Dictionary

kelp forest: One of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Earth that occur worldwide throughout temperate and polar coastal oceans.

marine biology: The scientific study of living organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water.

marine conservation: The protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas. It focuses on limiting and restoring human damage to marine ecosystems.

marine reptile: Reptiles such as crocodiles, sea snakes and sea turtles that have become secondarily adapted for an aquatic or semi-aquatic life in a marine environment.

marine vertebrate: Vertebrates that live in a marine environment including fish, seabirds, marine reptiles and marine mammals.

mesopelagic zone: The zone of the ocean from 200m (656 feet) to 1,000m (3,280 feet). Very little light penetrates this deep, but some semi-deep-sea creatures live here.

neritic zone: Also known as the sublittoral zone, this is the part of the ocean that extends from the low tide mark to the edge of the continental shelf and that has a relatively shallow depth extending to about 200 meters (656 feet).

oceanic trench: Long, narrow topographic depressions of the sea floor. They makeup the deepest parts of the ocean floor.