Water as a medium for life Flashcards
The boundary between marine and estuarine ecosystems is?
Dynamic and fluid
What can limit species richness?
Physical and chemical processes in the environment.
IDH
Intermediate disturbance hypothesis
Currents and gyres
One of the connectors between water bodies, some are circulatory in oceans or link between basins
Salt marsh zonation
Open water, mudflat, low marsh, high marsh, adjacent zone.
Rheotaxis
Aligns to the flow with its body shape
Solar radiation
Energy source, solar energy to chemical energy via photosynthesis.
Why is the electromagnetic spectrum important?
Important for bacteria in oceans as waves of light can penetrate deeper than others.
Aphotic zone
Where no light can penetrate in the ocean (1000 metres deep)
What temp does seawater freeze?
-1.8 degrees celsius
Describe sea ice
Semi solid matrix, permeated by pores/brine channels
What can affect the size of fish?
Temperature where they live/grow
