Vocab
Describes the nonliving part of the environment including water, rocks, light, and temperature
What is Abiotic Factors?
Explain why an estuary is a very productive ecosystem
What is they receive nutrients from both bodies of water and can support a variety of life?
Describe the coral reef ecosystem in terms of biodiversity
What is coral reefs support more species per unit area than any other marine environment, including about 4,000 species of fish, 800 species of hard corals and hundreds of other species?
Thefood that is at the bottom of the ocean conisists of?
What is most of the food available in the darker/ deeper parts of the ocean consist of dead organisms that fall from the surface.
Environmental factor that is associated with activities of living organisms
What is Biotic Factors?
An area in which fresh water from a river mixes with salt water from the ocean; where the tides meet the river currents
What is Estuary?
Describe human threats to coral reefs
What is global climate change, unsustainable fishing and land-based pollution?
What abiotic factors affect marine ecosystems?
What is sunlight, dissolved oxygen and other gases, nutrients, salt content?
Limestone ridges found in tropical climates and composed of coral fragments that are deposited around organic remains
What is Coral Reef?
Area where rivers deposit their load of mineral rich mud; Maritime habitat characterized by grasses, sedges and other plants that have adapted to continual, periodic flooding; found primarily throughout temperate and subarctic regions
What is Salt Marsh?
Describe human threats to ocean organisms
What is overfishing, habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species, ocean pollution, ocean acidification and ocean warming?
A long ridge of sand or narrow island that lies parallel to the shore
What is Barrier Island?
Describe human threats to estuaries
What is pesticides, automobile fluids like antifreeze, oil or grease, and metals such as mercury or lead have all been found to pollute estuaries?
How are marine organisms supported by estuaries?
What is many marine organisms are supported by estuaries because light is readily available and there are many nutrients available?
A tropical or subtropical marine swamp that is characterized by the abundance of low to tall trees, especially mangrove trees
What is Mangrove Swamp?
Compare salt marshes and mangrove swamps
What is mangroves are composed of a number of tree species, while saltmarshes are dominated by grasses and herbs?
What are some threats to estuaries?
What is some threats to estuaries include using them for waste landfills, sewage, industrial waste, agricultural runoff, and domestic and urban sources?