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Ecology Chapter 3
Ecology Chapter 3
30
Science
7th Grade
07/02/2010

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Term
biome
Definition
a large region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain types of plant and animal communities
Term
temperate deciduous forest
Definition
forest in which trees lose all of their leaves annually
Term
coniferous forests
Definition
forest in which trees do not lost their leaves annually
Term
tropical rain forest
Definition
land biome with the most biological diversity than any other place on Earth
Term
temperate grassland
Definition
biome with grasses and other flowering plants, as well as small seed eating animals and larger grass eaters
Term
savanna
Definition
biome with grasses as well as scattered clumps of trees and seasonal rains
Term
desert
Definition
biome that is very dry and often very hot
Term
alpine tundra
Definition
mountain top biome that is so cold that trees do not grow
Term
polar tundra
Definition
biome that is found at the north and south poles and is so cold that trees do not grow
Term
plankton
Definition
the mass of mostly microscopic organisms that float or drift freely in freshwater and marine environments
Term
surface zone
Definition
the warm, top layer of ocean water that is heated by sunlight and mixed by surface currents
Term
thermocline
Definition
layer of water in the ocean in which the water temperature drops with increased depth faster than it does in any other part of the ocean
Term
deep zone
Definition
the bottom layer of the ocean in which the average temperature is 2 degrees Celsius
Term
intertidal zone
Definition
region where the ocean meets the land; this area is exposed to the air for part of the day
Term
neritic zone
Definition
the area of the ocean where the water becomes deeper and the ocean floor starts to slop downward
Term
benthic zone
Definition
the zone of life at the ocean floor
Term
oceanic zone
Definition
the zone of the ocean where the sea floor drops sharply and where the deepest water of the open ocean is found
Term
coral reef
Definition
areas in warm, shallow ares of the neritic zone where small animals live on the skeletal remains of other small animals
Term
estuary
Definition
an area where fresh water from rivers mixes with salt water from the ocean
Term
Sargasso Sea
Definition
an ecosystem in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that contains floating rafts of algae
Term
littoral zone
Definition
the shallow zone of a lake or pond whee light reaches the bottom and nurtures plants
Term
open-water zone
Definition
the zone of a pond or lake that extends from the littoral zone and that is only as deep as light can reach
Term
deep water zone
Definition
the zone of a lake or pond below the open water zone, where no light reaches
Term
wetland
Definition
an area of land that is periodically underwater or whose soil contains a great deal of moisture
Term
marsh
Definition
a treeless wetland ecosystem where plants such as grasses grow
Term
swamp
Definition
a wetland ecosystem in which shrubs and trees grow
Term
conifers
Definition
trees that produce their seeds in cones
Term
deciduous
Definition
trees with leaves that change color and fall off in autumn
Term
canopy
Definition
the treetops of a rainforest
Term
permafrost
Definition
soil below the surface that stays frozen all the time
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