EMES 442/BIOL 457 Final Exam Spring
2025
Benthos - ✔️✔️animals and plants associated with the seafloor
Plankton - ✔️✔️organisms that live suspended in the water (may have some ability to move but
cannot counteract ocean currents or turbulence)
Nekton - ✔️✔️free-swimming animals that can move throughout the water column
Epifaunal - ✔️✔️organisms living on the seabed surface
Infaunal - ✔️✔️organisms that can burrow within the soft seabed
Neuston - ✔️✔️organisms associated with the sea surface (including microorganisms)
Intertidal - ✔️✔️ranges of depths between highest/lowest extent of the tides
subtidal - ✔️✔️entire remainder of the sea from low water tidemark to greatest depth of the ocean
Neritic - ✔️✔️(aka continental shelf) includes all seafloor and open water habitats between the high
water mark and the shelf edge
Epipelagic - ✔️✔️the surface layer or sunlight layer of the ocean (upper 200 m)
Mesopelagic - ✔️✔️200-1000m, twilight zone
, Bathypelagic - ✔️✔️1000-4000m
Abyssopelagic - ✔️✔️4000-6000m
Hadal - ✔️✔️Below 6000m
Deep sea - ✔️✔️the marine environment that lies below the light level necessary for photosynthesis,
exclusive of continental shelves
Aphotic zone - ✔️✔️Layer of ocean that receives no light (95% of total ocean volume)
Species richness - ✔️✔️the number of species in a given area
Photic zone - ✔️✔️sunlight ocean layer near the surface of water (5% of total ocean volume)
Southern ocean - ✔️✔️body of water surrounding Antarctica
Coriolis effect - ✔️✔️a phenomenon that causes fluids, like water and air, to curve as they travel
across or above Earth's surface
Ekman transport - ✔️✔️net motion of fluid as the result of Coriolis and turbulent drag forces
zooplankton - ✔️✔️small free-floating eukaryotes (protists and animals)
meroplankton - ✔️✔️organisms that spend part of their time in the water column but also spend
time in the benthos
2025
Benthos - ✔️✔️animals and plants associated with the seafloor
Plankton - ✔️✔️organisms that live suspended in the water (may have some ability to move but
cannot counteract ocean currents or turbulence)
Nekton - ✔️✔️free-swimming animals that can move throughout the water column
Epifaunal - ✔️✔️organisms living on the seabed surface
Infaunal - ✔️✔️organisms that can burrow within the soft seabed
Neuston - ✔️✔️organisms associated with the sea surface (including microorganisms)
Intertidal - ✔️✔️ranges of depths between highest/lowest extent of the tides
subtidal - ✔️✔️entire remainder of the sea from low water tidemark to greatest depth of the ocean
Neritic - ✔️✔️(aka continental shelf) includes all seafloor and open water habitats between the high
water mark and the shelf edge
Epipelagic - ✔️✔️the surface layer or sunlight layer of the ocean (upper 200 m)
Mesopelagic - ✔️✔️200-1000m, twilight zone
, Bathypelagic - ✔️✔️1000-4000m
Abyssopelagic - ✔️✔️4000-6000m
Hadal - ✔️✔️Below 6000m
Deep sea - ✔️✔️the marine environment that lies below the light level necessary for photosynthesis,
exclusive of continental shelves
Aphotic zone - ✔️✔️Layer of ocean that receives no light (95% of total ocean volume)
Species richness - ✔️✔️the number of species in a given area
Photic zone - ✔️✔️sunlight ocean layer near the surface of water (5% of total ocean volume)
Southern ocean - ✔️✔️body of water surrounding Antarctica
Coriolis effect - ✔️✔️a phenomenon that causes fluids, like water and air, to curve as they travel
across or above Earth's surface
Ekman transport - ✔️✔️net motion of fluid as the result of Coriolis and turbulent drag forces
zooplankton - ✔️✔️small free-floating eukaryotes (protists and animals)
meroplankton - ✔️✔️organisms that spend part of their time in the water column but also spend
time in the benthos
