| A | B |
|---|
| Currents | ocean waters that travel in huge circular patterns |
| Gulf Stream | run along the east coast of the United States |
| waves | caused by wind blowing across the ocean's surface |
| crest | the highest point of a wave |
| trough | the lowest point of a wave |
| wave height | the distance from the crest to the trough |
| wave length | the distance between the crest of one wave and the crest of the next wave |
| tide | rise and fall in the level of the water along the ocean shore |
| salinity | the amount of salt dissolved in water |
| pressure | the pushing force of a mass of water |
| ecosystem | all the interactions of living things in a certain area with one another and with non-living things in their environment |
| community | the living part of an ecosystem |
| niche | the unique role an organism plays in its community or environment |
| primary producers | the first producers in a food chain |
| food web | when 2 or more food chains overlap and connect |
| photosynthesis | the process by which green plants (producers) use the sun's energy to make food from water and carbon dioxide. |
| nekton | animals that swim and migrate freely |
| plankton | organisms usually very small or microscopic that have little or no power of locomotion and can only drift or float in the water |
| benthos | organisms that live on the sea bottom and include attahced organisms like sponges, oysters, and corals |
| zooplankton | this includes larvae, eggs, and microscopic stages of other fish and animals. |
