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Definition
| Pertaining to the ocean bottom. |
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Definition
| The benthic environment between 4000 and 6000 meters (13,000 and 20,000 feet) |
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Definition
| The open-ocean (oceanic) environment below 4000 meters (13,000 feet) in depth. |
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Definition
| A zone without light. The ocean is generally in this state below 1000 meters (3280 feet). |
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Definition
| One of the three major domains of life. The domain consists of simple microscopic bacteria-like creatures (including methane producers and sulfur oxidizers that inhabit deep-sea vents and seeps) and other microscopic life forms that prefer environments of extreme conditions of temperature and/or pressure. |
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Definition
| Algae, plants, and bacteria that can synthesize organic compounds from inorganic nutrients. |
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Definition
| Bacteria that live as plankton. |
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Definition
| The benthic environment between the depths of 200 and 4000 meters (660 and 13,000 feet). It includes mainly the continental slope and the oceanic ridges and rises. |
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Definition
| The pelagic environment between the depths of 1000 and 4000 meters (3300 and 13,000 feet). |
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Definition
| Pertaining to the ocean bottom. |
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Definition
| The forms of marine life that live on the ocean bottom. |
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Term
| Deep scattering layer (DSL) |
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Definition
| A layer of marine organisms in the open ocean that scatter signals from an echo sounder. It migrates daily from depths of slightly over 100 meters (330 feet) at night to more than 800 meters (2600 feet) during the day. |
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Definition
| A process by which fluids move through other fluids by random molecular movement from areas of high concentration to areas in which they are in lower concentrations. |
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Definition
| The dimly lit zone, corresponding approximately to the mesopelagic, in which there is not enough light to support photosynthetic organisms; sometimes called the twilight zone |
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Definition
| Animals that live on the ocean bottom, either attached or moving freely over it. |
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Definition
| A subdivision of the oceanic province that extends from the surface to a depth of 200 meters (660 feet). |
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Definition
| A layer that extends from the surface of the ocean to a depth where enough light exists to support photosynthesis, rarely deeper than 100 meters (330 feet) |
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Definition
| A descriptive term for organisms with a high tolerance for a wide range of salinity conditions. |
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Term
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Definition
| A descriptive term for organisms with a high tolerance for a wide range of temperature conditions. |
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Term
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Definition
| Pertaining to the deepest ocean benthic environment, specifically that of ocean trenches deeper than 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). |
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Definition
| Animals and bacteria that depend on the organic compounds produced by other organisms as food. Organisms not capable of producing their own food by photosynthesis. |
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Definition
| Organisms that spend their entire life as members of the plankton. |
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Term
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Definition
| Pertaining to the property of an aqueous solution having a higher osmotic pressure (salinity) than another aqueous solution from which it is separated by a semipermeable membrane that will allow osmosis to occur. The hypertonic fluid will gain water molecules through the membrane from the other fluid. |
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Term
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Definition
| Pertaining to the property of an aqueous solution having a lower osmotic pressure (salinity) than another aqueous solution from which it is separated by a semipermeable membrane that will allow osmosis to occur. The hypotonic fluid will lose water molecules through the membrane to the other fluid. |
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Definition
| Animals that live buried in the soft substrate (sand or mud). |
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Definition
| The zone on the inner continental shelf, above the intersection with the euphotic zone, where attached plants grow. |
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Term
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Definition
| Pertaining to the property of having equal osmotic pressure. If two such fluids were separated by a semipermeable membrane that will allow osmosis to occur, there would be no net transfer of water molecules across the membrane. |
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Definition
| Latinized name of Swedish botanist Carl von Linné, the father of taxonomic classification and binomial nomenclature. |
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Definition
| The benthic zone between the highest and lowest spring tide shorelines; also known as the intertidal zone. |
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Definition
| Plankton larger than 2 centimeters (0.8 inch) in their smallest dimension. |
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Term
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Definition
| Planktonic larval forms of organisms that are members of the benthos or nekton as adults. |
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Term
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Definition
| That portion of the oceanic province 200 to 1000 meters (660 to 3300 feet) deep. Corresponds approximately with the disphotic (twilight) zone. |
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Definition
| Those members of the benthos that can actively swim and spend much time off the bottom. |
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Definition
| Pelagic animals such as adult squids, fish, and mammals that are active swimmers to the extent that they can determine their position in the ocean by swimming. |
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Definition
| The division of the pelagic environment where the water depth is .greater than 200 meters (660 feet) |
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Definition
| The continental shelf below the intersection with the euphotic zone where no plants grow attached to the bottom. |
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Term
| Oxygen minimum layer (OML) |
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Definition
| A zone of low dissolved oxygen concentration that occurs at a depth of about 700 to 1000 meters (2300 to 3280 feet) |
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Term
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Definition
| The open ocean environment, which is divided into the neritic province (water depth 0 to 200 meters or 656 feet) and the oceanic province (water depth greater than 200 meters or 656 feet). |
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Term
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Definition
| Algal plankton. One of the most important communities of primary producers in the ocean. |
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Term
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Definition
| Small plankton within the size range of 0.2 to 2.0 micrometers (0.000008 to 0.00008 inch) in size. Composed primarily of bacteria. |
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Definition
| Passively drifting or weakly swimming organisms that are not independent of currents. Includes mostly microscopic algae, protozoa, and larval forms of higher animals. |
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Definition
| A kingdom of many-celled plants. |
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Definition
| A phylum of one-celled animals with nuclear material confined within a nuclear sheath. |
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Definition
| Pertaining to organisms that can withstand only a small range of salinity change. |
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Term
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Definition
| Pertaining to organisms that can withstand only a small range of temperature change. |
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Term
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Definition
| The shaping of an object so it produces the minimum of turbulence while moving through a fluid medium. The teardrop shape displays a high degree of streamlining. |
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Term
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Definition
| The benthic environment extending from the shoreline across the continental shelf to the shelf break. It underlies the neritic province of the pelagic environment. |
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Definition
| The benthic environments seaward of the continental shelf. |
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Definition
| The splash or spray zone above the spring high tide shoreline. |
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Definition
| Viruses that live as plankton. |
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Definition
| A property of a substance to offer resistance to flow caused by internal friction. |
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