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Courtney Hall
ch. 13 life on the continental shelf
21
Science
12th Grade
03/29/2012

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Term
benthos
Definition
organisms that live on the bottom
Term
plankton
Definition
those that drift with the currents
Term
nekton
Definition
those able to swim against the currents
Term
stratification
Definition
seperation of the water column into layers, with the desest, coldest water at the bottom, which prevents the mixing of the nutrient-rich deep water with the less dense, warm upper layer.
Term
lithogenius sediment
Definition
sediment that comes from the physical or chemical breakdown of the rocks on land
Term
biogenius sediment
Definition
sediment composed if the skeletons and shells of marine organisms
Term
metamorphosis
Definition
the transformation of onestage of a life cycle into another, as when a larva changes into a juvenile
Term
primary producers
Definition
organisms that can create organic matter from co2 usually by photsynthesis
Term
detritus
Definition
particles of dead organic matter
Term
deposit feeders
Definition
animals that feed on organic matter that settles in the sediment
Term
suspension feeders
Definition
animals, including filter feeders, that feed on particles suspended in the water column
Term
pelagic
Definition
pertaining to the water column away from the bottom or other structure
Term
indo-west pacific region
Definition
the tropical indian and western and central pacific oceans
Term
biomass
Definition
the total weight of living organisms
Term
nitrogen fixation
Definition
conversion of nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds that can be used by primary producers as nutrients
Term
encrusting seaweeds
Definition
those that grow as a thin layer over rocks, such as some of the coraline algae
Term
monsoons
Definition
winds in the northern indian ocean that bloww fromt he southwest in summer but from the northeast in the winter
Term
upwelling
Definition
the upward flow of cold, nutrient-rich deep water to the surface
Term
ecological niche
Definition
the combination of what a species eats, where it lives, how it behaves, and all the other aspects of its lifestyle
Term
el nino
Definition
a warming of the surface water int eh eastern pacific, part of large-scale changes in atmospheric and ocean current patterns, or ENSO
Term
la nina
Definition
a cooling trend of the surface water int he eastern pacific
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