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Information about Benthic

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Microphotograph of typical benthic animals


The benthic zone is the lowest level of a body of water, such as an ocean or a lake. It is inhabited by organisms that live in close relationship with (if not physically attached to) the ground, called benthos or benthic organisms. Generally, these include life forms that tolerate cool temperatures and low oxygen levels, but this depends on the depth of the water. For information on animals that live in the deepest areas of the oceans see aphotic zone. The superficial layer of the soil lining the given body of water is an integral part of the benthic zone, as it influences greatly the biological activity which takes place there. Examples of contact soil layers include sand bottoms, rock outcrops, coral, and bay mud.

When looked at from this perspective, the body of water would then have another realm, the pelagic zone, which includes all that lives associated to the water column.

Biomes
Terrestrial biomes
Tundra
Taiga/boreal forests
Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests
Temperate coniferous forests
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests
Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Montane grasslands and shrublands
Deserts and xeric shrublands
Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrub
Mangrove
Aquatic biomes
Continental shelf
Littoral/intertidal zone
Riparian
Pond
Coral reef
Kelp forest
Pack ice
Hydrothermal vents
Cold seeps
Benthic zone
Pelagic zone
Neritic zone
Other biomes
Endolithic zone

See also

References

body of water is any significant accumulation of water such as an ocean, a lake, or a river, usually covering the Earth or another planet. Some bodies of water can be man-made, or artificial, such as a pond, lake or harbor, but most are naturally occurring geographical features.
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Earth's oceans
(World Ocean)
  • Arctic Ocean
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Indian Ocean
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Southern Ocean
An ocean (from Ωκεανός, Okeanos
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lake (from Latin ligacus) is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size contained on a body of land. A vast majority of lakes on Earth are fresh water, and most lie in the Northern Hemisphere at higher latitudes.
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Benthos are the organisms which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone.[1] Although the term derived from the Greek for "depths of the sea"<ref name="caml" />, the term is also used in freshwater biology to refer to organisms at
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trillion fold).]]

Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics.
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2, −1
(neutral oxide)
Electronegativity 3.44 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies
(more) 1st: 1313.9 kJmol−1
2nd: 3388.3 kJmol−1
3rd: 5300.5 kJmol−1

Atomic radius 60 pm
Atomic radius (calc.
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The aphotic zone is the portion of a lake or ocean that is not exposed to sunlight. No light other than bioluminescence is found in this zone. Most food comes from dead organisms sinking to the bottom of the lake or ocean from other zones.
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Sand is a granular material made up of fine mineral particles. It is a naturally occurring, finely divided rock.

Sand comprises particles, or granules, ranging in diameter from 0.0625 (or 1⁄16 mm) to 2 millimeters.
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Corals are marine animals from the class Anthozoa and exist as small sea anemone-like polyps, typically in colonies of many identical individuals. The group includes the important reef builders that are found in tropical oceans, which secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard
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Bay mud consists of thick deposits of soft, unconsolidated silty clay, which is saturated with water; these soil layers are situated at the bottom of certain estuaries, which are normally in temperate regions that have experienced cyclical glacial cycles.
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The pelagic zone is the part of the open sea or ocean that is not near the coast. In contrast, the neritic zone comprises the water that is near to (and is significantly affected by) the coast or the continental shelf.
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A biome is a major geographical area of ecologically similar communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, often referred to as ecosystems. Biomes are defined based on factors such as plant structures (such as trees, shrubs, and grasses), leaf types (such as broadleaf and
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In physical geography, tundra is an area where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term "tundra" comes from Kildin Sami tūndâr 'uplands, tundra, treeless mountain tract'.
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Taiga (IPA pronunciation: /ˈtaɪgə/ or /taɪˈga/, from Mongolian) is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.
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Taiga (IPA pronunciation: /ˈtaɪgə/ or /taɪˈga/, from Mongolian) is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.
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Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests are a temperate and humid biome. The typical structure of these forests include four layers. The upper most layer is the canopy which is composed of tall mature trees. Below the canopy is the three-layered, shade tolerant understory.
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Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome found in temperate regions of the world with warm summers and cool winters and adequate rainfall to sustain a forest. In most Temperate coniferous forests, evergreen conifers predominate, while some are a mix of conifers and
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Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forests, are a tropical and subtropical forest biome.

Tropical and subtropical forest regions with lower rainfall are home to tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests and
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tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest biome, also known as tropical dry forest, is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive several hundred centimeters of rain per year, they deal
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Tropical and subtropical coniferous forests are a forest biome. They are located in regions of semi-humid climate at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Most tropical and subtropical coniferous forest ecoregions are found in the Nearctic and Neotropic ecozones, from Mexico to
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Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands are a grassland biome located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and tropical latitudes. Grasslands are dominated by grass and other herbaceous plants. Savannas are grasslands with scattered trees.
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Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a biome in which the climate is temperate and semi-arid to semi-humid.
  • temperature: warm to hot season (often with a cold to freezing season in winter)
  • soil: fertile with rich nutrients and minerals
  • plants: grass

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Montane grasslands and shrublands is a biome defined by the World Wildlife Fund. The biome includes high altitude (montane, subalpine, and alpine) grasslands and shrublands around the world.
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Deserts and xeric shrublands is a biome characterized by a dry climate. Deserts and xeric shrublands receive an annual average rainfall of ten inches or less, and have an arid or hyperarid climate, characterized by a strong moisture deficit, where annual potential loss of moisture
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Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and shrub is a temperate biome, characterized by hot, dry summers and mild and rainy winters. Nearly all of the rainfall occurs in the winter and spring rainy season.
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Mangroves (generally) are trees and shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats in the tropics and subtropics. The word is used in at least three senses, (1) most broadly to refer to the habitat and entire plant assemblage or mangal [1]
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continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain, which is covered during interglacial periods such as the current epoch by relatively shallow seas (known as shelf seas) and gulfs.
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Littoral refers to the coast of an ocean or sea, or to the banks of a river, lake or estuary. It is usually used as an adjective, but may also be used as a noun. The littoral zone is defined as the area between the high water and low water marks.
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intertidal zone, also known as the littoral zone, in marine aquatic environments is the area of the foreshore and seabed that is exposed to the air at low tide and submerged at high tide, i.e., the area between tide marks.
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riparian zone is the interface between land and a flowing surface water body. Plant communities along the river margins are called riparian vegetation, characterized by hydrophilic plants.
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