Note to moderator: Read the answerline carefully. Note to players: Description acceptable. 16S rDNA barcoding of bacteria from this ecosystem found that it’s highly enriched with Pseudoalteromonas and Vibrio. Several species of Halobates are named for “striding” on this ecosystem, which contains most carbohydrate-rich TEPs. Many copepods feed on sawdust-like Trichodesmium clusters in a “microlayer” of this ecosystem home to Glaucus nudibranchs. Migrating plumes of a macroorganism from this ecosystem emit hydrogen sulfide as they rot, threatening (*) intertidal habitats by creating oxygen-poor zones. Mobile slicks in this ecosystem are nurseries for neuston like the Portuguese man o’ war. Phytoplankton and other primary producers in this ecosystem are stimulated by wind-driven influxes of nutrient-rich water to it. For 10 points, name this oceanic region home to floating Sargassum, where nutrients are driven by upwelling. ■END■
ANSWER: ocean surface [accept sea surface microlayer; accept surface alone after “oceanic” is read, but prompt on it beforehand by asking “of what?”; accept descriptions that indicate the boundary between the sea or ocean and the atmosphere; prompt on ocean or sea; prompt on SML by asking “what does that stand for?”; prompt on euphotic zone, sunlight zone, or epipelagic zone; prompt on sea slicks by asking “where in the sea are they located?”; prompt on surface slicks by asking “on the surface of what?”]
<JE, Biology>
= Average correct buzz position