Ch. 6 Flashcards
Abyssal zone
Lowest zone in ocean, dark, cold and little DO, but has nutrients for species.
Barrier beaches / Sandy shores
Gently sloping, animals hide, has many shorebirds.
Barrier islands
Low narrow sandy isalnds, wanted for development on back dune, but structures can be destroyed by flooding, erosion, storms
Bathyal zone
Middle zone of ocean, dimly lit and has no producers, dominated by fish and zooplankton.
Benthic zone
Bottom of lake, mostly decomposers detrivores that feed on falling dead matter and washed in sediment.
Benthos
Bottom dwellers like barnacles oysters worms lobsters and crabs
Coastal wetland
Land areas covered with water all or part of the year
Coastal zone
Warm nutrient rich shallow water that extends from high tide mark on land to the continental shelf
Continental shelf
submerged part of continent
Coral bleaching
When corals become stressed and algae die out, leaving white or bleached skeleton of calcium carbonate
Coral reefs
Form in clear warm coastal waters in tropics and subtropics. very diverse and thrive in constant high salinity
Cultural eutrophication
When human inputs of nutrients accelerate eutrophication of lakes
Deposit feeders
Includes many worms, take in mud and extract nutrients
Drainage basin/ watershed
land area that delivers runoff sediment and dissolved substances to a stream
euphotic zone
Brightly lit upper zone of ocean where phytoplankton carry out photosynthesis, low nutrient levels, high DO, contains large fastswimming fish
Filter feeders
Oysters clams and sponges that pass water thriugh their body and extract nutrients from it
Floodplain zone
End of river that empties into the ocean
Floodplains
Inland wetland that receives excess water during heavy rains and floods
Lotic
flowing, like streams and rivers
lentic
standing, like lakes, ponds, and inland wetlands
Surface water
Precipitation that does not sink or evaporate
Swamps
Inland wetland with trees
Transition zone
headwater streas merge to form wider deeper warmer streams that flow down gentler slopes and have less DO. Supports phytoplankton and fish
Inland wetland
Covered with freshwater all or part of the time
Intertidal zone
Area of shoreline between low and high tides
Limnetic zone
Surface water of a lake away from shore that has sunlight, supports most consumers and producers, where most large fish live.
Littoral zone
Near the shore, has shallow sunlit waters to the depth at which rooted plants stop growing, most productive of lake because of nutrients and sunlight, and high biodiversity
Mangrove forests
Tropical ewuivalent of salt marshes. Dominated by mangroves that can grow in salt water and can support changing water levels.
Marshes
Inland wetlands without trees
Mesotrophic lake
Most lakes, has medium amount of nutrients
Nekton
Strong swimmers like fish turtles and whales
Oligotrophic lake
Poorly nourished, deep with steep banks
Overturn
during summer and winter, water becomes stratified in deep temperate lakes. In fall and spring, they mix again, bringing oxygen from surface to the bottom and nutrients from the bottom to the surface.
Plankton
Free floating small stuff
Polyps
Relatives of jellyfish that form coral reefs by secreting Calcium carbonate
Prairie potholes
Small shallow ponds in depressions carved out by glaciers that are inland wetlands
Profundal zone
Middle zone of lake with no light, DO, and has fish adapted to cooler and darker water
Rocky shores
Steep, pounded by waves, contain diverse species
Seasonal wetlands
Only remain under water for a short time each year, or for years without going under water. Includes prairie potholes, floodplain wetlands, and bottomland hardwood swamps
Source zone
Mountain highland streams are shallow cold clear and quickly flowing, has high DO
Ultraplankton
Small plankton that are responsible for most primary productivity near surface
Zooxanthellae
Single-celled algae that live in tissues of polyps, produce calcium carbonate and oxygen for the polyps
