drainage basin
See watershed.
Subject:
Chapter 7 - Aquatic Ecology: Biodiversity in Aquatic Ecosystems
decomposer
Organism that digests parts of dead organisms and cast-off fragments and wastes of living organisms by breaking down the complex organic molecules in those materials into simpler inorganic compounds and then absorbing the soluble nutrients. Producers return most of these chemicals to the soil and water for reuse. Decomposers consist of various bacteria and fungi. Compare consumer, detritivore, producer.
Subject:
cultural eutrophication
Overnourishment of aquatic ecosystems with plant nutrients (mostly nitrates and phosphates) because of human activities such as agriculture, urbanization, and discharges from industrial plants and sewage treatment plants. See eutrophication.
Subject:
coral reef
Formation produced by massive colonies containing billions of tiny coral animals, called polyps, that secrete a stony substance (calcium carbonate) around themselves for protection. When the corals die, their empty outer skeletons form layers and cause the reef to grow. They are found in the coastal zones of warm tropical and subtropical oceans.
Subject:
coastal zone
Warm, nutrient-rich, shallow part of the ocean that extends from the high-tide mark on land to the edge of a shelf like extension of continental land masses known as the continental shelf. Compare open sea.
Subject:
coastal wetland
Land along a coastline, extending inland from an estuary, that is covered with salt water all or part of the year. Examples are marshes, bays, lagoons, tidal flats, and mangrove swamps. Compare inland wetland.
Subject:
benthos
Bottom-dwelling organisms. Compare decomposer, nekton, plankton.
Subject:
barrier islands
Long, thin, low offshore islands of sediment that generally run parallel to the shore along some coasts.
Subject:
aquatic life zone
Marine and freshwater portions of the biosphere. Examples include freshwater life zones (such as lakes and streams) and ocean or marine life zones (such as estuaries, coastlines, coral reefs, and the deep ocean). ",
Subject:
aquatic
Pertaining to water. Compare terrestrial.
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