Ch.7 Key Terms

Question 1

Wetland

Answer 1

Areas where land is periodically underwater

Question 2

Plankton

Answer 2

Are organisms that cannot swim against currents, so they are drifters.

Question 3

Nekton

Answer 3

Are free- swimming organisms, such as fish and whales.

Question 4

Benthos

Answer 4

Are bottom- dwellers, such as mussels, worms, and barnacles.

Question 5

Littoral Zone

Answer 5

A nutrient rich zone near the shore, aquatic life is diverse and abundant. Plants such as cattails and reeds are rooted here and also plants that have floating leaves.

Question 6

Benthic Zone

Answer 6

The bottom of the pond or lake, which is inhabited by decomposers, insect larvae, and clams.

Question 7

Eutrophication

Answer 7

Is an increase in the amount of nutrients.

Question 8

Estuary

Answer 8

Is an area in which fresh water from a river mixes with salt water from the Ocean. As the two bodies of water meet, currents form and cause mineral- rich mud and dissolved nutrients to fall to the bottom.

Question 9

Salt- Marshes

Answer 9

This is were rivers deposit their load of mineral- rich mud form.

Question 10

Mangrove swamps

Answer 10

Dense growths of Mangrove trees in swampy areas.

Question 11

Barrier Islands

Answer 11

Often run parallel to sandy shores, these Islands helps to protect the mainland and the coastal wetlands from storms and Ocean waves and often protect habitat for wildlife.

Question 12

Coral Reefs

Answer 12

Are limestone ridges built by tiny coral animals called coral polyps and the algae that live inside of them.