Deck 13: The Nekton: Swimmers of the Sea

Question 1

Whales and seals increase their flotation 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

The most numerous organisms in the sea are fish.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

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

Answer 3

True

Question 4

There are no endothermic marine organisms.

Question 5

Pelagic seabirds nest at sea.

Question 6

Seabirds have a very well developed sense of taste.

Question 7

A shark is an example of a bony fish.

Question 8

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

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

Question 9

All sea turtle species are gradually increasing their populations.

Question 10

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

Question 11

Dolphins and porpoises are small toothed whales.

Question 12

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

Question 13

All eight species of sea turtles are threatened or endangered.

Question 14

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

Question 15

TEDs are devices to keep seals away from fishnets.

Question 16

Invertebrates and most fish are poikilotherms.

Question 17

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

Question 18

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

Question 19

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 20

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

Question 21

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 are correct.

Question 22

Which of these is an example of a jawless fish?

A) Ray.
B) Shark.
C) Hagfish.
D) Whale shark.
E) Skate.

Question 23

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 24

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 25

The largest animals in the world are the

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

Question 26

The only herbivorous marine mammal is a

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

Question 27

Walrus feed on

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

Question 28

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 29

The largest sharks and rays are

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

Question 30

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 31

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

Question 32

In what year was the Marine Mammal Protection Act established?

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

Question 33

Toothed whales are larger than baleen whales.

Question 34

Polar bears

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

Question 35

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 36

Demersal fish spend more of their time

A) at middepths 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

Most fish in the bathypelagic are

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

Question 38

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 are correct.

Question 39

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 40

What percentage of birds are marine species?

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

Question 41

Dolphins and porpoises are small toothed whales.

Question 42

The smallest marine mammal is a

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

Question 43

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 44

The Chondrichthyes include organisms such as

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

Question 45

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

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

Question 46

Sea snakes have skin that is

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

Question 47

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 48

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

Question 49

In the perpetually dark bathypelagic zone, fish tend to be

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

Question 50

All toothed whales use echolocation, except baleen whales.

Question 51

The nekton only include vertebrates such as fish and whales.

Question 52

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

Question 53

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

Question 54

The counter-current 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 55

The presence of seabirds is a good indicator of

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

Question 56

Baleen whales lack

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

Question 57

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