Marine Biology Terms

a continuous chain of underwater volcanic mountains encompassing the earth

• Mid-Ocean Ridge

• Oceanic Crust

• Oceanic Fault lines

• Mid-Ocean Fault

A portion of the earth’s crust that primarily contains basalt, is relatively dense, and is about 5 km thick

• Oceanic Crust

• Gyres

• Continental Crust

Large mostly circular systems of surface currents driven by the wind

(a)  

The way in which the rotation of the earth blends the path of winds and sea currents

• Gyres

• Centrifuge

• Coriolis

The portion of earth’s crust that primarily contains granite, is less dense than the other kind of crust, and is about 20/50 km thick

• Continental Crust

• Oceanic Crust

Autotrophs

(a)  

Heterotrophs

(a)  

The process by which food is converted into useable energy for life function

• Reprocessing

• ATP Production

• Respiration

• Atomic Energy Processing

Poikilotherm

• An organism whose body temperature changes with its surrounding environment

• Organisms that cannot make their own food and must obtain it from other organisms

• Organisms that are able to produce their own food

Heterotrophs

• Organisms that cannot make their own food and must obtain it from other organisms

• An organism whose body temperature changes with its surrounding environment

• An animal whose internal body temperature does not change