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

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

or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore

Question 6

benthic zone

Answer 6

is one of the ecological regions of a body of water. It comprises the bottom—such as the ocean floor or the bottom of a lake—the sediment surface, and some sub-surface layers

Question 7

eutrophication

Answer 7

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

is an area where a freshwater river or stream meets the ocean

Question 9

salt march

Answer 9

major nonviolent protest action in India led by Mahatma Gandhi in March–April 1930. The march was the first act in an even-larger campaign of civil

Question 10

mangrove swamp

Answer 10

is a distinct saline woodland or shrubland habitat formed by mangrove trees in brackish tidal water.

Question 11

barrier island

Answer 11

are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast

Question 12

coral reef

Answer 12

is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals