Ch 50 Ecology and Biosphere

9549650	ecology	literally means home
9549651	abiotic	non living components
9549652	biotic	living components
9549653	organismal ecology	subdivisions include physiological ecology, evolutionary ecology and behavioral ecology
9549654	population	group of individuals of the same species living in an area
9549655	community	assemblage of populations
9743877	aphotic zone	The part of the ocean beneath the photic zone, where light does not penetrate sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur.
9743878	benthic zone	The bottom surface of an aquatic environment.
9743879	benthos	The communites of organisms living in the benthic zone of an aquatic biome.
9743880	biome	Any of the world's major ecosystems, classified according to the predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular environment.
9744284	biosphere	The entire portion of Earth inhabited by life; the sum of all the planet's ecosystems.
9744285	canopy	The uppermost layer of vegetation in a terrestrial biome.
9744286	chaparral	A scrubland biome of dense, spiny evergreen shrubs found at midlatitudes along coasts where cold ocean currents circulate offshore; characterized by mild, rainy winters and long, hot, dry summers.
9744287	ecotone	The transition from one type of habitat or ecosystem to another, such as the transition from a forest to a grassland.
9744288	estuary	The area where a freshwater stream or river merges with the ocean.
9744289	eutrophic lake	A highly productive lake, having a high rate of biological productivity supported by a high rate of nutrient cycling.
9744290	intertidal zone	The shallow zone of the ocean where land meets water.
9744291	limnetic zone	In a lake, the well-lit, open surface waters farther from shore.
9744292	littoral zone	In a lake, the shallow, well-lit waters close to shore.
9744293	neritic zone	The shallow region of the ocean overlying the continental shelf.
9744294	oceanic pelagic biome	Most of the ocean's waters far from shore, constantly mixed by ocean currents.
9744295	oceanic zone	The region of water lying over deep areas beyond the continental shelf.
9744296	oligotrophic lake	A nutrient-poor, clear, deep lake with minimum phytoplankton.
9744297	pelagic zone	The area of the ocean past the continental shelf, with areas of open water often reaching to very great depths.
9744298	permafrost	A permanently frozen stratum below the arctic tundra.
9744299	photic zone	The narrow top slice of the ocean, where light permeates sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur.
9744300	savanna	A tropical grassland biome with scattered individual trees, large herbivores, and three distinct seasons based primarily on rainfall, maintained by occasional fires and drought.
9744301	temperate broadleaf forest	A biome located throughout midlatitude regions where there is sufficient moisture to support the growth of large, broadleaf deciduous trees.
9744302	thermocline	A narrow stratum of rapid temperature change in the ocean and in many temperate-zone lakes.
9744303	tundra	A biome at the extreme limits of plant growth. At the northernmost limits, it is called arctic tundra, and at high altitudes, where plant forms are limited to low shrubby or matlike vegetation, it is called alpine tundra.
9744304	wetland	An ecosystem intermediate between an aquatic one and a terrestrial one. Wetland soil is saturated with water permanently or periodically.