BIOL 3450 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Sodium Chloride, Lunar Phase, Echinoderm
8 Feb 2015
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Document Summary
Ecological groupings of aquatic organisms: classification tends to happen according to habitat or according to functional feeding mechanisms. Classification by habitat: organisms can be categorized by 4 main groups: pelagic, benthic, neutson and fringing- which the part of the water the organism lives in. They are a feature of the sea especially coastal water often as sedentary adult forms of coastal species using their planktonic stage for dispersal. Less diverse in fw but individually can be very abundant. Neuston: associated with water surface supported by surface tension, acar ( mites) and collembola ( springtails) along with larger insects, often require still water so restricted in rivers and sea. Classification by functional groups- pelagic: hard to classify based off food eaten bc eat anything that fits mouth. Plankton are therefore classified by size which will change as many species grow bigger into adulthood. Marine versus fw strategies: related taxa may adopt very diff repro strategies due to diff enviroments.
