Aquatic biodiversity

Phytoplankton

Small, drifting plants, mostly algae and bacteria, found in an area undergoing primary ecological succession

Zooplankton

Animal plankton; small floating herbivores that feed on plant plankton

Ultraplankton

Huge populations of extremely small photosynthetic bacteria that may be responsible for 70% of the primary productivity near the ocean surface

Nekton

Strongly swimming organisms found in aquatic systems

Benthos

Bottom-dwelling organisms

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

Open sea

Part of ocean that lies beyond the continental shelf

Euphotic

Upper layer of a body of water through which sunlight can penetrate and support photosynthesis

Bathyal

Middle layer of body of water, and is at the twilight zone with little bits of water penetrating the zone, after the continental shelf

Abyssal

Lower depth of the body of water, and no sunlight penetrates zone

Littoral

Near shore; consists of shallow sunlight waters

Limnetic

Open, sunlit water surface layer from shore till depth penetrated by sunlight

Profundal

Deep, open water too dark

Benthic

Bottom of lake with bottom dwellers

Eutrophic

Upper layer of a body of water through which sunlight can penetrate and support photosynthesis

Oligotrophic

Lake with a low supply of plant nutrients

Mesotrophic

Lake with a moderate supply of plant nutrients

Source

First part of stream, from mountain

Transition

Merge from water streams to wider, deeper streams

Floodplain

Flat valley floor next to a stream channel. For legal purposes, the term often applies to any low area that has the potential for flooding,including certain coastal areas

Estuary

Partially enclosed coastal area at the mouth of a river where it's freshwater, carrying fertile silt and runoff from the land, mix with salty seawater

Wetlands

Land that is covered all or part of the time with saltwater or freshwater, excluding streams, lakes , and the open ocean

Mangroves

Any of about 55 species of trees and shrubs that can live partly submerged in the salty environment of coastal swamps

Intertidal zone

The area of shoreline between high and low tides

Barrier islands

Long, thin ,low offshore islands of sediment that generally run parallel to the shore along some coasts

Overturns

In spring when all layers of these lakes that mix in

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

Surface water

Precipitation that does not infiltrate the ground or return to the atmosphere by evaporation or transpiration

Watershed

Land area that delivers water, sediment , and dissolved substances via small streams to a major stream(river)

Inland wetlands

Land away from the coast, such a a swamp,marsh,or bog, that is covered all or part of the time with freshwater

Lentic

contains standing water

Lotic

Water is constantly moving