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| group of primitive, non-flowering plants that include certain seaweed and microscopic phytoplankton |
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| plants and animals living in or on the bottom in aquatic environment |
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| mixture of fresh and salt water |
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| organisms (chiefly bacteria and fungi) that break down dead organic matter |
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| decomposed or partly decomposed plant and animal matter |
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| oxygen released into the water by photosynthesis and air - water interactions; essential for respiration of aquatic animals |
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| the study of interrelationships of living things to one another and to their environment |
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| an interactive system of a biological community and its non-living environment |
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| the wearing away of land surfaces by wind or water; erosion occurs naturally but it is often intensified by land use practices |
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| semi-enclosed, tidal, coastal body of water open to the sea in which fresh and salt-water mix |
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| over-enrichment of a body of water due to excessive nutrient loading, often resulting in depletion of dissolved oxygen |
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| complex interaction of food chains in a biological community |
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| the place where a plant or animal lives |
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| the area between high and low tide |
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| low, wet, grassland without trees, periodically covered by water |
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| free swimming aquatic organism such as fish |
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| an inorganic nutrient essential for plant growth; excess amounts can cause eutrophication |
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| non-point source pollution |
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Definition
| pollutants entering waterways from a general area, such as runoff from farmland or suburban communities |
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Definition
| chemicals (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus) necessary for organisms to live |
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| chemical compounds made with carbon, made in live processes by plants and animals |
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| a measure of acidity or alkalinity of a material, liquid or solid; estuaring water is, naturally, slightly base |
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| nutrient essential for plant growth and reproduction; usually associated with farmland runoff, sewage and detergents |
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| the plant form of plankton, most are microscopic; they are important as primary producers in an estuarine ecosystem |
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| process by which plants convert sunlight into living tissue using carbon dioxide, water and nutrients; primary production |
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| organisms living suspended in the water column, often microscopic but sometimes visible to the naked eye |
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| the distribution of plant species into zones in response to some habitat condition such as salinity or moisture |
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| pollution from a definable source, such as an outfall pipe |
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| presence of abnormally high concentration of harmful substances in the environment, often put there by people |
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| organisms using the sun's energy and inorganic nutrients to synthesize organic compounds; provides energy to other organisms |
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| the plant form of plankton |
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| the measurement (parts per thousand/ppt) of the amount of dissolved salts in water; 35 ppt for seawater, 0 ppt for freshwater |
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| a white plate-sized disk attached to a rope, that when lowered down into the water measures turbidity |
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| particles that accumulate on the bottom of a waterway |
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| place where sewage is treated to make it safe to be pumped into a river or the bay |
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| periodic movement of a body of water by the gravitational attraction of the moon and sun with the rotation of the earth |
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| streams and rivers that supply a larger body of water |
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| the levels at which an organism feeds in a food web (producer, primary consumers etc.) |
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| the measurement of water cloudiness;it may be affected by such things as sediment and plankton concentrations |
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| underwater grasses (bay grasses) |
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| rooted vegetation that grows beneath the water surface |
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| an area of land that is drained by a specified river or other body of water |
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| the animal form of plankton |
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