Deck 13: The Nekton: Swimmers of the Sea

Question 1

Whales and seals increase their floatation by ________.

A) filling their swim bladders with large quantities of gas
B) storing large quantities of low-density fat
C) blowing bubbles while swimming
D) storing nitrogen in their blood
E) having specialized air cavities in their bones

Answer 1

B

Question 2

A shark is an example of a bony fish.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Invertebrates and most fish are poikilotherms.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

TEDs are devices to keep seals away from fishnets.

Question 5

All eight species of sea turtles are threatened or endangered.

Question 6

Each year, the bowhead and beluga whales migrate from Antarctica to southern California.

Question 7

All sea turtle species are gradually increasing their populations.

Question 8

The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) protects all nekton in U.S. waters.

Question 9

Seabirds have a very well-developed sense of taste.

Question 10

The most numerous organisms in the sea are fish.

Question 11

Pelagic seabirds nest at sea.

Question 12

Whale falls support a large community of organisms including sharks, crabs, and bacteria.

Question 13

To which group do the tuna, salmon, and swordfish belong?

A) Intertidal
B) Benthos
C) Nekton
D) Photon
E) Plankton

Question 14

Which organisms are able to control their body temperatures?

A) Sea birds
B) Whales
C) Seals
D) Whales and seals
E) Sea birds, whales, and seals

Question 15

Sea snakes are found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

Question 16

There are no endothermic marine organisms.

Question 17

The only marine lizard that is a member of the nekton is the marine iguana found in the Galápagos Islands.

Question 18

The large tusks of the male walrus are used exclusively for fighting off other males during the mating season.

Question 19

Dolphins and porpoises are small-toothed whales.

Question 20

Because whales are homeotherms, individuals of a single species can migrate between and survive in waters of very different temperatures.

Question 21

What percentage of birds are marine species?

A) 3 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 22 percent
D) 27 percent
E) 30 percent

Question 22

Polar bears are ________.

A) managed by international agreement
B) top predators of Arctic marine food chains
C) hunted by native peoples
D) protected by the U.S. Marine Mammal Act
E) All of these are correct.

Question 23

Marine mammals are able to maintain their own body temperature internally.

Question 24

Which of the following increased humans' abilities to harvest the great whales?

A) the explosive harpoon
B) motorized hunting vessels and factory ships
C) sonar
D) the explosive harpoon and motorized hunting vessels and factory ships
E) All of these are correct.

Question 25

One particular feature found in bony fishes but is absent in cartilaginous fishes is ________.

A) scales
B) gills
C) a swim bladder
D) a pectoral fin
E) a skeleton

Question 26

Which of these is an example of a jawless fish?

A) ray
B) shark
C) hagfish
D) whale shark
E) skate

Question 27

Most fish in the bathypelagic are ________.

A) black
B) silver
C) red
D) white
E) colorless

Question 28

Toothed whales are larger than baleen whales.

Question 29

The largest animals in the world are the ________.

A) sperm whales
B) humpback whales
C) finback whales
D) sei whales
E) blue whales

Question 30

In what year was the Marine Mammal Protection Act established?

A) 1913
B) 1920
C) 1945
D) 1965
E) 1972

Question 31

Which migration route is not correct?

A) California gray-between Mexico and the Bering Sea
B) Humpback-between Hawaii and the Gulf of Alaska
C) Bowhead-between the Bering and Chukchi seas
D) Sperm-between the coast of Maine and Greenland
E) Narwhal-between Greenland and Arctic islands

Question 32

Fish of the bathyal and abyssal zones are generally ________.

A) small bodied, large mouthed, and bioluminescent
B) large bodied, large mouthed, and bioluminescent
C) small bodied, small mouthed, and dark colored
D) large bodied, small mouthed, and dark colored
E) small bodied, small mouthed, and bioluminescent

Question 33

Walrus feed on ________.

A) krill
B) squid
C) small fish
D) shellfish
E) small seals

Question 34

The only herbivorous marine mammal is a ________.

A) seal
B) sea lion
C) manatee
D) grey whale
E) sea otter

Question 35

The largest sharks and rays are ________.

A) carnivores
B) plankton feeders
C) predators
D) carnivores and plankton feeders
E) carnivores and predators

Question 36

Demersal fish spend more of their time ________.

A) at mid-depths in the water column
B) on the seafloor
C) at the sea surface
D) swimming actively over a wide range of depths
E) in the littoral zone

Question 37

Marine mammals use echolocation to detect objects. For echolocation to work, marine mammals must be able to ________.

A) generate rapidly produced clicks of short duration
B) detect faint echoes as their clicks reflect back from objects
C) screen out unrelated loud noises in the sea
D) evaluate the time and direction of return sounds
E) All of these are correct.

Question 38

Seals, turtles, squid, and sea snakes are ________.

