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Definition
| The aquatic equivalents of biomes are called aquatic life zones. |
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Definition
| The third type, benthos, consists of bottom dwellers such as oysters, which anchor themselves to one spot; clams and worms, which burrow into the sand or mud; and lobsters and crabs, which walk about on the sea floor. |
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Definition
| coastal land areas covered with water all or part of the year |
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Definition
| the warm, nutrient-rich, shallow water that extends from the high-tide mark on land to the gently sloping, shallow edge of the continental shelf. |
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Definition
| form in clear, warm coastal waters of the tropics and subtropics. |
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Definition
| Human inputs of nutrients from the atmosphere and from nearby urban and agricultural areas can accelerate the eutrophication of lakes, a process called cultural eutrophication. |
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Term
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Definition
| A fourth major type is decomposers (mostly bacteria), which break down organic compounds in the dead bodies and wastes of aquatic organisms into nutrients that can be used by aquatic primary producers. |
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Term
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Definition
| are where rivers meet the sea |
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Term
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| A lake with a large supply of nutrients needed by producers is called a eutrophic (well-nourished) lake. |
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Definition
| lakes, rivers, streams, and inland wetlands |
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Term
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Definition
| Cultural eutrophication often puts excessive nutrients into lakes, which are then described as hypereutrophic. |
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Term
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Definition
| lands covered with freshwater all or part of the time (excluding lakes, reservoirs, and streams) and located away from coastal areas. |
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Definition
| The area of shoreline between low and high tides is called the intertidal zone. |
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Definition
| large natural bodies of standing freshwater formed when precipitation, runoff, or groundwater seepage fills depressions in the earth’s surface. |
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Definition
| Many lakes fall somewhere between the two extremes of nutrient enrichment. They are called mesotrophic lakes. |
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Term
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Definition
| A second major type of organisms is nekton, strongly swimming consumers such as fish, turtles, and whales. |
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Term
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Definition
| Lakes that have a small supply of plant nutrients are called oligotrophic (poorly nourished) lakes. Often, this type of lake is deep and has steep banks. |
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Term
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Definition
| The sharp increase in water depth at the edge of the continental shelf separates the coastal zone from the vast volume of the ocean called the open sea. |
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Term
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Definition
| Saltwater and freshwater life zones contain several major types of organisms. One such type consists of weakly swimming, free-floating plankton. |
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Term
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Definition
| Precipitation that does not sink into the ground or evaporate becomes surface water. It becomes runoff when it flows into streams. |
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Definition
| oceans and their accompanying estuaries, coastal wetlands, shorelines, coral reefs, and mangrove forests |
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Term
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Definition
| Precipitation that does not sink into the ground or evaporate |
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Term
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Definition
| The depth of the euphotic zone in oceans and deep lakes can be reduced when the water is clouded by excessive algal growth (algal blooms) resulting from nutrient overloads. This cloudiness, called turbidity, can occur naturally, such as from algal growth, or can result from disturbances such as clearing of land, which causes silt to flow into bodies of water. |
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Term
| watershed, or drainage basin |
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Definition
| the land area that delivers runoff, sediment, and dissolved substances to a stream. |
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