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6th - Kelp Forest Habitat Vocabulary
Words & concepts associated with California giant kelp forests
45
Science
6th Grade
10/02/2010

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Term
• blade
Definition
leaf-like structure on the giant kelp plant
Term
• frond
Definition
part of the kelp plant above the holdfast
Term
• stipe
Definition
stem-like structure on the giant kelp
Term
• pneumatocyst
Definition
air bladder (contains nitrogen, oxygen, & carbon monoxide gases). The air bladder is what provides most of the buoyancy for the kelp plant. There are so many fronds that without air bladders the giant kelp plant would not float up in the water.
Term
• holdfast
Definition
root-like structure of the giant kelp
Term
• haptera
Definition
finger-like projections that help the holdfast attach to a rock
Term
• substrate
Definition
the bottom of the ocean
Term
• spores
Definition
tiny microscopic cells that are released from sporophyll blades close to the bottom of the kelp frond. These cells  are fertilized & become baby kelp plants.
Term
• sporophylls
Definition
special blades on the bottom of the kelp above the holdfast that produce spores
Term
• upwelling
Definition
movement of ocean water from the bottom of the ocean to the surface that carry nutrients to shallower water
Term
• nitrates & phosphates
Definition
chemicals contained in decomposing bottom material that enrich the water at shallower depths through upwelling
Term
• photsynthesis
Definition
process by which plants take in sunlight and carbon dioxide and produce sugars and oxygen
CO2 + H20 + sunlight => C6H12O6 + O2
Term
• translocation
Definition
the movement of photosynthesis nutrients to parts of the kelp plant that are shaded. This allows the kelp plant to continue growing even when it is nighttime.
Term
• Macrocystis Pyrifera
Definition
Latin name for giant kelp
Term
• growth rate of giant kelp
Definition
12 to 18 inches a day during summer & fall
Term
• phylum phaeophyta
Definition
phylum name for brown algae. Macrocystis Pyrifera (giant kelp) is a type of brown algae.
Term
• drift kelp
Definition
kelp that has been torn off its holdfast and is drifting at the surface. Under the right conditions, drift kelp can reattach itself to the ocean substrate.
Term
• apex
Definition
the tip (or end) of the kelp blade
Term
• detritus
Definition
dead plant material
Term
• Charles Darwin
Definition
naturalist who was a passenger aboard the sailing ship Beagle. He wrote "On the Origin of Species" and is the founder of the theory of evolution. Charles Darwin, even back in 1890, knew that kelp forests were habitats that were as rich and diverse as terrestial forests.
Term
• nursery (5 ways)
Definition
slows down water movement, provides shade, provides anchors for other organisms to attach themselves to, provides food, provides spaces between kelp fronds
Term
• food web
Definition
a diagram showing producers and consumers, preditors and prey in an ecosystem. In other words it shows the various 'who eats who' combinations. A food web may contain multiple food chains.
Term
• herbivore
Definition
a plant eater
Term
• sea urchin barrens
Definition
the result of too many sea urchins in an area that formerly contained a kelp forest. So, too many sea urchins => no more kelp forest (the sea urchins consume the kelp fronds & eat away at the holdfast)
Term
• gastropods
Definition
molluscs (soft-bodied creatures) that have a single exterior shell (sea snails, conchs, welks, cone shells). Some gastropods do NOT have an external shell! (Examples: octopus, cuttlefish, nudibranchs, sea hare)
Term
• carnivore
Definition
an animal that eats other animals
Term
• predator
Definition
an animal that is a hunter and seeks out and eats other animals
Term
• prey
Definition
an animal that becomes food for another animal
Term
• echinoderms
Definition
animals that have a warty appearance, move through the use of tube feet, and have their mouths on the underside of their bodies. (examples: sea urchin, sea star, feather star, sea cucumber)
Term
• molluscs
Definition
soft-bodied animals that have an external shell (although sea hares, cuttlefish, and octopus are also molluscs but do not have shells)
Term
• canopy
Definition
the top of the kelp forest where blades rest on the surface of the water
Term
• mid-story
Definition
the middle section of the kelp forest between the holdfast and the canopy
Term
• 4 habitats in a kelp forest
Definition
canopy, mid-story, holdfast, and ocean floor
Term
• list 5 CANOPY species
Definition
Isopods, sea stars, sea urchins, bryozona, wrasses, bridled leatherjacket, butterfly perch, weedy sea dragon
Term
• list 5 MID-STORY species
Definition
octopus, cuttlefish, seahorses, fish, jellyfish, crustaceans, fish larvae, nudibranchs
Term
• list 5 HOLDFAST species
Definition
isopods, amphipods, crabs, sea urchins, polychaetes (worms), eels, hydroids, bryozoans, molluscs, sponges
Term
• list 5 SEA FLOOR species
Definition
sea urchins, sponges, tunicates, anemones, coralline algae, feather stars, sea cucumbers, abalone, blackfish, sea stars, spiny lobster, snapper, striped trumpeter
Term
• 5 threats to kelp
Definition
over grazing, over harvesting, water clarity problems (as with plankton blooms), man-made pollution, storms
Term
• producer
Definition
usually a plant or plant-like structure that can use sunlight along with nutrients to produce sugars and oxygen (In other words, it makes its own food.)
Term
• consumer
Definition
an organism that eats plants or animals
Term
• keystone species
Definition
a species important to the balance of an ecosystem -- (example: sea otters in a kelp forest who love to eat sea urchins and thus, keep the population of sea urchins from devouring the kelp fronds)
Term
• eutrophication
Definition
the process of detritus breaking down, decomposing, or rotting
Term
• suspended sediments
Definition
tiny dirt particles that hover in the water reducing water clarity and thus blocking out sunlight and cutting down on photosynthesis
Term
• plankton blooms
Definition
an explosive growth of phytoplankton (plant plankton). The problem with plankton blooms is that they cut down on water clarity and reduce photosynthesis
Term
• algin
Definition
a substance extracted from giant kelp that is an emulsifier -- it helps substances flow (as in toothpastes and ice cream)
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