Question

1. Of the six species of seals found in Antarctica, four of them breed on the actual ice in the spring months. Which species of seal or ice expert?
A. Crab eater, leopard, harbor, elephant
B. Crab eater, leopard, fur, elephant
C. Crab eater, wedded, Ross, leopard
D. Ross, wedded, leopard, fur

2. Ice that forms and then melts seasonally around the coast of Antarctica is best described as
A. Oceanic ice
B. Glacial ice
C. Sea ice
D. Continental ice

3. All of the factors below play a role in creating ocean currents. Which factor has the greatest influence on weather patterns?
A. Earth’s rotation
B. Heat capacity
C. Salinity
D. Bottom topography

4. Cold water upwelling help increase the number of organisms in an area by bringing
A. Warm water to the area
B. More predators
C. More nutrients from the bottom
D. Warm water nutrients from the top

5. What is the difference between El Niño and La Niña?

6. Which of the following statements about sea surface temperature is evidence of La Niña year?
A. It is greater than normal in the Eastern Pacific
B. It is lower than normal is the Western Pacific
C. It is greater than normal in the Western Pacific
D. It is lower than normal in the Eastern Pacific
E. Normal Pattern

7. Why is it beneficial to use names for hurricanes over latitude-longitude identification methods?

8. Which of the following organisms does NOT rely on krill as a major food source?
A. Adélie penguins
B. Leopard seal
C. Humpback whale
D. Squid

9. Adélie penguins feed mostly on krill but switch to fish during the breeding season and then to squid during the winter. What is a good explanation for this?
A. Fish and squid are more abundant, and krill is more scarce
B. Fish and squid provide more energy than krill
C. Fish and squid is more abundant, and krill is more available
D. Fish and squid is preferred but is not as available during the other months

10. All of the following are ways the penguins stay warm EXCEPT
A. Swimming fast
B. Fat reserves
C. Layers of feathers
D. Staying close together in groups

11. The population of penguins has increased greatly over the past several decades. Part of this can be attributed to the over-hunting of baleen whales. Develop a logical argument for why these two occurrences can be connected.

Answer 1

1) The answer is C. Weddell and Crab eater seal usually form breeding groups or colonies when breeding. The Leopard and Ross seals are solitary when breeding. Antarctic and elephant seals on the other hand breed in dense groups on beaches when breeding.

2) The answer is C. Sea ice is frozen water that forms, grows and melts in the ocean.It occurs both in the arctic and antarctic. The sea ice grows during the winter months and melts during the summer months making it a seasonal ice. Areas with sea ice do not absorb much light because sunlight that strike it are reflected back into space.

3) The answer is C. Heat capacity. When the sun heats the surface evaporation of water occurs. The water vapour is lifted into the atmosphere using heat currents. The water vapour  combines with dust particles to form clouds which later rain.

4) The answer is C. The cold water is denser and thus is moves to the bottom(downwelling). Water that is rich in nutrients then moves up to the surface to replace the cold water. The increased nutrients trigger the growth of organisms like the algae.

5) What is the difference between El nino and La nina.
El Nino is the warm phase of ENSO while La Nina is the cold phase of ENSO. El Nino usually brings rainfall and warmth to western pacific regions and coldness and dryness to the eastern pacific region while La Nina brings coldness in the eastern pacific regions and heavy rains that cause floods in the western pacific.

6) The answer is C. During the La Nina year the sea surface temperature is greater than normal in the Western pacific. The La Nina is an exaggeration of the usual seasonal cool cycle unlike El Nino which is an exaggeration of the warm cycle. The La Nina year occurs after some El Nino years.

7) Names for hurricane are beneficial over latitude longitude identification because they are easier to remember. They avoid confusion which is more likely when using latitude longitude identification.They also help to spread awareness and are much easier to track.

8)The answer is B. The leopard is the second largest seal that have powerful jaws and long teeth. They use these teeth to kill smaller seals, fish and squid. They also feed on penguins. This is why they do not rely on krill as a major food source.

9) The answer is A. The adelie penguins feed mostly on krill but switch to fish during breeding because fish and squid are more abundant and krill is more scarce. I think this is because during the breeding season birds spend short periods at sea and hence more fish is available.

10) The answer is A. Due to the fact that penguins live in cold environments, they have adopted a few features to keep them warm. These features include fat under their skin,layers of features and staying together in groups. Penguins swim fast in order to launch themselves in the air.

11) The population of penguins have greatly increased due to the hunting of baleen whales. Baleen whales are know to eat krill and fishes. This means when there is a reduction of the baleen whales there will be an increase in the amount of krill and fish. This will result to an increase in the amount of penguins since food availability will increase increasing their chances of survival.