| Question | Answer |
| Downstream movement of biota/organic matter in a stream | Drift |
| Horizontal structure
Vertical structure
Benthic/pelagic | Structure of marine ecosystem |
| Littoral zone
Neritic zone
Oceanic zone | Horizontal structure |
| Epipelagic zone
Mesopelagic zone
Bathypelagic zone
Abyssal zone
Hadal zone | Vertical structure |
| Epipelagic zone depth | From surface to 200 meters |
| Mesopelagic zone depth | 200 - 1000 meteres |
| Bathypelagic zone depth | 1000 - 4000 meters |
| Abyssal zone depth | 4000 - 6000 meters |
| Hadal zone depth | 6000 meters to bottom |
| 80 % of solar energy that reaches the surface of the ocean is absorbed in the first 10 meters
Ocean appears blue in color due to absorbtion of red, yellow and green
Most of the ocean is absent of light aka black save for bio luninescent organisms | Physical characteristics of the ocean |
| thermal stratification a permanent feature of tropical oceans
Temperature oceans only stratify in summer and oceans at high latitudes have weakly developed thermoclines
Surface temperature of ocean water vary somewhat with latitude and below 100 m depth | Physical characteristics - temperature |
| Ssurface and depth ocean currents
- moderate climate
- provide nutrients to surface water
- stimulate photosynthesis promote genetic flow among populations | Physical water movements |
| Sinking of cold high density water at poles that move along ocean floor and moves to the surface via upwelling coastlines, sea mountains, rough waters | Deep water ocean currents |
| Salinity - amount of salt dissolved in water
Open ocean - 34 - 36.5 kilograms of water
Fringing seas - 7 - 40 ppt
Relative proportions of major ions fairly constant across the ocean
Varies with latitude | Chemical characteristics of the ocean salinity |
| Present in far lower concentrations than air
Highest concentrations in surface water reaching an oxygen minimum at 1000 meters or less, then increasing again with depth | Chemical characteristics of the ocean - oxygen |
| Compressed biological and environmental gradients - variable area for ecological research
Intertitle zone - area covered by waves at high tide and exposed to air at low tide
Vertical zones - supratidal fringe ada splash zone | Marine shorelines - intertidal zones |
| Fringing reef - hug a shore line of a continent or island
Barrier reef - some distance offshore stand between the open sea and a lagoon
Coral atolls - coral islets built up from submerged oceanic islands, ring a lagoon | Coral reefs |
| Structure similar to a terrestrial forest (canopy, subcanopy and understory layers)
Stems of giant kelp may extend from holdfasts on ocean floor to 25 m to the surface waters
Kelp fronds house many epiphytic organisms | Kelp forests |
| Tides cause variability in exposure to light as well as increased turbidity
Temperature is highly variable in these systems
Vigourous mixing via tidal currents or river flow transport organisms, renew nutrients and oxygen and remove waste | Physical conditions of a salt marsh |
| wide fluxuations in salinity in estuaries, salt marshes and mangrove forests
Stratification and establishment of salt wedge in estuaries
Changes in density isolate surface and bottom waters | Chemical conditions, salt wedge estuaries |
| Oxygen concentrations are highly variable and may reach extreme low or extreme high levels
Rich biological production and decomposition of OM can reduce oxygen levels and high rates of PS can increase oxygen levels | Chemical conditions - oxygen |
| a substance that is foreign to a natural system or present in unnaturally high concentration. | Contaminant |
| a substance that elicits an (adverse effect) | pollutant |
| Can be broken down by chemical reactions or natural processess into simple, non pollutant substances | Non-resistant contaminants |
| Remain in the aquatic environment for years
Damage cause is irreversible or repairable only over decades or centuries | persistent contaminants |
| Esthetic appeal of water, can also negatively impact wild life | Physical pollution |
| The quantitative and qualitative study of the adverse or toxic effects of chemicals or other anthropogenic materials on ecosystems | Ecotoxicology |
