Marine Ecology, Human Impacts, & Conservation

lacking or absent of life.

a modification of an organism or its parts that makes it more fit for existence. An adaptation is passed from generation to generation.

changes to the natural environment caused by human activity.

species at the top of the food chain, with no predators of its own. Also called an alpha predator or top predator.

the deepest ocean zone, below 914 meters (3,000 feet). Also known as the midnight or bathypelagic zone.

layers of gases surrounding a planet or other celestial body.

organism that can produce its own food and nutrients from chemicals in the atmosphere, usually through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.

all the different kinds of living organisms within a given area.

study of the spatial patterns of living organisms.

process in which the concentration of a substance increases as it passes up the food chain.

living organisms, and the energy contained within them.

process by which pharmaceutical companies buy or claim genetic resources from native species of a developing country.

effect or impact of an organism on its environment.

fish or any other organisms accidentally caught in fishing gear.

form of problem-based learning, where the teacher presents a situation that needs a resolution. The learner is given details about the situation, often in a historical context. The stakeholders are introduced. Objectives and challenges are outlined. This is followed by specific examples and data, which the learner then uses to analyze the situation, determine what happened, and make recommendations.

representation of statistical data, such as population, over a specific area using colors or patterns to represent types or intensity of data.

fishing industry where the number of fish has been severely reduced or depleted. Also called a depleted fishery.

relationship between organisms where one organism benefits from the association while not harming the other.

non-scientific name of a species, or what the organism is usually called.

rocky ocean features made up of millions of coral skeletons.

steady, predictable flow of fluid within a larger body of that fluid.

area of low oxygen in a body of water.

organism that breaks down dead plant material.

separation of a chemical compound into elements or simpler compounds.

organism that consumes dead plant material.

gradual, predictable changes to an ecosystem or habitat.

community and interactions of living and nonliving things in an area.

build-up of sediment and organic matter in bodies of water, which may cause a change in the productivity of the ecosystem.

industry or occupation of harvesting fish, either in the wild or through aquaculture.

group of organisms linked in order of the food they eat, from producers to consumers, and from prey, predators, scavengers, and decomposers.

diagram of a healthy diet that shows the number of servings of each food group a person should eat every day.

all related food chains in an ecosystem. Also called a food cycle.

area of the North Pacific Ocean where currents have trapped huge amounts of debris, mostly plastics.

environment where an organism lives throughout the year or for shorter periods of time.

rapid growth of algae that can threaten an aquatic environment by reducing the amount of oxygen in the water, blocking sunlight, or releasing toxic chemicals.

organism that cannot make its own nutrients and must rely on other organisms for food.

all the Earth's water in the ground, on the surface, and in the air.

opening on the seafloor that emits hot, mineral-rich solutions.

condition of not having enough oxygen in a substance, such as water or blood.

underwater habitat filled with tall seaweeds known as kelp.

garbage, refuse, or other objects that enter the coastal or ocean environment.

community of living and nonliving things in the ocean.

(1999) California law passed to create a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) along the California coast.

part of the ocean protected by the government to preserve a threatened ecosystem or habitat. Marine parks are often recreational areas.

area of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity.

part of the ocean where no fishing, hunting, drilling, or other development is allowed.

part of the ocean protected by the government to preserve its natural and cultural features while allowing people to use and enjoy it in a sustainable way.

way of monitoring animal population. A random group of animals is captured, marked with a tag or band, and released before another random group from the same population is captured. Some of the animals from the second group may have been tagged previously. Also called sight-resight, band recovery, and capture-mark-recapture.

tiny organism, usually a bacterium.

movement of a group of people or animals from one place to another.

relationship between organisms of different species, in which both organisms benefit from the association.

role and space of a species within an ecosystem.

area set aside by the government where all extractive activity, including fishing, mining, and drilling, is not allowed.

substance an organism needs for energy, growth, and life.

large body of salt water that covers most of the Earth.

depression in the Earth's surface located entirely beneath the ocean.

worldwide movement of water (currents) in the ocean.

person who studies the ocean.

area of the ocean that does not border land.

to harvest aquatic life to the point where species become rare in the area.

chemical element with the symbol O, whose gas form is 21% of the Earth's atmosphere.

relationship between organisms where one organism (a parasite) lives or feeds on the other, usually causing harm.

process by which plants turn water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide into water, oxygen, and simple sugars.

microscopic organism that lives in the ocean and can produce its own food through photosynthesis.

animal that hunts other animals for food.

animal that is hunted and eaten by other animals.

organism on the food chain that can produce its own energy and nutrients. Also called an autotroph.

fishing industry where catches are increasing after having been reduced or depleted.

natural or man-made lake where water is stored.

saltiness.

the name, usually in Latin, of an organism's genus and species.

slow changes in the standard characteristics of an ecosystem, which cause the standards to be adjusted, such as overfishing leading to a lower "baseline" estimate of the fish population. Also called a sliding baseline.

process by which fish are protected within a no-take zone, then produce more offspring and eventually migrate into nearby, unprotected areas.

person or organization that has an interest or investment in a place, situation or company.

base of hard material on which a non-moving organism grows. Also called substratum.

use of resources in such a manner that they will never be exhausted.

industry of harvesting fish or shellfish that can be maintained without damaging the ecosystem or fish population.

fish, shellfish, and other aquatic organisms harvested from fish farms or fisheries that can be maintained without damaging the ecosystem.

two distinct organisms living together for the benefit of one or both.

degree of hotness or coldness measured by a thermometer with a numerical scale.

rise and fall of the ocean's waters, caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun.

aquatic organism that produces chemicals that, in large amounts, can be deadly to plants and animals.

one of three positions on the food chain: autotrophs (first), herbivores (second), and carnivores and omnivores (third).

process by which currents bring cold, nutrient-rich water to the ocean surface.

moving swell on the surface of water.