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Biomes and Aquatic
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Biome | A grouping of ecosystems that share similar abiotic and biotic conditions |
| Climate | Describes the average conditions, including temperature and precipitation, over long periods in a given area |
| Weather | The day to day conditions in Earth's atmosphere |
| Climatographs | A diagrama that shows an area's average temperature and precipitation |
| Net primary production | The organic matter, or biomass, that remains after cellular respiration |
| Canopy | The dense covering of trees, 50 to 80 meters above ground, in a rain forest, 168 |
| Emergent layer | The few tall trees that extend above the canopy in a rain forest |
| Understory | The shorter trees and plants found in a tropical rain forest |
| Epiphytes | A plant that grows on other plants instead of in soil |
| Deciduous | A tree that loses its leaves and stops photosynthesis during the part of the year |
| Estivation | The deep sleep like state that an animal enters when the conditions are dry |
| Coniferous | A tree bearing cones that typically does not lose its leaves |
| Hibernation | The deep sleep like state that an animal enters for most of the winter |
| Permafrost | Permanently frozen soil |
| Salinity | A measurement of the amount of salts dissolved in water |
| Photic zone | The uppermost layer of an aquatic ecosystem, where there is enough sunlight for photosynthesis to occur |
| Aphotic zone | The layer below the photic zone in an aquatic ecosystem, where no sunlight penetrates so photosynthesis cannot occur |
| Benthic zone | The bottom layer of an aquatic ecosystem |
| Littoral zone | The shallow near-shore portion of the photic zone |
| Limnetic zone | The portion of the photic zone that is farther from shore than the littoral zone; no rooted plants are found in this zone |
| Wetlands | An area of land that is flooded with water at least sometime during the year |
| Flood plain | An area alongside a river that periodically floods |
| Estuaries | Body of water, partly enclosed by land, that occurs where fresh, water meets the water of an ocean or inland sea |
| Upwelling | The flow of cold, nutrient-rich water toward the surface of the ocean |