community ecology Flashcards
benthic (benthic zone)
the bottom layer of a body of water, including sediment. lowest zone in water.
community ecology
description and analysis of patterns and processes within the community
patterns
what we can easily observe directly, e.g. zonation, species lists, seasonal distribution of activity/abundance
processes
give rise to patterns, e.g. physiological tolerance, species interactions, nutrient availability
trophic level
the position an organism occupies in a food web
zonation
characteristic distribution of vegetation along an environmental gradient, e.g. rocky shore
vertical stratification
arrangement of organisms into layers within a community; the vertical distribution of subcommunities within a community of plants and animals
photic zone
top layer of a body of water, receives enough light for photosynthesis to take place
aphotic zone
layer in a body of water where little to no sunlight penetrates, lacks sufficient light for photosynthesis
epilimnion
surface/upper layer of a lake, temperature warmed by sunlight and wind
metalimnion
also referred to as the thermocline, middle layer in a lake, characterised by rapid decrease in water temperature with depth
hypolimnion
lower layer of water in a lake, typically cooler than above water and relatively stagnant
pelagic
relating to, living in, or occurring in the open ocean
epipelagic
top 200m of ocean, sunlight zone
mesopelagic
ocean layer 200 - 1000m below surface, limited sunlight penetration, critical role in global carbon cycle and marine food webs
