OCEANS SCIENCE VOCABULARY WORDS (Sea Map Word List)

Transcription

1 OCEANS SCIENCE VOCABULARY WORDS (Sea Map Word List) ABYSSAL: pertaining to the great depths of the ocean, generally below 3700 meters ADAPTATION: Special characteristics that make an organism more suited to its environment. ALGAE: marine or freshwater plants, including phytoplankton and seaweeds AMPHIBIANS: Cold-blooded, smooth-skinned vertebrate organisms. ARTHROPODS: animals with a segmented external skeleton of chitin or plates of calcium carbonate and with jointed appendages ATOLL: ring-shaped organic reef that encloses a lagoon in which there is not preexisting land and that is surrounded by the open sea, low sand islands may occur on the reef BARNACLE: a sea creature that sticks like glue to the bottoms of boats, docks, and even other marine animals like whales BARRIER REEF: reef that is separated by a landmass by a lagoon, usually connected to the sea through openings in the reef BATHYSPHERE: a sphere-shaped diving vessel used by scientists to study deep-sea life BENTHOS: bottom-dwelling marine organisms BIOLUMINESCENCE: the production of light by living organisms, common in many deep-water organisms BIVALVE: A type of mollusk. A mollusk with a shell of two parts opening like a hinge and hatchet-shaped foot which is sometimes used for digging BLUBBER: the layer of oily fat under the skin that keeps a whale warm BRACKISH WATER: Mangrove habitat where the fresh water and the salt water meet, thus diluting the salt water and adding salt to the fresh water. This is a nursery zone of high animal productivity. BOUYANT: An object that is able to float or rise in liquid. The red mangrove seed, also called a propagule is bouyant, thus the wind and waves can easily move these floating seeds. CAMOUFLAGE: An organism's ability to blend with its environment, thus protecting it from predators. CARNIVORE: Any animal that eats meat (other animals) CARTILAGE: lightweight, strong, rubbery material that forms a shark s skeleton. Layers of calcium make some parts even stronger CEPHALOPOD: benthic or swimming mollusks having a large head, large eyes, and a circle of arms or tentacles around the mouth, the shell is external, internal or absent, an ink sac is usually present CLIMATE: The average condition of the weather in a particular region over a period of time. COLD-BLOODED: Having a body temperature that varies with the external environment.

2 COMMUNITY: A group of plants and animals living in a particular environment, working together to fulfill their individual needs. CONSUMER: A user of goods and services; in a food chain, an animal that must depend upon plants and/or other animals for its energy. CONTINENTAL SHELF: a flat, projecting extension of land submerged beneath a shallow sea CONTINENTAL SLOPE: the gently sloping, submerged land near the coast that forms the side of an ocean basin CORAL REEF: a structure that is made from the skeletons of soft-bodied coral animals or pylops, and is found in warm waters CRUSTACEAN: an animal that has a hard skeleton on the outside of its body CYCLE: A recurrent period of time in which certain events repeat themselves in the same order and at the same intervals. The water cycle, the phases of the moon, day and night, and the seasons occur in a cyclic nature. DOLDRUMS: a belt of light, variable winds near the equator, an area of low atmospheric pressure DORSAL FIN: the fin on the back of some fish, it helps the fish keep its balance as it moves through the water ECHOLOCATION: a method used by some whales and dolphins to find food or obstacles they send out a sound and wait for the returning echo ECOSYSTEM: The interaction of the biological community (all living things) and the physical environment (water, air, minerals). ECTOTHERMIC: having a variable internal temperature that is warmed or cooled externally; also known as exothermic EDDY: current of air, water, or any fluid, often on the side of a main current, especially one moving in a circle in extreme cases a whirlpool ENDOSKELETON: The inside skeleton, such as the skeletons in mammals and birds. ENDOTHERMIC: internally warmed ENVIRONMENT: All those factors, both living and non-living, which make up the surroundings of an organism. EROSION: The loss of soil by the action of water or wind. ESTUARY: The part of a wide, lower course of a river where its current is met and influenced by the sea. An arm of the sea that extends inward to meet the mouth of a river. EXOSKELETON: Outside skeleton, such as in crayfish, crabs, and other shelled animals. EXTINCT: A species which has vanished from existence.

