Marine Science
So far, we have learned several terms relating to Marine Science and will continue to learn new terms. Please review the following terms.
Benthos
Benthos is the plant and animal life that lives on or in the bottom of a body of water.
Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism by converting chemical energy to light energy.
Microscopic
Microscopic is something too small to be seen with the naked eye.
Plankton
Plankton is the floating or drifting animal and plant life of a body of water.
Marine
Marine has to do with the sea.
Zooplankton
Zooplankton are microscopic marine animals.
Nekton
Nekton are freely swimming marine animals that are largely independent of the action of waves and currents.
Cetacean
Cetaceans are the carnivorous marine mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
Baleen whales
Baleen whales are named for their feeding structure; baleen plates instead of teeth. They are known as filter feeders and eat tiny organisms such as krill.
Toothed whales
Toothed whales have teeth rather than baleen, have a single blowhole and are generally smaller in size than baleen whales.
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock that is formed chiefly from animal remains; consists mainly of calcium carbonate.
Fluke
A whale’s tail is composed of two lobes or flukes. The lobes meet in a “v-shaped” indentation.
Breaching
Breaching is a leap out of the water known as cresting by cetaceans.
Blubber
Blubber is the primary storage location of fat on some mammals such as cetaceans.
Bubble net feeding
Bubble net feeding is a cooperative feeding behavior of humpback whales to capture large schools of herring.
Crustacean
Crustaceans are a very large group of arthropods such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill, and barnacles.
Mollusk
Mollusks are a large phylum of invertebrate animals; another name for shellfish; has an outer shell and a soft body.
Ocean
Ocean is a body of saline water that covers 71% of the Earth’s surface and contains 97% of the planet’s water.
Salinity
Salinity refers to the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water.
Coral reef
A coral reef is a submerged structure made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals.
Corals
Corals are marine animals living in compact colonies of many identical individual polyps.
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea.
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a community of organisms and its environment functioning as an ecological unit.
Sharks
Sharks are a group of fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the heads, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head.
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are free-swimming marine animals consisting of a gelatinous umbrella-shaped bell and trailing tentacles.
References
Carlile, V. (2008). Oceans.
Hawthorne, N.J: Educational
Impressions, Inc.