Vocabulary
This ocean zone lies above the continental shelf, extending from the intertidal zone to the edge of the shelf
What is the Neritic Zone?
Relationship in which both species benefit
What is mutualism?
The color pattern in which marine organisms are light on the bottom and dark on the top of their bodies
What is countershading?
This intertidal ecosystem has the lowest species diversity
What is sandy beach?
The primary reason the Antarctic marine ecosystem is considered highly susceptible to collapse
What is it relies heavily on a single species (krill) for food web stability?
Benthic organisms that are attached to the ocean floor
What is sessile?
Organisms that produce their own food
What are Autotrophs?
This adaptation helps deep sea organisms attract prey by mimicking small organisms, lighting up the surrounding area, or creating a deceptive lure
What is bioluminescence?
This marine ecosystem plays a vital role in filtering pollutants, serves as a breeding ground for organisms, prevents flooding, and differs from estuaries due to having no freshwater input.
What is a salt marsh?
This type of coral reef is characterized by separation from the shoreline by a lagoon and having a steep drop off on the ocean side
What is a Barrier Reef?
Organisms that spend most of their time in the water column and can swim freely and faster than currents
What is Nekton?
The increasing concentration of toxic substances at each successive trophic level of a food chain
What is biomagnification?
The dead/decaying materials and fecal matter from the pelagic photic zone that sinks to the ocean floor
What is marine snow?
This marine ecosystem occurs along rocky coastlines, has abundant sunlight, kelp, and is home to fish, otters, urchins, and crabs.
What is a kelp forest?
These organisms are the base of the Antarctic food web
What are phytoplankton and algae mats under the ice?
Organisms that live in the water column that cannot swim or cannot swim faster than currents
What is Plankton?
What is interspecific competition?
These chemosynthetic environments form in the deep sea as a result of salt deposits dissolving into the ocean water
What are brine pools?
Deep sea corals, whale falls, and brine pools are all communities of organisms within this marine ecosystem
What is an Abyssal Plain?
This type of coral is known for its flexible, tree-like structures that sway with the water currents
What is Branching Coral?
What is desiccation?
Most marine organisms are defined as this because they can't regulate their own body temperature and thus have internal temperatures very close to that of their surroundings
What is ectothermic?
Compared with animals that have higher internal body temperatures, animals with lower body temperatures tend to
What is move more slowly, consume less food, and reproduce less frequently?
This is the defining characteristic of deep sea corals
What is they can live for thousands of years?
These organisms are the typical primary consumers in a hydrothermal vent food web
What are tube worms and vent shrimp?