Marine Science: Lesson 1 Vocabulary

related to the bottom of the ocean and the stable community on the seafloor

benthic

living things

organisms

dead whale that settles onto the ocean floor

whale fall

organisms that eat bones

bone eaters

federally protected coastal marine environment

National Marine Sanctuary

what happens to a dead whale over years

decomposes

a tropical tree that grows in salt water

mangrove

living parts of an ecosystem

biotic factors

the living and non-living things interacting in an environment

ecosystem

all the organisms living together in an environment

biological community

A non-living part of an ecosystem

abiotic factors

lives on the whale skeleton

bone specialists

Types of marine organism on a whale carcass

sea anemones

changes in an ecological community that occur over time

succession

The different types of organisms feed off the whale’s soft tissues/flesh, bringing nutrients and attracting hundreds of organisms.

scavenger phase