Vocab Quiz 4 Flashcards
Intertidal Zone
vaguely defined as the zone between the highest and lowest extent of the tide
Vertical Zonation
the presence of different depth bands dominated by different species in the intertidal zone
Foundation Species
species that are structurally important for the organization of a community.
Top-Down Effects
refers to food webs where control of a population is mainly explained by consumption by a species or group of species at higher levels of the food chain
Indirect effects
an ecological effect of one species on another that is mediated through changes in abundance of a third species that interacts with the first species
Alternative Stable States
depending on specific circumstances or sequences of events, a community might move toward and then exist in one of two or more states that are stable for long periods of time until a major perturbation occurs.
Recruitment
the residue of those larvae that have 1) dispersed 2) settled at the adult site 3) made some final movements toward the adult habitat 4) metamorphosed successfully 5) survived to be detected by the observer
Trophic cascade
a strong interaction among trophic levels in a food chain, where changes in density at one level results in indirect effects at a trophic level that does no directly interact with the first level
Rhizome
A system of runners below the sediment surface that allows sea grasses and salt marsh plants to extend coverage of a plant over large areas and permits transfer of nutrients to new areas where shoots can emerge at the sediment surface
Ecosystem engineer
a species whose activities strongly affect the physical structure of the environment. Often used interchangeably with foundation species
Vegetational zones
find
Salt glands
in mangroves: in some species, glands in the leaves that excrete salts to the leaf surface
Highly Stratified Estuary
an estuary having a distinct surface layer of fresh or very-low-salinity water, capping a deeper layer of higher-salinity, more oceanic water
Biodeposition
the deposition on the seabed of material by benthos such as suspension-feeding bivalves, in the form of feces or pseudofeces
Shoots
find
Epiphytes
microalgal organism living on a surface. Example: on a seaweed frond
Holdfast
in seaweeds: a structure that attaches the seaweed to the substratum
Stipe
in seaweeds: the structure that connects the holdfast to the fronds or blades and usually provides mechanical strength to the seaweed in a current
Blade
the flattened terminal parts of a seaweed
Canopy
a layer of photosynthetic organisms high off the water column, potentially shading lower layers near the seafloor
Zooxanthellae
a group of dinoflagellates living endosymbiotically in association with one of a variety of invertebrate groups (example: corals)
Scleractinia
find
Nematocyst
the stinging, hooking, or mucus-producing elements that emerge from nematoblasts
Hermatypic corals
reef-building
Leeward
the side of an island opposite from the one facing persistent wind
Fringing reef
find
Allelopathy
the production of a substance by one species that is toxic to another species that may live adjacent to the first species
