- abiotic
- nonliving components of the environment
- above-ground biomass
- total mass of aboveground living plants per area
- abyssal zone
- deepest part of the ocean at depths of 4000 m or greater
- algal bloom
- rapid increase of algae in an aquatic system
- aphotic zone
- part of the ocean where no light penetrates
- benthic realm
- (also, benthic zone) part of the ocean that extends along the ocean bottom from the shoreline to the deepest parts of the ocean floor
- biogeography
- study of the geographic distribution of living things and the abiotic factors that affect their distribution
- biome
- ecological community of plants, animals, and other organisms that is adapted to a characteristic set of environmental conditions
- biotic
- living components of the environment
- canopy
- branches and foliage of trees that form a layer of overhead coverage in a forest
- channel
- width of a river or stream from one bank to the other bank
- clathrates
- frozen chunks of ice and methane found at the bottom of the ocean
- climate
- long-term, predictable atmospheric conditions present in a specific area
- conspecifics
- individuals that are members of the same species
- coral reef
- ocean ridges formed by marine invertebrates living in warm, shallow waters within the photic zone
- cryptofauna
- invertebrates found within the calcium carbonate substrate of coral reefs
- ecology
- study of interaction between living things and their environment
- ecosystem services
- human benefits and services provided by natural ecosystems
- emergent vegetation
- wetland plants that are rooted in the soil but have portions of leaves, stems, and flowers extending above the water’s surface
- endemic
- species found only in a specific geographic area that is usually restricted in size
- estuary
- biomes where a source of fresh water, such as a river, meets the ocean
- fall and spring turnover
- seasonal process that recycles nutrients and oxygen from the bottom of a freshwater ecosystem to the top
- global climate change
- altered global weather patterns, including a worldwide increase in temperature, due largely to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide
- greenhouse effect
- warming of Earth due to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
- greenhouse gases
- atmospheric gases such as carbon dioxide and methane that absorb and emit radiation, thus trapping heat in Earth’s atmosphere
- haze-effect cooling
- effect of the gases and solids from a volcanic eruption on global climate
- heterospecifics
- individuals that are members of different species
- intertidal zone
- part of the ocean that is closest to land; parts extend above the water at low tide
- Milankovitch cycles
- cyclic changes in the Earth's orbit that may affect climate
- neritic zone
- part of the ocean that extends from low tide to the edge of the continental shelf
- net primary productivity
- measurement of the energy accumulation within an ecosystem, calculated as the total amount of carbon fixed per year minus the amount that is oxidized during cellular respiration
- ocean upwelling
- rising of deep ocean waters that occurs when prevailing winds blow along surface waters near a coastline
- oceanic zone
- part of the ocean that begins offshore where the water measures 200 m deep or deeper
- pelagic realm
- (also, pelagic zone) open ocean waters that are not close to the bottom or near the shore
- permafrost
- perennially frozen portion of the Arctic tundra soil
- photic zone
- portion of the ocean that light can penetrate
- planktivore
- animal species that eats plankton
- predator
- organism that kills and consumes another organism
- Sargassum
- type of free-floating marine seaweed
- solar intensity
- amount of solar power energy the sun emits in a given amount of time
- source water
- point of origin of a river or stream
- thermocline
- layer of water with a temperature that is significantly different from that of the surrounding layers
- weather
- conditions of the atmosphere during a short period of time