| A | B |
|---|
| benthos | aquatic organisms that live attached to or crawling upon the ocean floor |
| biome | one of the distinctive geographic regionsof the world, it is characterized by specific climates and life forms |
| biosphere | thin layer of the Earth's surface that is occupied by living things |
| climax community | the final community of an ecological succession, it is complex, stable and tends to remain unchanged unless disturbed |
| desert | biome characterized by very little rainfall, rapid evaporation, poor soil and few life forms |
| ecological succession | gradual process by which communities change over time |
| geothermal energy | energy of ocean floor communities that is released as heat energy from Earth's interior |
| grassland | biome in which the grasses are the major species |
| littoral zone | the region of the neritic zone that is closest to shore |
| microenvironment | the slightly different environments, in each stage of a succession, that are created as organisms grow and affect their surroundings |
| nekton | aquatic organisms that swim freely throughout the ocean |
| neritic zone | shallow, lighted zone of the ocean, above the continental shelf |
| oceanic zone | deepest region of the ocean, in which there is no light or photosynthesis |
| permafrost | permanently frozen layer of soil, under the tundra |
| pioneer stage | stage of primary succession that begins with hardy organisms that can grow and reproduce under adverse conditions |
| plankton | aquatic organisms that are carried by currents |
| primary succession | succession that begins in areas in which there is no life |
| secondary succession | new succession beginning when the dominant plants of a plant community are removed and the environment is left untended |
| taiga | biome characterized by coniferous forests, frequent fog and acidic soil |
| temperate forest | biome characterized by definite seasons and deciduous trees |
| tropical rain forest | biome characterized heavy rainfall and constantly warm temperatures |
| tundra | biome characterized by permafrost, harsh winters, little precipitation |
