Chapter 7 Vocab
Terms : Hide Images
| small plant organisms (phytoplankton) and animal organisms (zooplankton) that float in aquatic ecosystems | ||
| small, drifting plants, mostly algae and bacteria, found in aquatic ecosystems | ||
| small floating herbivores that feed on phytoplankton | ||
| strongly swimming organisms found in aquatic systems | ||
| bottom-dwelling organisms | ||
| organisms that digests pats of dead organisms and cast-off fragments and wastes of living organisms by breaking down the complex or organic molecules in those materials into simpler inorganic compounds and then absorbing the soluble nutrients; return most of these chemicals to the soil and water for reuse | ||
| upper layer of a body of water through which sunlight can penetrate and support photosynthesis | ||
| warm, nutrient-rich shallow part of the ocean that extends from the high-tide mark on land to the edge of a shelflike extension of continental land masses known as the continental shelf | ||
| a stream or river that flows into a larger river | ||
| partially enclosed coastal area at the mouth of a river where its fresh water, carrying fertile salt and runoff from the land mixes with salty seawater | ||
| promotes runoff of precipitation volumes instead of infiltration into the subsurface; the imperviousness or degree of runoff potential can be estimated for different surface materials. | ||
| area of shoreline between low and high tides | ||
| long, thin, low offshore islands of sediment that generally run parallel to the shore along some coasts | ||
| formation produced by massive colonies containing billions of tiny coral animals, called polyps, that secrete a stony substance (calcium carbonate) around themselves for protection. When the corals die, their empty outer skeletons form layers and cause the reef to grow. They are found in the coastal zones of warm topical and subtropical oceans | ||
| part of an ocean that is beyond the continental shelf | ||
| aquatic systems where water with a dissolved salt concentration of less than 1% by volume accumulates on or flows through the surfaces of terrestrial biomes | ||
| large natural body of stranding fresh water formed when water from precipitation, land runoff, or groundwater flow fills a depression in the earth create by glaciation, earth movement, volcanic activity, or a giant meteorite | ||
| the process whereby glaciers form and spread | ||
| physical, chemical, and biological changes that take place after a lake estuary, or slow-flowing stream receives inputs of plant nutrients - mostly nitrates and phosphates - from natural erosion and runoff from the surrounding land basin. | ||
| lake with a low supply of plant nutrients | ||
| lake with a large or excessive supply of plant nutrients, mostly nitrates and phosphates | ||
| (watershed) land area that delivers water, sediment, and dissolved substances via small streams to a major stream (river) | ||
| flat valley floor next to a stream channel. For legal purposes, the term often applies to any low area that has the potential for flooding, including certain coastal areas | ||
| thin strips and patches of vegetation that surround streams; they are very important habitats an resources for wildlife | ||
| soil that is filled with water between the spaces | ||
| stretch of shallow, fast, rough water flowing between pools in a stream; low nutrient content but high oxygen content; organisms need constant oxygen saturation; oxygen gotten from water moving over rocks folding oxygen into water |
