MARINE LAB

Intertidal zone

Location between high and low tides

Surf zone

Region of crashing waves

Swash

Uprush of water onto the beach

Backwash

Water recedes back to sea

neritic and oceanic

Subdivisions of the pelagic zone

Strandline

Marks the area where the high tide was (line of debris)

Sand

Granular material between .125-2 mm

Dunes

Small sand hills at top of beach

Abiotic (non-living) ex

Water, salinity, temp, sunlight, pH, sand

Biotic (living) ex

Coral, fish, plankton, bacteria, mammals, algae

Plankton

Makes neritic zone productive

sandy beach

ecosystem that is unstable and has less diversity

Bioluminescence

Deep sea fish adaption: glow

tide pools

Found on rocky coasts during low tides

Midnight or aphotic zone

Most devoid of life: no light

Erosion

Prevented by beach grass

Quartz

Mineral found in NJ sand

Adaptions of marine organisms

Barnacles: cement
Sea stars: tube feet
Snails, sea anemone: muscular foot
Mussels: abyssal threads
Sponges: secrete acid
Algae: holdfast

Atoll

String of coral islands that form a circle

barrier reef

Grows offshore, separated by a channel

coral reef

Rainforest of sea

brackish

a mixture of salt and fresh water

Bleaching

Death of a coral reef

fringing reef

Grows closest to shore: Florida keys

Estuaries

Found at river mouths, inland bays and lagoons (NY HARBOR)

mangrove swamps

Trees w/ prop roots, found in Florida

What kills coral?

Pollution, storms, sediments, extreme temp changes

Amount of energy passed between steps in the food chain ?

10% passed while 90% lost as heat

Primary consumer

herbivore

mud flats

Graveyards of the ocean

What coral need to build a reef?

Shallow water, warm water and sunlight

Mutalism

Zooxanthellae and coral polyps both benefit from their relationship

food chain/web

Pathway of energy flow

Autotroph/Producer

Makes own food (plants & algae)

The entire marsh ecosystem depends upon who to die to replenish nutrients?

Cordgrass (spartina) grass that grows right out of the water in a marsh (dom plant)