Question 1

Charles Darwin is well known as a great marine biologist because of
A) His work on coral reefs
B) His classification of the barnacles
C) His participation in the voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle
D) All of the above

Accepted Answer

Darwin is recognized for his contributions to marine biology through his work on coral reefs, his detailed classification of barnacles, and his observations and collections made during the voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle, which significantly influenced his later theories.

Question 2

Bathybius was believed to be
A) The ancestor of the bony fishes
B) A slime from which life arose on the seabed
C) The founder of marine biology
D) A resident of hot-vent environments

Accepted Answer

Bathybius was hypothesized to be a form of primordial slime, thought to be a precursor to life, found on the ocean floor. This concept emerged in the 19th century but was later debunked when it was discovered that the substance was actually a chemical artifact formed by the reaction of seawater with alcohol used to preserve deep-sea samples.

Question 3

Edward Forbes's "Azoic Theory" stated that
A) Life could not arise from inanimate objects
B) No life can be found within the sediment
C) There's no marine life deeper than 300 fathoms
D) There's no marine life shallower than 300 fathoms

Accepted Answer

Edward Forbes's "Azoic Theory" proposed that no marine life existed below a depth of about 300 fathoms (1800 feet or 550 meters), a hypothesis later disproven by deeper sea explorations.

Question 4

In the 19th century, Prince Albert I of Monaco was famous for
A) Funding marine biology from his casino in Atlantic City
B) Leading the Challenger expedition
C) Outfitting oceanographic vessels and founding a lab
D) All of the above

Accepted Answer

Prince Albert I of Monaco was renowned for his contributions to oceanography, including outfitting oceanographic vessels and founding the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. He did not fund marine biology from a casino in Atlantic City nor lead the Challenger expedition; those are not associated with his endeavors.

Question 5

The Challenger expedition
A) Circumnavigated the globe
B) Helped disprove the Bathybius theory
C) Produced many volumes of descriptions of marine life
D) All of the above

Accepted Answer

The Challenger expedition, conducted from 1872 to 1876, was a pioneering oceanographic expedition that indeed circumnavigated the globe, helped disprove the Bathybius Haeckelii theory (a supposed form of primordial life), and produced a multi-volume set of reports that described marine life and oceanographic features in unprecedented detail.

Question 6

Darwin's theory of coral reef formation required that
A) Coral reefs cease growing when sea level lowered
B) Corals evolved very recently
C) The rock beneath a coral reef was steadily sinking
D) Volcanic islands were steadily rising under the reefs

Accepted Answer

Darwin's theory of coral reef formation, known as the subsidence theory, posits that coral reefs form through a gradual sinking of the ocean floor. As the volcanic island or seafloor beneath the reef sinks, corals continue to grow upwards towards the sunlight, resulting in the formation of different types of reefs (fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls) depending on the stage of the process.

Question 7

The following is a scientific hypothesis:
A) Blue whales cannot be seen diving, but they could dive to 1,000 m
B) Mermaids will come to shore in San Francisco on May 1, 2002
C) Sea otters have gills, and therefore they can dive to great depths
D) None of the above

Accepted Answer

The answer of The following is a scientific hypothesis:
A) Blue...

Question 8

Which of the following is the best way to test a hypothesis?
A) Perform an experiment that manipulates one environmental factor, holding the others constant
B) Sample the environment exhaustively, and look for close correlations among ecological variables
C) Collect a lot of information; eventually you will have enough to get the answer to your question
D) Make sure to prove the hypothesis to be true

Accepted Answer

Performing an experiment that manipulates one environmental factor while holding others constant is the best way to test a hypothesis. This method allows for the isolation of the effect of the manipulated variable, providing clear evidence of causality.

Question 9

After deciding upon a likely important effect it would be best to
A) Devise a sampling scheme that measures everything in the local environment to see the importance of the effect
B) Propose a null hypothesis, which should never be rejected to prove the lack of importance of the effect
C) Propose a null hypothesis, whose rejection would prove the importance of the effect
D) All of the above

Accepted Answer

Proposing a null hypothesis that, if rejected, demonstrates the importance of the effect is a fundamental approach in scientific research. This method allows researchers to statistically test for the presence of an effect and determine its significance.

Question 10

Nekton
A) Move only with the currents
B) Include larger fish and sea mammals
C) Include protistan and other very small plankton
D) Are defined as swimmers who can dive very deeply

Accepted Answer

Nekton refers to the aquatic animals that are able to swim and move independently of water currents, including larger fish and sea mammals. Choices A, C, and D do not accurately describe nekton.

Question 11

Infaunal animals are found
A) Only in sea caves
B) Below the tidal zone
C) Within plants
D) Below the sediment-water interface

Accepted Answer

Infaunal animals live below the sediment-water interface, burrowing into or living within the sediments of the ocean floor or bodies of fresh water.

Question 12

Animals living in association with the sea surface are called
A) Plankton
B) Krypton
C) Neuston
D) Epifaunal

Accepted Answer

Neuston refers to organisms that live at or near the surface of the water. This term specifically describes the community of organisms that inhabit the surface film of water bodies.

Question 13

Pelagic habitats
A) Are found in estuaries
B) Are seaward of the continental shelf
C) Are deep-water habitats in shelf canyons
D) All of the above

Accepted Answer

Pelagic habitats refer to open ocean areas that are beyond the continental shelf, not specifically in estuaries or shelf canyons.

Question 14

Which of the following pairs are the same habitats?
A) Oceanic and pelagic
B) Hadal and planktonic
C) Intertidal and epipelagic
D) None of the above

Accepted Answer

Oceanic and pelagic habitats refer to the open sea areas away from the coast and above the seabed, covering a large part of the marine environment.

Question 15

The mesopelagic zone ranges to depths of
A) 150 m
B) bottom of tidal zone
C) 1,000 m
D) 4,000 m

Accepted Answer

The mesopelagic zone, also known as the twilight zone, extends from 200 meters (below the epipelagic zone) to 1,000 meters depth. It is characterized by a gradual decrease in light penetration, which is insufficient for photosynthesis.

Question 16

Infaunal animals are usually found
A) Within wood
B) Buried within the sediment
C) Only in the intertidal zone
D) Swimming near the surface

Accepted Answer

Infaunal animals are typically found buried within the sediment of aquatic environments, such as the ocean floor, where they live and feed within the substrate.

Question 17

Hadal environments are associated with
A) Trenches
B) The intertidal zone
C) Mid-oceanic ridges
D) Dinosaur habitats

Accepted Answer

Hadal environments are found in the deepest parts of the ocean, specifically in trenches, which can extend down to more than 6,000 meters below sea level.

Quiz 1: Sounding the Deep

Charles Darwin is well known as a great marine biologist because of

Bathybius was believed to be

Edward Forbes's "Azoic Theory" stated that

In the 19th century, Prince Albert I of Monaco was famous for

The Challenger expedition

Darwin's theory of coral reef formation required that

The following is a scientific hypothesis:

Which of the following is the best way to test a hypothesis?

After deciding upon a likely important effect it would be best to

Nekton

Infaunal animals are found

Animals living in association with the sea surface are called

Pelagic habitats

Which of the following pairs are the same habitats?

The mesopelagic zone ranges to depths of

Infaunal animals are usually found

Hadal environments are associated with