Ch 7 Key Terms

Question 1

Wetland

Answer 1

land consisting of marshes or swamps; saturated land.

Question 2

Plankton

Answer 2

the small and microscopic organisms drifting or floating in the sea or fresh water, consisting chiefly of diatoms, protozoans, small crustaceans, and the eggs and larval stages of larger animals. Many animals are adapted to feed on plankton, especially by filtering the water.

Question 3

Nekton

Answer 3

aquatic animals that are able to swim and move independently of water currents.

Question 4

Benthos

Answer 4

the flora and fauna found on the bottom, or in the bottom sediments, of a sea, lake, or other body of water.

Question 5

Littoral Zone

Answer 5

Image result for littoral zone definition
The littoral zone is the near shore area where sunlight penetrates all the way to the sediment and allows aquatic plants (macrophytes) to grow. Light levels of about 1% or less of surface values usually define this depth.

Question 6

Benthic Zone

Answer 6

The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream

Question 7

Eutrophication

Answer 7

cessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.

Question 8

Estuary

Answer 8

the tidal mouth of a large river, where the tide meets the stream.

Question 9

Salt Marsh

Answer 9

an area of coastal grassland that is regularly flooded by seawater.

Question 10

Mangrove Swamp

Answer 10

a tree or shrub that grows in chiefly tropical coastal swamps that are flooded at high tide. Mangroves typically have numerous tangled roots above ground and form dense thickets.

Question 11

Barrier Island

Answer 11

a long narrow island lying parallel and close to the mainland, protecting the mainland from erosion and storms.

Question 12

Coral Reef

Answer 12

a ridge of rock in the sea formed by the growth and deposit of coral.