| A | B |
|---|
| plankton | drifting organisms |
| nekton | swimming organisms |
| benthos | bottom dwelling organisms |
| decomposer | organism that breaks down dead organisms |
| tropical equivalent of a salt marsh | mangrove forest |
| most productive type of ecosystem for plants | salt marsh |
| warm, nutrient-rich, shallow water from high tide to continental shelf | coastal zone |
| land areas covered with water all or part of the year | wetlands |
| area of shoreline between low and high tides | intertidal zone |
| long, narrow sandy landforms that are offshore from a coast line | barrier islands |
| most of the oceans | open sea |
| debris and decaying organisms that drifts down in the oceans | marine snow |
| deepest part of the ocean | hadal zone |
| building block of a coral reef | polyp |
| amount of various salts dissolved in a given volume of water | salinity |
| ultraplankton | responsible for 70% of primary productivity in oceans |
| zooplankton | "drfiting animals" |
| shrimp farming | common reason for cutting down mangrove forests |
| estuary | where salt water and fresh water meet |
| submerged part of the continents | continental shelf |
| euphotic zone | part of ocean where sunlight penetrates |
