Marine Biology Chapter 8a - Marine Life Exam Questions and
Answers With complete solution–Expert Verified | Latest
Questions 2025-2026
Benthic - Relating to the bottom of a body of water.
Cephalopod - A class of mollusks that includes squids and octopuses.
Fossil record - The history of life on Earth as documented by fossils.
Dorsal - Pertaining to the upper side or back of an organism.
Exoskeleton - A rigid external covering for the body in some invertebrates.
Invertebrates - Animals that do not have a backbone.
Photosynthesis - The process by which green plants and some other organisms use
sunlight to synthesize foods with the help of chlorophyll.
Sonar - A technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate, or detect
objects underwater.
Vertebrates - Animals that have a backbone.
Temperate zones - Regions of the Earth between the tropics and the polar regions.
Diatomaceous earth - A naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is
easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder.
Carnivorous harp sponge - A bizarre creature found on the sea floor of Monterey Bay,
living nearly 2 miles beneath the ocean surface.
Monterey Bay - A well-studied deep-water area of California with a submarine canyon
larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon.
Escarpia laminata - Yard-long tube worms discovered in the deep sea, known to live for
around 600 years.
Pelagic zone - The part of the ocean where animals swim and live in the water column.
Benthic zone - The ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water.
, Sunlit zone - The top layer of the ocean extending from the surface to about 600 feet
(180 m) below, where photosynthesis occurs.
Twilight zone - The second layer of the ocean, stretching from 600 to 3,000 feet (180 to
900 m), where light decreases.
Midnight zone - The deepest layer of the ocean, characterized by complete darkness
and extreme cold.
35.6 to 41°F (2-5°C) - The temperature range of the midnight zone in the ocean.
Nudibranchs - Colorfully patterned sea slugs that are part of the marine ecosystem.
Portuguese man-of-war - A colonial organism made up of specialized polyps and
medusoids, often mistaken for a jellyfish.
Stony coral - Coral that has a hard skeleton made of calcium carbonate.
Neritic zone - The area of open water from the low tide mark to the edge of the
continental shelf.
Oceanic zone - The open sea beyond the continental shelf.
Intertidal zone - The area on the shoreline between low tide and high tide.
Tidal pools - Areas in the intertidal zone that provide opportunities to see various marine
creatures.
Brittle stars - Marine animals that belong to a group including sea stars, sea urchins,
and sea cucumbers.
Plankton - Organisms that wander in the ocean currents, divided into two major groups:
zooplankton and phytoplankton.
Zooplankton - Animal plankton that includes copepods, sea jellies, certain worms,
protozoa, and mollusks.
Phytoplankton - Plant plankton that are autotrophs, making their own organic nutrients.
Diatoms - Single-celled phytoplankton that are among the most abundant in colder
regions.
Radiolarians - A group of single-celled protozoa that are part of the plankton population.
Foraminiferans - Tiny, free-floating protozoa that contribute to ocean life.
Answers With complete solution–Expert Verified | Latest
Questions 2025-2026
Benthic - Relating to the bottom of a body of water.
Cephalopod - A class of mollusks that includes squids and octopuses.
Fossil record - The history of life on Earth as documented by fossils.
Dorsal - Pertaining to the upper side or back of an organism.
Exoskeleton - A rigid external covering for the body in some invertebrates.
Invertebrates - Animals that do not have a backbone.
Photosynthesis - The process by which green plants and some other organisms use
sunlight to synthesize foods with the help of chlorophyll.
Sonar - A technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate, or detect
objects underwater.
Vertebrates - Animals that have a backbone.
Temperate zones - Regions of the Earth between the tropics and the polar regions.
Diatomaceous earth - A naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is
easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder.
Carnivorous harp sponge - A bizarre creature found on the sea floor of Monterey Bay,
living nearly 2 miles beneath the ocean surface.
Monterey Bay - A well-studied deep-water area of California with a submarine canyon
larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon.
Escarpia laminata - Yard-long tube worms discovered in the deep sea, known to live for
around 600 years.
Pelagic zone - The part of the ocean where animals swim and live in the water column.
Benthic zone - The ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water.
, Sunlit zone - The top layer of the ocean extending from the surface to about 600 feet
(180 m) below, where photosynthesis occurs.
Twilight zone - The second layer of the ocean, stretching from 600 to 3,000 feet (180 to
900 m), where light decreases.
Midnight zone - The deepest layer of the ocean, characterized by complete darkness
and extreme cold.
35.6 to 41°F (2-5°C) - The temperature range of the midnight zone in the ocean.
Nudibranchs - Colorfully patterned sea slugs that are part of the marine ecosystem.
Portuguese man-of-war - A colonial organism made up of specialized polyps and
medusoids, often mistaken for a jellyfish.
Stony coral - Coral that has a hard skeleton made of calcium carbonate.
Neritic zone - The area of open water from the low tide mark to the edge of the
continental shelf.
Oceanic zone - The open sea beyond the continental shelf.
Intertidal zone - The area on the shoreline between low tide and high tide.
Tidal pools - Areas in the intertidal zone that provide opportunities to see various marine
creatures.
Brittle stars - Marine animals that belong to a group including sea stars, sea urchins,
and sea cucumbers.
Plankton - Organisms that wander in the ocean currents, divided into two major groups:
zooplankton and phytoplankton.
Zooplankton - Animal plankton that includes copepods, sea jellies, certain worms,
protozoa, and mollusks.
Phytoplankton - Plant plankton that are autotrophs, making their own organic nutrients.
Diatoms - Single-celled phytoplankton that are among the most abundant in colder
regions.
Radiolarians - A group of single-celled protozoa that are part of the plankton population.
Foraminiferans - Tiny, free-floating protozoa that contribute to ocean life.
