The gradual growth of organisms in an area that was previously bare, such as rock.
What is primary succession
100
Three types of aquatic ecosystems
What is freshwater, transitional, and marine ecosystems?
100
The area closest to shore, which includes species like algae, rooted and floating plants, snails, clams, insects, fishes and amphibians.
What is the littoral zone?
100
The area in the pelagic zone from the surface of the water down to about 200 m. that is shallow enough for sunlight to penetrate. This zone supports seaweed, plankton, fishes, whales and dolphins.
What is the photic zone?
100
A series of natural changes that occurs on a plot of land after it has been destroyed by fire, clear-cutting, hurricane, and other disasters.
What is secondary succession?
200
The first colonizers to appear on any plot.
What is pioneer species?
200
97.5% to 2.5%
What is the percentage of salt water on earth compared to Freshwater?
200
The open water area, which is well lit so many species of freshwater fish live there because food is plentiful.
What is the limnetic zone?
200
This region of the pelagic zone is below the photic zone where sunlight cannot penetrate so it remains in constant darkness and is generally cold. Organisms that depend on sunlight for energy cannot live in this zone.
What is the aphotic zone?
200
An ecosystem (formed by secretions of tiny animals) that exists in warm, shallow marine waters and is home to sea slugs, octopuses, sea urchins, sea stars, and fishes.
What is a coral reef?
300
Organism that is the first to appear on rock, secretes an acid, and begins the formation of soil.
What is lichen?
300
Material left by water, wind or glaciers that can be picked up by water in streams and deposited in the form of silt, mud, and sand.
What is sediment?
300
The deepest area of a lake, which is much colder and has less oxygen than the other two zones. Less light reaches it which limits the species that are able to live there.
What is the profundal zone?
300
The area along the ocean floor, which consists of sand, silt, and dead organisms. Depending on the depth, sunlight may or may not penetrate.
What is the benthic zone?
300
Free-floating photosynthetic autotrophs that live in freshwater or marine ecosystems
What is Plankton?.
400
Calories stored by the plant community.
What is net productivity?
400
An ecosystem that forms where a freshwater river or stream merges with the ocean, creating a unique ecosystem where algae, seaweed, and marsh grasses thrive.
What is an estuary?
400
Nutrient-poor lakes found high in the mountains. Few plant and animal species live in these lakes.
What is oligotrophic lakes?
400
The deepest region of the ocean where the water is very cold and organisms depend on pieces of food that drift down from the zones above. Seafloor vents provide minerals and energy.
What is the abyssal zone?
400
A narrow band where the ocean meets land and is submerged when the tides and waves move in and exposed when the tides and waves move out.
What is the intertidal zone?
500
The tendency for all plant communities to end in the same climax community.
What is convergence?
500
Areas of land that are saturated with water and support aquatic plants. Examples include marshes, swamps, and bogs, which support pond lillies, cattails, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
What is wetlands?
500
Lakes and ponds are divided into three zones that are determined by these two things.
What is depth and distance from the shoreline?
500
Two important ways that marine ecosystems impact the planet.
What is marine algae consume large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and supply much of the oxygen in the atmosphere. In addition oceans provide most of earth's precipitation.
500
A vent on the seafloor that releases hot water, hydrogen sulfide, and other minerals, creating a source of energy for the community of bacteria that live around this vent.