Aquatic Ecosystems Vocabulary

Freely floating microscopic organisms

• Plankton

• Benthos

• Nekton

• Decomposers

Actively swimming organisms

• Plankton

• Benthos

• Nekton

• Decomposers

Bottom-dwelling organisms

• Plankton

• Benthos

• Nekton

• Birds

Organisms that eat dead plant and animal material

• Plankton

• Benthos

• Nekton

• Decomposers

The amount of salt that is in the water

• Dissolved Oxygen

• Clarity

• Salinity

• Mineral Levels

Area of shallow water in lakes and ponds where light can reach the bottom

• Benthic Zone

• River Bank

• Littoral Zone

• Sunlight Zone

The beginning of a river where water is cold, shallow, and oxygen rich

• Downstream

• Shoreline

• Starting Line

• Headwaters

Change with the land that they flow through

• Lakes

• Ponds

• Rivers

• Wetlands

Land that is periodically under freshwater, example: Florida Everglades

• Lake

• Wetland

• Stream

• Pond

Type of freshwater wetland that contains non-woody, grassy, plants

• Marsh

• Swamp

• Estuaries

• Coastal Wetlands