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

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

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

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, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers

Question 7

Eutrophication

Answer 7

excessive 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 marshes

Answer 9

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

Question 10

mangrove swamps

Answer 10

a tree or shrub that grows in chiefly tropical coastal swamps that are flooded at high tide

Question 11

Barrier islands

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Coral reefs

Answer 12

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