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14.2: Definitions

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    Definitions

    • Planktonic: applies to organisms that float or drift with flowing currents (zooplankton are animals, phytoplankton are plants.)
    • Nektonic: applies to organism that actively move swim by their own means.
    • Pelagic: means relating to the open sea, chiefly shallow layers. Planktonic and nektonic organisms live in open water (more in chapter 16).
    • Benthic: means relating to, or occurring at the bottom of a body of water (oceans, lakes), relates to bottom-dwelling organism (more in chapter 15).
    The term benthic applies to:
    • shoreline and nearshore environments (littoral and estuarine)
    • littoral (pertaining to the shore and very near shore of ocean or lake)
    • estuarine (pertaining to transition from river to ocean settings)
    • neritic (pertaining to the seabed in shallow ocean and deep water settings)
    • limnetic (pertaining to lakes)
    • Terrestrial refers to land environments (desert, mountain, rivers, etc) - some marine predators live in terrestrial environments.
    Benthic and Pelagic zones
    Figure 14.3. Benthic and pelagic zones.
    Elkhorn Slough, a tidal estuary in central California between Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties
    Figure 14.4. Elkhorn slough, a tidal estuary in central California, has littoral, estuarine, neritic, and limnetic sub environments.

    Feeding behaviors

    * Autotrophic: Produce their own food (primary producers)
    * Heterotrophic: Eat other things (living or dead) (consumers - primary, secondary, and tertiary).
    Feeding strategies of heterotrophic marine organisms:
    * Filter feeding: ex: shellfish
    * Deposit feeding: Eat deposits of dead or decaying matter
    * Carnivorous feeding: Capture and eat it!
    Humpback whales join in on a feeding frenzy.
    Figure 14.5. Humpback whales and birds joining in on a feeding frenzy on smaller fish who were feeding on zooplankton.

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