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The part of the ocean beneath the photic zone, where light does not penetrate sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur. |
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The bottom surface of an aquatic environment. |
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| Any of the world’s major ecosystems, classified according to the predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular environment. |
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| The entire portion of Earth inhabited by life; the sum of all the planet’s ecosystems. |
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| Pertaining to the living organisms in the environment. |
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| The uppermost layer of vegetation in a terrestrial biome. |
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| A scrubland biome of dense, spiny evergreen shrubs found at midlatitudes along coasts where cold ocean currents circulate offshore; characterized by mild, rainy winters and long, hot, dry summers. |
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| The prevailing weather conditions at a locality. |
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| A plot of the temperature and precipitation in a particular region. |
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| All the organisms that inhabit a particular area; an assemblage of populations of different species living close enough together for potential interaction. |
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| The study of how interactions between species affect community structure and organization. |
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| A warm-water, tropical ecosystem dominated by the hard skeletal structures secreted primarily by the resident cnidarians. |
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| deep-sea hydrothermal vent |
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| A dark, hot, oxygen-deficient environment associated with volcanic activity. The food producers are chemoautotrophic prokaryotes. |
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| The distribution of individuals within geographic population boundaries. |
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| The study of how organisms interact with their environment. |
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| All the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact; a community and its physical environment. |
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| The study of energy flow and the cycling of chemicals among the various biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem. |
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| The transition from one type of habitat or ecosystem to another, such as the transition from a forest to a grassland. |
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| The area where a freshwater stream or river merges with the ocean. |
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| A nutrient-rich and oxygen-poor lake, having a high rate of biological productivity. |
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| The shallow zone of the ocean where land meets water. |
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| Several different, primarily terrestrial ecosystems linked by exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms. |
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| The study of past, present, and future patterns of landscape use, as well as ecosystem management and the biodiversity of interacting ecosystems. |
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| In a lake, the well-lit, open surface waters farther from shore. |
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| In a lake, the shallow, well-lit waters close to shore. |
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| Large-scale variations in climate; the climate of an entire region. |
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| Very fine scale variations of climate, such as the specific climatic conditions underneath a log. |
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| The shallow region of the ocean overlying the continental shelf. |
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| Most of the ocean’s waters far from shore, constantly mixed by ocean currents. |
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| The region of water lying over deep areas beyond the continental shelf. |
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| A nutrient-poor, oxygen-rich, clear, deep lake with few phytoplankton. |
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| The branch of ecology concerned with the morphological, physiological, and behavioral ways in which individual organisms meet the challenges posed by their biotic and abiotic environments. |
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| Localized variation in environmental conditions within an ecosystem, arranged spatially into a complex of discrete areas that may be characterized by distinctive groups of species or ecosystem processes. |
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| The area of the ocean past the continental shelf, with areas of open water often reaching to very great depths. |
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| A permanently frozen stratum below the arctic tundra. |
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| The narrow top slice of the ocean, where light permeates sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur. |
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| A localized group of individuals that belong to the same biological species (that are capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring). |
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| The study of populations in relation to the environment, including environmental influences on population density and distribution, age structure, and variations in population size. |
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| A guiding principle in making decisions about the environment, cautioning to consider carefully the potential consequences of actions. |
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| A tropical grassland biome with scattered individual trees, large herbivores, and three distinct seasons based primarily on rainfall, maintained by occasional fires and drought. |
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| Several different, primarily aquatic ecosystems linked by exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms. |
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| temperate broadleaf forest |
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| A biome located throughout midlatitude regions where there is sufficient moisture to support the growth of large, broadleaf deciduous trees. |
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| A narrow stratum of rapid temperature change in the ocean and in many temperate-zone lakes. |
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| Latitudes between 23.5° north and south. |
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| A biome at the extreme limits of plant growth. At the northernmost limits, it is called arctic tundra, and at high altitudes, where plant forms are limited to low shrubby or matlike vegetation, it is called alpine tundra. |
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| The mixing of waters as a result of changing water-temperature profiles in a lake. |
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| An ecosystem intermediate between an aquatic one and a terrestrial one. Wetland soil is saturated with water permanently or periodically. |
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| The relative number of individuals of each age in a population. |
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