Marine Biology Essay Example For Students

Marine Biology Essay A major source of coastal pollutants, human sewage fouls bays and beaches withboth toxic and nontoxic pollutants. Although billions of dollars have beeninvested in sewage treatment plants to treat wastewater, new and growing coastalcommunities have increased the amount of discharge into oceans and estuaries. The United States Office of Technology Assessment has identified thirteenhundred major industries and six hundred municipal wastewater treatment plantsthat discharge into coastal waters of the United States. Many toxic substancesenter the sea through the sewer systems, but others originate as industrialdischarges. For many toxic substances, we do not yet know how to determine theirextent or fate in the marine environment or to evaluate their effects on marinelife. Some of the better-known trace metals and toxic chemicals include mercury,copper, lead, and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Chlorinated hydrocarbons, syntheticchlorine-containing compounds, are created for use as pesticides or areby-products of the manufacture of plastics. Oil is a very dangerous thing whenit comes to oil spills into the ocean. These catastrophic oil spills engender aconcern for the marine environment as no invisible containment can. Spilled oilfloats on seawater and provides a constant reminder of its presence u ntil it iswashed ashore, sinks, or evaporates. Large volumes of oil suffocate benthicorganisms by clogging their gills and filtering structures or fouling theirdigestive tracts. Marine birds and mammals suffer heavily as their feathers orfur become oil soaked and matter, and they lose insulation and buoyancy. Untilrecently, marine debris was considered to be of minor importance when comparedto other pollutants. Problems caused by marine debris, however may rival orexceed those resulting from some better known pollutants, including oil. Bydefinition, marine debris is any manufactured object discarded in the marineenvironment. When dumped, it may sink to the sea floor, remain suspended atmid-depths, or float at the surface and eventually be carried ashore by windsand waves. Plastics constitute as great an environmental threat as all the otherkinds of debris, combined. Although plastics may break up into smaller pieces,they degrade much more slowly than most other kinds of debris, and most plasticsfloat. Concentrations of plastics tend to be highest in the Northern Hemisphere,where vessel traffic is the heaviest, where most plastics manufacturers andfabricators are located, and where more intensive recreational use is made ofbeaches and coastal waters. Hopefully, as we approach the twenty-first century,we can learn to leave some old and wasteful habits behind. It will not be easyor simple, but each one of us must develop a sense of stewardship toward theworld ocean and its resources that is reflected in our personal as well as ourpolitical decisions. 2.The adult fern plant in its dominate generation (sporophyte)develops sporangium on one side of its leaf. When meiosis is finished insidethe sporangia and the spores are completed the annulus dries out releasing thespores. The spore germinates and grows into a prothallus which is thegametophyte generation. The antheridia and the archegonia are developed on thebottom of the prothallus. The archegonia are at the notch of the prothallus andthe antheridia are located near the tip. Fertilization occurs when outsidemoisture is present and the sperm from the antheridia swim to the eggs of thearchegonia. A zygote is formed on the prothallus and a new sporophyte grows. 4. Flowering plants have unique characteristics that help them survive. One is the flower itself that contains the reproductive structures. The colorof the flower helps because it may attract birds and insects that spread theplants pollen which diversify the later generation of plants. Flowers alsoproduce fruits that protect their seeds and disperses them with the help offruit eating animals. 5. Fungi, Animalia, and, Plantae are all believed to be evolved fromProtista. All 3 of these kingdoms are eukaryotic and their cells have a nucleusand all the other organelles. Fungi live on organic material they digest,Plants produce their own organic material, and Animals go out and find theirfood. Animalia are heterotrophic whereas Plantae are photosynthetic. Fungi whodigest their own food on the outside are different from animals who digest theirfood on the inside. Plants and animals both have organs systems but animalshave organized muscle fibers and plants do not. 8. The Gasreopoda , Pelecypoda, and the Cephalapoda all have three ofthe same characteristics. The first one is the visceral mass that includesinternal organs like a highly specialized digestive tract, paired kidneys, andreproductive organs. The mantle is the second one. It is a covering thatdoesnt completely cover the visceral mass. The last one is the foot that canbe used for