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Ecosystems in Marine
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| plankton | the general term for the tiny, free-floating or weakly swimming organisms that live in both freshwater and saltwater environments |
| phytoplankton | single-celled algae |
| zooplankton | planktonic animals |
| wetland | an ecosystem in which water either covers the soil or is present at or near the surface of the soil for at least part of the year |
| estuaries | wetlands formed when rivers meet the sea |
| detritus | particles of organic matter that provide food for organisms at the base of an estuary's food web |
| salt marshes | temperate-zone estuaries dominated by salt-tolerant grasses above the low-tide line, and by seagrasses under water |
| mangrove swamps | coastal wetlands that are widespread across tropical regions |
| photic zone | well-lit upper layer of the oceans |
| aphotic zone | permanently dark layer of the oceans below the photic zone |
| zonation | the prominent horizontal banding of organisms that live in a particular habitat |
| coastal ocean | marine zone that extends from the low-tide mark to the end of the continental shelf |
| continental shelf | the relatively shallow border that surrounds the continents |
| kelp forests | coastal ocean community named for its dominant organism |
| coral reefs | diverse and productive environment named for the coral animals that make up its primary structure |
| open ocean | the largest marine zone; begins at the edge of the continental shelf and extends outward |
| benthic zone | the ocean floor |
| benthos | organisms that live attached to or near the bottom of the ocean floor |
Created by:
Askjagden
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