3 FAUNA: Animal life FISH: An animal that swims, has gills, fins, a backbone, and is covered with scales. FLORA: Plant life. FOOD CHAIN: Sequence of organisms starting with green plants in which each is food for higher and more complex organisms. FOOD WEB: The many connected food chains by which organisms of a community obtain their energy. FRESH WATER: Water containing no salt or very little salt; has a salt concentration of 0-3 ppt or less. GASTROPOD: mollusks that possess a distinct head, generally with eyes and tentacles and a broad, flat foot (usually enclosed in a spiral shell) GILL: Body part in which oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged, allowing fish to breathe GUYOT: an underwater volcano with a flat top HABITAT: The place where a plant or animal lives; an organism's home. HERBIVORE: an animal that eats only plants HIGH TIDE: Highest rise of ocean water, occurring every 12 hours, due to gravity, the sun, moon, and the rotation of the earth. INTERDEPENDENCE: The dependence of organisms on the activities of other organisms. INTER-RELATIONSHIPS: The relationships between organisms. INVERTEBRATES: all animals without backbones LOW TIDE: Lowest ebb of ocean water, occurring every 12 hours, due to gravity, the sun, the moon, and the rotation of the earth. MARINE: Living in brackish or salt water. MICROSCOPIC: Too small to be seen without the aid of a magnifying lens or microscope. MIGRATION: the journey an animal takes to find a better feeding or breeding ground, often depends on seasonal changes too MIMICRY: A form of protective coloration, or acting, in which an animal closely resembles another kind of animal or an object in its environment. The animal being mimicked usually has toxin which causes predators to avoid it. By imitating the toxic animal, the other animal may keep from being eaten. MOLLUSK: A classification of animals which have no backbone and a soft body that can be enclosed or partly enclosed by a shell

4 NICHE: The interaction of a specific organism with its environment; the organism's special function within that environment. OCEANOGRAPHER: a person who studies the science of the oceans OMNIVORE: An animal that eats both plants and animals OXYGEN: a gas in the air and water that is passed to the blood in the gills. Oxygen is combined with food nutrients to produce energy to power muscles and other body functions PARASITE: Any organism that lives in or on another organism from whose body it takes nutrients. harms the host PLANKTON: minute animals or plants that drift in the open sea (Animal = zooplankton and Plant = phytoplankton ) POLYP: a coral animal, usually tiny but live together in large colonies of various shapes POPULATION: The total number of organisms living within a given area. PREDATOR: Any animal which hunts live animals for its food. PREY: A predator's victim. PRIMARY: First, earliest, largest grouping. PRODUCER: An organism that produces or makes food for other organisms. Plants are producers, while animals are consumers. SALT WATER: Saline water containing concentrations of at least 35 ppt, or more, or salt. SEAMOUNT: a large, underwater volcanic mountain that remains under the sea or rises above it to form an island SPECIES: A genetically and adaptively unique plant or animal which is able to reproduce itself and to evolve. For example all human beings are of the same species. SWIM BLADDER: Balloon-like body part that helps bony fish rise and sink not found in sharks SYMBIOSIS: Association between unlike living plants and animals in which one or both are benefited and neither is harmed. TERRITORIALITY: A behavior pattern in animals consisting of the occupation and defense of a living space. TRADE WINDS: a wind system, in most of the tropics, which blows from the subtropical highs toward the equatorial lows. In the Northern Hemisphere, trade winds are from the northeast. In the Southern Hemisphere, trade winds are from the southeast TURBIDITY: reduced water clarity resulting from suspended or dissolved matter VERTEBRATES: all animals that have a back-bone or spinal column

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