter Feeding - (of an aquatic animal) feeding by filtering out plankton or nutrients suspended in the water

Seamount - a submarine mountain.

Hydrothermal Vent - a fissure on the seafloor from which geothermally heated water issues. Hydrothermal vents are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at spreading centers, ocean basins, and hotspots.
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What is the average depth of the world's oceans?
About 3.5 km
About 1 km
About 11 km
About 5 km
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The average depth of the ocean is about 3.5 km."The deepest part of the ocean is called the Challenger Deep and is located beneath the western Pacific Ocean in the southern end of the Mariana Trench, which runs several hundred kilometres southwest of the U.S. territorial island of Guam. Challenger Deep is just shy of 11 km. It is named after the HMS Challenger, whose crew first sounded the depths of the trench in 1875." - https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oceandepth.html Image: https://www.1843magazine.com/content/places/simon-willis/cartophilia
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Bioluminescence is....Select all that apply.
emission of light by living organisms such as fireflies and deep-sea fishes
usually blue in color
used to help organisms find food
is used as a defense for some animals
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All of these are correct answers!"Bioluminescence, or the ability of an organism to create light, is one of nature’s most amazing phenomena, seemingly drawn more from science fiction than science and natural history. While usually blue in color, because this is the light that travels best through the water, bioluminescence can range from nearly violet to green-yellow (and very occasionally red). Deep-ocean environments are almost completely dark; yet light is still important in these environments. Thus, bioluminescence may provide a survival advantage in the darkness of the deep sea, helping organisms find food, assisting in reproductive processes, and providing defensive mechanisms...but we don’t really know the main purpose or function of bioluminescence." - https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/bioluminescence.html Below: The deep-sea pandalid shrimp Heterocarpus ensifer and a photo of the same animal ‘vomiting’ light from glands located near its mouth. Image courtesy of Sönke Johnsen and Katie Thomas.
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Deep sea coral reefs cover more of the sea floor than their shallow water relatives, and are nurseries for deep water fish and invertebrates. They are also at risk, as half of deep sea corals have been destroyed, and it could take centuries for them to recover.
TrueFalse
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This is true! Visit this link to learn more about deep-sea coral reef ecosystems: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/17sedci/background/coral-ecosystems/coral-ecosystems.html Below: Deep-sea black coral, Leiopathes glaberrima, with commensal galatheoid crab photographed at 300 meters depth in the Gulf of Mexico. Individuals of this species have been dated to be over 2,000 years old, thereby making them some of the oldest known marine species. Image courtesy of Lophelia II: Reefs, Rigs, and Wrecks 2009 Expedition, NOAA OER/BOEM
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Which of the following are adaptations for living in the deep sea?Select all that apply.
Bioluminescence
Vertical Migration
Camouflage
Hard shell
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Three of the above are adaptations that can be successfully used to live in the deep sea - however, a hard shell would not be helpful in the depths of the ocean with such high pressures!
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Hydrothermal vents form from a fissure on the seafloor from which geothermally heated water issues. Hydrothermal vents are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at spreading centers, ocean basins, and hotspots.
TrueFalse
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True! Follow this link to learn more about hydrothermal vents: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/vents.htmlImage: http://www.sci-news.com/biology/life-hydrothermal-vents-07772.html
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