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Forward to Chapter 17
Case History: The Suez Canal
Featured
localities:
Mediterranean
Sea
More Links: 1
- 2
- 3
- 4 - 5
- 6
Suez
Canal
More Links: 1 - 2
- 3 - 4
- 5 -
6
- 7
Red Sea
More Links: 1 - 2
- 3
- 4
- 5 - 6
RQ 16.1: When was the Suez Canal
passageway between
the Red Sea and the Mediterranean
Sea sufficiently opened
to permit organisms to move between
these seas? What
trends have been observed since
then?
I. Long Distance Dispersal
terms: exotic species
a) The Role of Ships in Transporting Exotic Species
b) Chances of Survival of Invading Species
c) Three Case Histories: Oysters,
Lobsters,
and Worms
terms: indigenous species
Featured
Organsims:
Crassostrea
gigas (Pacific
oyster, exotic species native
to Japan,
intentionally introduced on
the West Coast and elsewhere)
Ostrea
lurida (Olympia oyster,
indigenous species native to
Puget Sound, now relatively rare)
Homarus americanus
(American
lobster)
More Links: 1
- 2 - 3
- 4
- 5 - 6
Nereis diversicolor
(European polychaete "ragworm")
RQ 16.2: Contrast the oyster, lobster,
and worm examples above
with respect to the success of
intentional introductions of exotic
species.
d) The Effects of Exotic Species on
Indigenous Communities
terms: endemic species
II. The Evolutionary Increase of Marine Species
terms: Sepkoski's marine fauna's: Cambrian fauna,
Paleozoic fauna, Modern fauna
a) New Species, New Ecological Abilities
RQ 16.3: Judging from the fossil
record of animal life, in what
ways does the "Modern" fauna of
Sepkoski's comparisons of
marine families of organisms through
time differ from earlier
faunas such as the "Paleozoic"
or "Cambrian" faunas?
b) The Rise of Spartina townsendii
Featured
Organsim:
Spartina
townsendii is a new species of cordgrass,
which formed
through hybridization in about
1870 in England. Hybridization in this case
involved the combining of genetic material
from two parental species, Spartina alternifolia
from N. America, and its indigenous relative,
Spartina stricta. Spartina has also recently
invaded the West Coast,
along with many
other exotic species with potentially serious
consequences such as the green crab (see
Cancer links below).
RQ 16.4: In what way is the case
of Spartina townsendii
quite unusual among examples of
new species being added
to a community? How does its addition
affect the nature
of the community it has become
part of?
c) Biogeographic Clues to Past Evolutionary
Modifications
of Communities
Featured
Organsims:
Cancer
crabs (Cancer spp.)
More Links: 1 -
2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6 - 7
Sea snakes
(Hydrophiidae)
More Links: 1
-
2 - 3
- 4
- 5
- 6 - 7
RQ 16.5: Contrast the western and
eastern Pacific faunas
in the northern hemisphere (e.g.,
Japan vs. California or
Tahiti vs. Panama), using the examples
of the crab genus,
Cancer, and the sea snake
family, Hydrophiidae, to
illustrate trends that have been
observed.
III. The Long-Term Effects of Climatic Change
a) Giant-Scale Exterminations by Ice-Age Cooling
RQ 16.6 (Figs. 16.9 and 16.10):
Contrast the impact of the
most recent Ice Age on the Pacific
and Atlantic Oceans.
How did the impact on these oceans
differ and how can
these differences be best explained?
b) Subtle Shifts in Community Composition
Due to Sea
Surface Warming
RQ 16.7: How did the slight 0.5°C
increase in seawater
temperature around the British
Isles, between 1925 and 1962,
affect the communities of marine
organisms that were found there?
c) Effects of Warmer Waters: Adjustment
of Competitive
Abilities,
Alteration of Ecosystem Timetables, and
Extermination
of Species (not covered)
d) Long-Term Weather Cycles (not covered)
IV. Mathematical Models of Ecosystem Dynamics and
Change
(not covered)
Click link to return to Lecture
Schedule
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Back to Chapter 15
Forward to Chapter 17
This page created 5/1/01 © D.J. Eernisse, Last Modified 5/2/01