| A | B |
|---|
| biosphere | all organisms and the part of Earth where they exist |
| biota | collection of living things |
| hydrosphere | collection of Earth's water bodies, ice, and water vapor |
| atmosphere | air blanketing Earth's solid surface |
| geosphere | features of Earth's surface--such as continents and the sea floor--and everything below Earth's surface |
| climate | average long-term weather pattern of a region |
| microclimate | climate of a specific location within a larger area |
| canopy | dense covering formed by the uppermost branches of trees |
| grassland | biome in which the primary plant life is grass |
| desert | biome characterized by a very dry climate |
| deciduous | tree that has adapted to winter temperatures by dropping its leaves and going dormant during the cold season |
| coniferous | tree that retains its needles year-round and reproduces with cones |
| taiga | biome with long and cold winters, lasting up to six months; also called a boreal forest |
| tundra | biome found at far northern latitudes where winters last as long as ten months a year |
| chaparral | biome characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters; also called Mediterranean shrubland |
| intertidal zone | strip of land between the high and low tide lines |
| neritic zone | zone of the ocean that extends from the intertidal zone out to the edge of the continental shelf |
| bathyal zone | zone of the ocean that extends from the edge of the neritic zone to the base of the continental shelf |
| abyssal zone | depth of the ocean that lies below 2000 meters and is in complete darkness |
| plankton | microscopic, free-floating organisms, which may be animals or protists, that live in the water |
| zooplankton | animal plankton |
| phytoplankton | photosynthetic microscopic protists, such as algae |
| coral reef | ocean habitat found in the shallow coastal waters in a tropical climate |
| kelp forest | ocean habitat that exists in cold, nutrient-rich shallow coastal waters, composed of large communities of kelp, a seaweed |
| estuary | partially enclosed body of water found where a river flows into the ocean |
| watershed | region of land that drains into a river, river system, or other body of water |
| littoral zone | area between the high and low water marks along the shoreline of a lake or pond |
| limnetic zone | open water of a lake or pond that is located away from shore |
| benthic zone | lake or pond bottom, where little or no sunlight can reach |
