Front

An environmental factor that has a non-biological origin.

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Abiotic factor

Front

attached to or moving around on the bottom of an aquatic ecosystem, as opposed to swimming or drifting in open water (contrast planktonic, pelagic)

Back

benthic

Front

An environmental factor caused by organisms, such as shad, predation, competition

Back

biotic factor

Front

the ability to float; having an overall density the same or less than the water (or air) that the object is in

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buoyancy

Front

a substance's weight per unit volume. (e.g., the weight of a bucket of water or a bucket of air)

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density

Front

a change in an abiotic factor from one place to another (e.g) change in salinity along an estuary, change is amount of light from a clearing into the forest

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environmental gradient

Front

plants (or animals) that attach to the surfaces of other plants. they obtain physical support but not nutritional support (e.g most orchids, birds nest fern)

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epiphytes

Front

the place where a river meets the sea, characterized by variable salinity, an abiotic factor that strongly affects organisms

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estuary

Front

aquatic animals that filter plankton and detritus out of the water as their food supply (e.g clams, leather-duster worms)

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filter feeder

Front

the range of environmental conditions in which a species can survive and reproduce; a place, with a range of conditions, that can support certain species (contrast microhabitat)

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habitat