| A | B |
|---|
| Estuary | found where the fresh water of a river meets the salt water of the ocean |
| Intertidal Zone | the part of the shore between the highest high-tide line and the lowest low-tide line |
| Neritic Zone | below the low-tide line is a region of shallow water |
| Surface Zone | light penetrates through the water only to a depth of a few hundred meters |
| Deep Zone | located in the open ocean below the surface zone where it is completely dark |
| Biodiversity | the number of different species in an area |
| Factors Affecting Biodiversity | area, climate, and diversity of niches |
| Area | an area of land |
| Climate | the typical weather pattern in an area over a long period of time |
| Niche Diversity | how diverse an organisms' particular role in an ecosystem is or how it makes its living |
| Keystone Species | a species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem |
| Genes | the structures in an organism's cells that carry its hereditary information |
| Extinction | the disappearance of all members of a species from Earth |
| Endangered Species | species indanger of becoming extinct in the near future |
| Threatened Species | species that could become endangered in the near future |
| Causes of Extiction | habitat destruction, poaching, pollution, and introduction of exotic species |
| Habitat Destruction | the loss of a natural habitat |
| Habitat Fragmentation | breaking larger habitats into smaller, isolated pieces, or fragments |
| Poaching | the illegal killing or removal of wildlife species |
| Protecting Biodiversity | captive breeding, laws&treaties, and habitat preservation |
