Chapter 7 Study Guide: Aquatic Ecosystems
What are estuaries?
Where are the majority of marine organisms found?
Describe life in the benthic zone.
Describe life in the littoral zone.
What distinguishes nekton from benthos?
How do coral reefs form?
Which has a higher level of salinity, salt marsh or brackish marsh?
Why doesn’t photosynthesis occur in deep ocean water?
Describe 2 environmental functions of wetlands.
Give an example each of how coral reefs and estuaries are threatened by human activity.
What is a wetland?
Describe the process of eutrophication.
Describe one threat to river ecosystems.
Identify 3 freshwater ecosystems and 3 marine ecosystems.
Why are many of the world’s largest cities built on estuaries?
Where do more plants and animals live: on rocky shores or sandy shores? Explain your answer.
What beneficial role do decomposers play in an aquatic ecosystem?