movement, attachment, food capture, or a combination of these. TheGastropods are the snails and slugs. They use their foot for crawling and theirmantle (shell) to protect their visceral mass. The class Pelecypoda consists ofclams, oysters, scallops, and mussels. These animals have two shells that arehinged together by a strong muscle and these shells protect the visceral mass. They use their foot for making threads so they can attach to things. Cephalopodsconsist of octopuses, squids, and nautiluses. These guys use their mantlecavity to squeeze water out and causes locomotion. The foot has evolved intotentacles around the head that are used to catch prey. Nautiluses have anexternal shells, squids have smaller but internal shell and octopuses lackshells entirely. .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6 , .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6 .postImageUrl , .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6 , .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6:hover , .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6:visited , .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6:active { border:0!important; } .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6:active , .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6 .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ucbf1b792f3cdbdbe3190c514d53cc8c6:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: U.S. Governmentt: Federalists Vs. Anti-Federalists Essay9. The word Arthropod means jointed foot which come to some of thefeatures of an arthropod that are the jointed appendages, compound eyes, anexoskeleton, and a brain with a ventral solid nerve cord. The class Crustaceahas compound eyes and five pairs of appendages two of which are sensory antenni. Some examples are shrimp, cray, lobsters, and crabs. Insecta has 900,000species in its class. For example in a grasshopper they have compound eyes withfive pair of appendages, three that are legs, one of which is for hopping, andtwo pairs of wings. Spiders that belong to the class Arachnidia have six pairof appendages. The first pair of appendage are modified fangs and the secondpair are used for chewing. The other four are walking legs ending in claws. Spiders dont have compound eyes, instead, they have simple eyes. More examplesare scorpions, ticks, mites, and chiggers. To similar classes are Diplopoda andChilopoda because they are segmented in the same way and each segment has a pairof walking legs but in the Diplopoda some segments fuse together and seem tohave two pair of legs to one segment. 10.The Phylum Chordata contains creatures that would have bilateral symmetry,well developed coelom, and segmentation. In order to be placed in this phylumthey must have had a dorsal hollow nerve cord, a dorsal supporting rod called anotochord, and gill slits or pharyngeal pouches sometime in their life history. In the subphylum Urochordata the only one of the three traits they carry on intoadulthood is the gill slits. In their tadpole form of their life they containedall three of these characteristics. Subphylum Cephalochordata retain all threequalifications into adult form and have segmented bodies. In subphylumVertebrata it has all three traits as usual but its notochord is replaced by avertebral column. 11. In these fish the sac-like lungs were placed at the end of thefishes digestive tract. In their case when the oxygen level in the water theywere in was low they could still collect oxygen by breathing. After time thesesac-like lungs became swim bladders that control the up and down motion of afish. 12. The reptiles most helpful advancement in reproduction that helpedthem live on land was the use of internal fertilization and the ability to layeggs that are protected by shells. The shells got rid of the swimming larvastage and the eggs did everything inside of the shell.The eggs hasextraembryonic membranes that protect the embryo , get rid of wastes, and givethe embryo oxygen, food, and water. Inside the shell there is a membrane calledthe amnion and is filled with fluid and is used as a pond where the embryodevelops and keeps the embryo from drying out. 13. The three subclasses of mammalia all have hair and mammary glandsthat produce milk. Each of these classes also have well developed sense organs,limbs for movement, and an enlarged brain. In the subclass Prototheria theanimals lay their eggs in a burrow and incubate. When the young hatch theyreceive milk by licking it off the modified sweat glands that are seeping milk. Subclass Metatheria the young begin developing inside the female but are born ata very immature age. The newborn crawl into their mothers pouch and beginnursing. While they are nursing they continue to develop. With the subclassEutheria the organisms contain a placenta that exchanges maternal blood withfetal blood. The young develops inside the mothers uterus and exchangesnutrients and wastes until it is read to be born. Category: Technology