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)