Vocabulary
Photo courtesy of mikebaird/Flickr.
Abyssal Zone: habitat zone found on the flat, muddy, open plains of the seafloor
Aphotic Zone: light zone found on the ocean floor and receives no sunlight
Bathal Zone: habitat zone found on the continental slope
Benthic: deep waters
Disphotic Zone: light zone located beneath the photic zone; receives some sunlight, but it is very dim at this depth in the ocean
Epifauna: live on top of the seafloor
Euphotic Zone: light zone that receives the most sunlight, and is found at shallow depths in the ocean
Hadal Zone: habitat zone located in the deep ocean trenches
Infauna: benthic organisms that bury themselves in the mud and sediments on the seafloor
Low Intertidal Zone: exposed only during the lowest tides
Mid-Intertidal Zone: generally submerged except during low tide
Nekton: organisms that can propel themselves through the water column
Neritic Zone: habitat zone located in the shallowest waters above the continental shelf
Oceanic Zone: habitat zone found in the open ocean waters
Pelagic: shallow water
Photic Zone: light zone located beneath the euphotic zone; receives abundant sunlight, and therefore supports photosynthetic vegetation
Plankton: float in open waters
Seamounts: underwater, extinct volcanoes that reach a height of greater than 1,000 meters
Spray Zone: can be underwater during very high tides, spring tides, or severe storms
Sub-Tidal Zone: located below the low spring tide line
Tidal Range or Intertidal Zone: difference between the water level at high tide and low tide
Upper Intertidal Zone: flooded during peak tides, but exposed at other times
Last modified: Tuesday, 21 September 2010, 1:49 PM