Sublittoral Flashcards
What is the sublittoral
Environment of the substratum of the continental shelf and environment behond the low tide mark
What is
Pelagic
Benthic
Epipelagic
Pelagic anything that lives int he water column
Benthic anything that lives in the seabed
Epipelagic water on the surface down to 200m (where sun can penetrate)
What are continental shelf waters
Neritic
Why is continental shelf important
Only 8% of the sea bed is continental shelf benthos but it forms a disproportionately large proportion of global oceans productivity and diversity
Why are neritic waters so productive
They are relatively shallow therefore relatively warm as sunlight can permeate to the sea bead and it’s not overlying colder waters
Because they overly a continental shelf they are adjacent to the continent meaning they are subject to terrestrial runoff (nitrates and phosphates) injection of nutrients leads to explosion of primary productivity kickstarting the food web
What is Allochthanous
Nutrients arriving from outside of the system ie upwelling or runoff
What is Autochthanous
nutrients that are being internally cycled within the system
What are
Epibenthic
Infaunal
Sessile
Sedentary
Mobile
Epibenthic population live on the surface
Infaunal populations live buried in the sediment
Sessile permanently attached to rock
Sedentary are capable of moving but do it rarely
Mobile can move
What is Bioturbation
Process by which animals create burrows in doing so they have positive effects where their burrows draw water down into the sediment , irrigating it and therefore oxygenating it
However they do have negative impacts such as disturbing and suffocating other Infaunal organisms
Hat is the body size of
Macrofauna
Meiofauna
Microfauna
Macrofauna large organisms
Meiofauna 45 micrometers
Microfauna smaller than 45 micrometers
How does body size relate to the relationship with the sediment
Macrofauna move through sediment like a medium
Meiofauna move between the gaps of the sand grains
Microfauna one sand grain is its habitat