A) heterotrophs
B) members of the nekton
C) pelagic organisms
D) All of these are correct.
E) None of these is correct.

Question 39

Polar bears ________.

A) do not like to get wet
B) can swim continuously for 100 km
C) feed primarily on fish
D) are found at both poles
E) can swim continuously for 100 km, feed primarily on fish, and are found at both poles

Question 40

Baleen whales feed principally on ________.

A) copepods and krill
B) diatoms and dinoflagellates
C) fish and squid
D) All of these are correct.
E) None of these is correct.

Question 41

Sea snakes spend less than half their time in the marine environment.

Question 42

Birds are homeotherms, meaning they maintain a constant body temperature.

Question 43

Sea snakes have skin that is ________.

A) impervious to gases
B) poisonous
C) permeable to salt
D) impervious to salt

Question 44

Baleen whales lack ________.

A) flukes
B) teeth
C) a dorsal fin
D) a blowhole
E) an ear opening

Question 45

In the perpetually dark bathypelagic zone, fish tend to be ________.

A) brightly colored
B) fast swimmers
C) frequent feeders
D) bioluminescent
E) absent

Question 46

The smallest marine mammal is a ________.

A) seal
B) fur seal
C) sea lion
D) sea otter
E) dugong

Question 47

Dolphins and porpoises are small-toothed whales.

Question 48

The nekton only include vertebrates such as fish and whales.

Question 49

A keystone species is an organism that ________.

A) is endangered
B) plays a crucial role in an ecosystem
C) is very abundant
D) lives in coastal regions

Question 50

The countercurrent system of flow is involved in ________.

A) increasing blood flow into gills
B) decreasing the time it takes for blood to flow through gills
C) increasing the amount of oxygen that diffuses into the blood
D) increasing the efficiency of the movement of gills
E) increasing heart rate

Question 51

A group behavior that is much more common in bony fish than cartilaginous fish is ________.

A) territoriality
B) homing
C) schooling
D) migration

Question 52

All of the following are part of the nekton except ________.

A) whale shark
B) tuna crab
C) green turtle
D) giant squid
E) All of these are part of the nekton

Question 53

All toothed whales use echolocation except baleen whales.

Question 54

Objections to the "stepping-stone" hypothesis, suggesting that deep-sea hydrothermal vent organisms are dispersed by taking advantage of whale falls (like stepping-stones), include all of the following except ________.

A) the number of overlapping species found at multiple sites is small
B) most whales live and die in shallow waters
C) increasing numbers of vents found suggest that dispersal is not a problem
D) chemosynthetic organisms found at whale falls are not the same as at hydrothermal vents

Question 55

The Chondrichthyes include organisms such as ________.

A) lampreys
B) hagfish
C) sharks
D) bony fish

Question 56

Sea otters depend on a thick layer of fat (blubber) to stay warm.

Question 57

The presence of seabirds is a good indicator of ________.

A) marine pollution
B) cold water
C) high productivity
D) the presence of land

Question 58

One conservation method used to protect turtles from trawl nets uses ________.

A) sonar
B) turtle excluder devices (TEDs)
C) gill nets
D) acoustic tagging devices

Question 59

The very large eyes of the giant and colossal squid are adapted to ________.

A) detect bioluminescence
B) identify their prey
C) detect ultraviolet light
D) glow in the dark

Question 60

The hagfish are the only known vertebrate that is iso-osmotic.

Question 61

Which of the following is not true about both shorebirds and seabirds?

A) They migrate.
B) Their diet comes from the marine environment.
C) They nest on land.
D) They are strong fliers.
E) They are strong swimmers.

Question 62

How does the whale shark, the world's largest fish, feed?

A) active predation
B) ambush predation
C) filter feeding
D) grazing
E) scavenging

Question 63

The most well-developed sense in sharks is ________.

A) sight
B) taste
C) smell
D) touch
E) hearing

Question 64

Which of the following reptile groups is not represented in the ocean?

A) crocodilians
B) snakes
C) lizards
D) turtles
E) All of these are correct.

Question 65

The colossal squid, the world's largest invertebrate, feeds by ________.

A) active predation
B) ambush predation
C) filter feeding
D) grazing
E) scavenging

Question 66

To be considered marine, a species must spend how much of its life in the marine environment?

A) 25 percent
B) 50 percent
C) 75 percent
D) 90 percent
E) 100 percent

Question 67

The most well-developed sense in marine birds is ________.

A) sight
B) taste
C) smell
D) touch
E) hearing

Question 68

Which of the following does not describe marine reptiles?

A) animals
B) poikilotherms
C) vertebrates
D) photoheterotrophs
E) None of these is typical of reptiles.

Question 69

The group of vertebrates with the most species, that is, the most diverse, in the sea is ________.

A) birds
B) fish
C) reptiles
D) mammals
E) amphibians