Term | Definition |
Marine ecology | The branch of ecology dealing with the interdependence of all organisms living in the ocean, in shallow coastal waters, and on the seashore |
Abiotic Factors in the ocean | Water, salinity, light, pressure, temperature, dissolved gases, pH, tides, currents, waves, stratum, nutrient supply, exposure to air |
Precipitation | water from the clouds fall to earth rain, snow, hail or sleet |
Surface Runoff | water on the surface of the land that flows downhill into bodies of water such as streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes |
Infiltration | rain water soaks into the ground through soil and rock layers under the soil with some remaining underground as groundwater |
Evaporation | liquid water changes to a gaseous state as water vapor |
Transpiration | water that has been absorbed by plants will evaporate through the leaves as water vapor |
Condensation | water vapor is changed into a liquid. Water vapors join dust particles to form clouds |
Osmoregulation | the ability of organisms to control the concentration of salts or water in their internal fluids |
Coriolis Effect | anything that moves over the surface tends to turn a little rather than moving in a straight line and it deflects large-scale motions like winds and currents to the right in Northern Hemisphere and to the left in Southern Hemisphere |
Pelagic zone | includes the neritic zone and the oceanic zone |
neritic zone | the productive coastal waters |
oceanic zone- | deep waters of the open ocean- |
benthic zone | extends from the seashore to the deepest parts of the sea |
substratum | The material that makes up the bottom of the benthic zone |
benthos | the organisms living the substratum--bottom dwellers |
Epipelagic (top) | euphotic (good-light = enough for photosynthesis) |
Mesopelagic (middle) | disphotic (low-light= too weak for photosynthesis ) |
Bathypelagic (deep) | aphotic (without-light) |
Nekton | Active swimmers capable of counteracting currents eg. Fish, Squids, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals |
Epiflora or epifauna | live on the sea bottom |
infauna | live in the sea bottom |
Saprophytes | decompose detritus completing the food chain |
detritus | dead and partially decayed plant and animal tissue and organic wastes from the food chain |
Numbers pyramid | compares the number of individuals in each trophic level |
Biomass pyramid | compares the total dry weight of the organisms in each trophic level |
Energy pyramid | compares the total amount of energy available in each trophic level. This energy is usually measured in kilocalories. |
Scavengers | feed on dead plants and animals that they have NOT killed |
point source pollution | pollution from a clearly identifiable location |
nonpoint source pollution | pollution that comes from many different places |
organic pollution | decomposition of living organisms and their bi-products |
inorganic pollution | dissolved and suspended solids as silt, salts, and minerals |
toxic pollution | heavy medals and other chemical compounds that are lethal to organisms |
thermal pollution | waste heat from industrial and power generation processes |
Bycatch | marine wildlife unintentionally caught as sea turtles, porpoises, albatross, crabs, starfish & fish |
Threats to Marine Water Quality and Marine Environments | Oil spills, Marine dumping of wastes, Overfishing and Exploitation, Climate Change, Sea Temperature Rise Invasive Species Ocean Dead Zones Overfishing, Ocean acidification, Population, displacement, Mangrove Destruction, Bycatch, Dredging Wastes, |