Oceanography Terms 3 Set 10

Large woody trees with a dense, complex root system that grows downward from the branches are:

Mangroves

Mangroves are the _________ of the tropical and subtropical intertidal area.

dominant plant

Distribution of the trees is largely controlled by:

Air temperature, exposure to waves and currents, tidal range, substrate, seawater chemistry.

_______ from the mangrove, largely ____________, forms the base of the food chain.

Detritus, leaf litter

When a mangrove reproduces, first a _______ grows on mangrove branch, then when it matures, it drops into the _____, and then floats to a shallow ___ ______ where it takes root

seedling, water, mud bank

A ____ ____ is created by carbonate-secreting organisms. It is a wave-resistant, rock-like structure.

coral reef

Most of the coral reef is composed of loose to well-cemented organic debris of ___________ and _______. The living part of the reef is just a ____ _____ on the surface.

carbonate shells, skeletons, thin layer

Corals belong to the phylum ______.

The animal is the coral ____.

The ____ is cuplike calcareous exoskeleton of a single coral polyp

Cnidaria, polyp, corallite

The coral polyp has a _____ body that sits in a rigid ________ ___

saclike, carbonate cup

The mouth is surrounded by stinging ______ and also serves as an ___

tentacles, anus