Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Brian Zelaya
Name: ________________________ Section 02
Period: _________________ 12/4/18
Date: __________________
1. What is the limiting factor for most animal life in the open ocean?
2. What producers serve as the basis of the food chain in this layer of the ocean?
3. The whale shark is accompanied by pilot fish, who ingest any parasites they find on the surface of the
shark’s skin. Identify the relationship as predator-prey, mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, or
interspecific competition.
4. Make a food web based on the segment you just watched. Include the following: sunlight, whale
sharks, plankton, bait fish, yellowfin tuna
5. Why is a strong sense of taste so important for open ocean predators like oceanic whitetip sharks?
6. What adaptation is present in the dolphins that help them in searching for prey?
8. Describe any adaptations you see in the manta ray that help it gather food.
9. Since the aphotic zone does not receive enough sunlight for photosynthesis, plankton are not present.
What is basis of the food chain here?
10. Describe an adaptation that the sea spider has for gathering food and conserving energy.
a. Gathering Food –
b. Conserving Energy –
11. Explain how the dumbo octopus swims differently than other octopus species, and why this would be
an advantage in the aphotic zone.
12. The vampire squid produces bioluminescence. What is bioluminescence, and how does the squid
produce it? What advantage does it give to the squid?
14. Finding food at the ocean floor can be very challenging. Compare the methods of gathering food used
by sea urchins, shrimp, and monkfish.
Sea Urchins –
Shrimp –
Monkfish –
15. Isopods, crabs, and eels are all considered scavengers. Describe their niche in the ocean floor
ecosystem.
17. The community of organisms around the black smoker lives completely independently of the sun.
Describe the food chain of this community. What serves as the base source of energy?
18. Why are the types of organisms that live at each underwater hot vent so dramatically different?
19. What happened to the community of tubeworms that caused it to die off?
20. Whip corals and sponges both rely on marine snow as a food source. How does each collect it
differently?
21. How does the nautilus move, if it does not have fins or a tail?
22. Describe the relationship between the butterfly fish and the Mola mola (Ocean Sunfish).
23. Why would being so incredibly light for its size be an advantage for frigate birds:
24. Hypothesize why the sea turtles choose to lay their eggs on land, even though the newly hatched turtles
are so vulnerable.
25. How do the sailfish communicate with each other during a hunt?
Echinodermata
Ctenophora
Arthropoda
Chordata
Mollusca
Annelida
Cnidaria
Porifera
Whale Shark
Baitfish
Yellowfin Tuna
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
Sea Spider
Sawtooth Eel
Dumbo Octopus
Vampire Squid
Sea Urchins
Shrimp
Monkfish
Isopods
Crabs
Whip corals
Sponges
Nautilus