Organisms that live in intertidal zones along coastal environments face many challenges in order to survive. These challenges include alternate exposure to air and water, high salinity, extreme variability in temperature, significant abrasion, and limited oxygen availability (Snelgrove 2001). Organisms have developed a variety of adaptations in order to overcome these obstacles and survive in their environment. To combat these hypoxic conditions, molluscs have developed a number of adaptations that enable them to survive. These adaptations include an ability to detect and react to changes in the ambient environment, resilient gill and mantle tissue, resistance to hypoxic conditions due to size, and variable metabolism that is controlled through hypoxia-adjusting mitochondria. Certain molluscs that live in intertidal locations have the ability to detect changing oxygen levels, and therefore adjust back and forth between normoxic and hypoxic conditions. The blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, can be found in coastal environments ranging from intertidal …show more content…
This is a necessary trait in intertidal mussels because they are exposed to air for long periods of time throughout the day, which is a practically anoxic environment to them because they cannot properly utilize their gills to breathe air. This resilience was found to be due to antioxidant defenses being induced when blue mussels are exposed to an anoxic environment (Rivera-Ingraham et. al 2013). These defenses enable the mussels to avoid severe gill damage when they are reintroduced to regular oxygen levels, and completely avoid any of their gill cells dying due to the stressful environment. This allows these mussels to experience periodic fluctuation between oxygen levels and
It’s important that Zebra Mussels are dealt with great care. Zebra Mussels get their food and energy from filtering water. Nearly a quart can be filtered by and adult Zebra Mussel (“Zebra Mussels,” 2013, para. 5). So if there was an infestation of Zebra Mussels in a lake they could filter a lo...
Cephalopods are known to be exceptionally intelligent by invertebrate standards and in some respects even rival “higher” vertebrates. These animals have many highly evolved sensory and processing organs that allow them to gain a greater understanding of their environment and their place within it. Due to their advanced structures, many of which are analogous to vertebrate structures, and abilities they have been widely studied. Their methods of learning have been of prime interest and many experiments have been conducted to determine the different ways in which octopuses can learn. From these experiments four main kinds of learning have been identified in octopuses: associative learning, special learning,
Zebra mussels have now found there way to the United States originating from the Caspian Sea and sought habitation, originally, in Lake St. Claire when ballast water brought them in. From there, zebra mussels have spread and have caused havoc to the environments and its biodiversity, specifically, Presque Isle. Zebra mussels are filter feeders of zooplankton and phytoplanktons, making the water appear clearer, but not cleaner. They have negatively impacted the existence of clams, walleye and several other organisms. In order to preserve the biodiversity of Presque Isle, zebra mussels must be culled and controlled. Several methods that can be utilized to achieve this goal is by chlorination, poison, scraping, etc.
Themistocles contribution to the defence of Greece was more significant than any other Greek individual. To what extent do you agree?
During the summers the oxygen content atop the water normally has a salinity level consistent with “more than 8 milligrams per liter”; but when oxygen content drops down to “less than 2 milligrams per liter” the water is then known to be in hypoxic state (CENR, 2000; USGS, 2006). Hypoxia is the result of oxygen levels decreasing to the point where aquatic organisms can no longer survive in the water column. Organisms such as fish, shrimps, and crabs are capable to evacuate the area but the fauna that cannot move either become stress and/or die. Due to this, many call the hypoxia zone the “dead zone” (Overview, 2008; USGS, 2006).
With carbon dioxide levels continuing to rise over the past few decades (fig. 1) and now into the future, concern has been brought to what is happening to the carbonate chemistry of the oceans. Because of these changes in chemistry, the ocean is becoming more acidic. Along with climate change, ocean acidification may be one of the greatest threats to our planet. The higher the ocean’s acidity level goes, the lower the calcium carbonate levels will drop. Even though this is a big scale issue, my goal is to focus on and underline what these changes will mean for the marine life that depend on the calcium carbonate in seawater. I will go in depth with specific regards to a study regarding pteropods or sea butterflies.
Whitman Miller, A., Reynolds, Amanda C., Sobrino, Cristina , & Riedel, Gerhardt F. 2009. Shellfish Face Uncertain Future in High CO2 World: Influence of Acidification on Oyster Larvae Calcification and Growth in Estuaries. PLOS.
In absence of calcium carbonate, coral and shellfish can’t survive. The ecosystem of ocean depends on these organisms because they offer a large source of food at the bottom of the food chain. They need to be abundant in order t...
As a mariner its important to know about the marine life, that was one reason I have chosen this topic for my today’s short presentation.
For this experiment, it is important to be familiar with the diving reflex. The diving reflex is found in all mammals and is mainly focused with the preservation of oxygen. The diving reflex refers to an animal surviving underwater without oxygen. They survive longer underwater than on dry land. In order for animals to remain under water for a longer period of time, they use their stored oxygen, decrease oxygen consumption, use anaerobic metabolism, as well as aquatic respiration (Usenko 2017). As stated by Michael Panneton, the size of oxygen stores in animals will also limit aerobic dive capacity (Panneton 2013). The temperature of the water also plays a role. The colder the water is, the larger the diving reflex of oxygen.
The outer layer of a reef consists of living animals, or polyps, of coral. Single-celled algae called zooxanthellae live within the coral polyps, and a skeleton containing filamentous green algae surrounds them. The photosynthetic zooxanthellae and green algae transfer food energy directly to the coral polyps, while acquiring scarce nutrients from the coral. The numerous micro habitats of coral reefs and the high biological productivity support a great diversity of other life.
Habitus is defined as “A set of acquired dispositions of thought, behaviour and taste.” (Scott and Marshall, 2009). The concept was created by Pierre Bourdieu and was first used in his book Outline of Theory and Practice in 1977. His theory of habitus derives from the philosophy of Aristotle. Bourdieu looked at how society can influence a person’s self and whether certain aspects of society can be aesthetically seen on the individual. These choices are influenced by many factors.
... incredibly relevant to today world. Brine shrimps are also used as test subjects due to their incredible resilience, and are also sold as a novelty item “sea monkeys.” Unfortunately, these unique critters have become threatened in some cases as water is diverted away (for human use) from high saline environments inhabited by brine shrimp. As a result, the water becomes more saline and usually results in a rising pH which can endanger the shrimps. The information provided in these two studies shows the need, function, means, and genetic explanation for osmoregulation. As humans continue to impact the environment, changing salinity will result in changing need for osmoregulation, and as a result, future scientists will need to explore how organisms can react to the need to osmoregulate more or less and how that will impact organism populations’ survival as a whole.
Osmosis is an animal’s way of adapting to different types of salinities (Office of Naval Research 3). All marine mammals have special traits that they adapted to help them survive in or around marine habitats (Marietta College 1). As prompted by the Marietta College of Ohio “Many organisms in saltwater are osmoconformers.” (1). An osmoconformer is an organism that has the same concentration of salt within its body as the surrounding water (1)....
The Order Cetacea is one of the most distinctive and highly specialized groups of mammals. Over the course of evolutionary history, cetaceans have become adapted to surviving and prospering in a vast aquatic environment. One of the most important obstacles they have overcome is the ability to be obligate ocean dwellers while still breathing oxygen. Cetaceans are able to remain underwater for extended periods of time, returning only to the surface to exhale. Diving beneath the surface is an essential component of life for these species since almost all of their food sources are found under the surface of the ocean.