4 - Aquatic Biomes

Lentic

Still or calm bodies (not moving) of water (ponds, swamps)

Lotic

Rapidly moving bodies of water (rivers)

Allochthonous

Nutrients or materials imported into a habitat or system (in ecology)

Autochthonous

nutrients or materials found locally within a habitat or system (in ecology)

Littoral

Shallow are at the edge of a lake or pond containing rooted vegetation (e.g., lillies, reeds)

Limnetic (FW pelagic)

open water past the littoral zone, where phytoplankton, not rooted plants, are the primary producers

Profundal

deepest waters of the lake where light does not reach, usually hypoxic or even anoxic

Benthic (Review)

associated with the bottom of a body of water

Thermocline

Transition layer between two layers of water, usually warmer in upper, mixed layers and cooler below

Stratification

tendency of lakes to form separate and distinct thermal layers during warm weather

Watershed

land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to creeks, streams, and rivers

Wetlands

land that is either covered by water or saturated with water, permanently, and is shallow enough emergent vegetation at all depths

Salt marshes

a type of coastal wetland, dominated by emergent, woody mangroves

Intertidal (Rocky or Sandy)

Coastal seashore which is covered at high tide and uncovered at low tide

Coral Reefs

Living & Non-living structures in shallow oceans that are formed by corals and their calcareous skeletons

Neritic Zone

Shallow part of an ocean immediately adjacent to the coast, i.e., the inundated continental shelf

Ocean Zone

ocean region beyond the coasts and continental shelf

Photic zone

uppermost layer of a body of water where enough light penetrates to permit photosynthesis

Aphotic Zone

region of a body of water, beneath the photic zone, where no light penetrates