BIOL 3450 Study Guide - Final Guide: Coral Reef, Algal Bloom, Mixed Layer

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIOL 3450
• Professor: Beren Robinson

Document Summary

Productivity in ocean is patchy: centre of ocean basins = low productivity, poles = high productivity despite cold temperatures and lack of sunlight. Coastal seas are the most prodyuctive part of the ocean and have the greatest biodiversity. Coastal habitat is structured by tides, depth and substrate. Shoreline communities are dominated by tides which typically generate 3 zones that vary in their tidal effect: different substrates favour organisms with different strategies, high water flow and wave action keeps hard substrates clear. Low water flow and wave action permit soft substrates. Tides substrates and wave action collectively organize shoreline communities. Sediment types, water depth and ocean current organize subtidal benthic communities. Light, nutrients, temperature, and zooplankton herbivory organize pelagic communities. Photosynthetic primary productivity in limited to the photic zone (70m: therefore it only occurs in the intertidal, subtidal benthic and the surface layers of the water column. Vertical mixing and stratification structures seasonal plankton blooms in coastal seas.