Aquatic Organisms
Organisms that cannot swim against currents... Drifters
What are plankton?
Land that is periodically underwater
What is a wetland?
The amount of dissolved salts contained in a body of water
What is salinity?
Bacteria can kill organisms in eutrophic lakes by...
Feeding on decaying plants & animals and reducing oxygen dissolved in the water
This arboreal marsupial is known for sleeping the vast majority of the day
What is the koala bear?
Free-swimming organisms, such as fish, turtles, and whales
What are nekton?
The nutrient-rich zone near the shore of lakes and ponds where aquatic life is diverse and abundant
What is the littoral zone?
An area in which fresh water from a river mixes with salt water from the ocean
What is an estuary?
Arctic ecosystems are considered marine ecosystems because _____________ form the basis of arctic food webs
What are phytoplankton?
The largest country in the world
What is Russia?
Bottom-dwelling organisms, such as mussels, worms, and barncales
What are benthos?
The bottom of a pond or lake, which is inhabited by decomposers, insect larvae and clams
What is the benthic zone?
A specific kind of wetland ecosystem, formed where rivers deposit their load of mineral-rich mud, containing organisms such as clams, fish, and aquatic birds
What are salt marshes?
Wetlands have 3 main functions that make them important ecosystems including...
1. Wetlands buffer shorelines against erosion
2. Wetlands provide spawning grounds for commercially important fish and shellfish
3. Wetlands filter pollutants
This musical takes place in the land of Oz and contains the songs "I'm Not That Girl," "Wonderful," and "March of the Witch Hunters"
What is Wicked?
Tiny animals, called _____ polyps, secrete limestone create _____ reefs
What is coral?
An increase in the amount of nutrients in an aquatic ecosystem, increasing the amount of decomposing bacteria and ultimately leading to a decreased amount of oxygen
What is eutrophication?
A specific kind of island that often runs parallel to sandy shores that help protect the mainland and the coastal wetlands from storms and ocean waves
What are barrier islands?
This specific ecosystem is the largest freshwater marsh in the United States, protects threatened and endangered wildlife, and provides a habitat for migratory birds
What are the Florida Everglades?
This war was ended by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles
What is WW1?
These trees grow in tropical and subtropical areas and are often an important part of unique, swamp ecosystems
What are mangrove trees?
Wetlands are important to fisheries in the United States because...
Many of the fish caught each year use wetlands for feeding and spawning
Animals that live in estuaries must be adapted to...
Varying levels of salinity
Humans negatively affect wetlands in the following 3 ways...
1. Draining a wetland to create farmland
2. Clearing a wetland to build a housing development
3. Using a wetland as a landfill
This egg-laying mammal has a paddle-shaped tail, a sleek body covered in dense fur, a wide, flat bill, and big webbed feet
What is the platypus?