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Adaptation:
a characteristic (body part, behavior, etc.) that
helps a plant or animal survive in its environment. Aeration:
the process of exposing soil or water to air, which
increases the oxygen content Algae
(singular alga): simple non-seed bearing plants (including one-celled
diatoms and multicellular seaweeds). Amphipods:
small crustaceans like whale lice, skeleton shrimp
and beach fleas. Baleen:
tough, flexible bristles in the mouths of the baleen
whales used to filter prey (small fishes, krill) out of water or mud. Barrier
Islands: islands which parallel the coast and act as barriers
for protecting the mainland from the full effects of ocean forces. Bioluminescence: the production of light by a living organism (like the
viperfish’s lure like fin that lights up to attract prey). Bivalve:
two-shelled mollusk. Clams and scallops are bivalves. Blade:
the leaflike part of seaweed. Blow:
a
whale’s “spout,” or exhaled breath, at the surface of the water. Blowhole:
a breathing nostril on top of a whale’s head. Blubber:
thick insulating layer of fat beneath the skin of
most marine mammals. Blue
crab: a saltwater crustacean which lives in shallow,
brackish creeks and bays. They eat
anything—living or dead—that they can grab.
Blue crabs are eaten by fish, octopuses and people. Brackish:
moderately salty water; seawater that has been
significantly diluted with fresh water. Breach:
a whale’s leap from the water. Buoyancy:
an object’s ability to float in liquid or air. Camouflage:
a behavior, shape, color and/or pattern that help a
plant or animal blend in with its surroundings. Canopy:
the top layer of a forest that grows close together
and provides shade to the forest floor. Carnivore:
an animal that eats the flesh of other animals to
obtain nutrients and energy. Cartilage:
the tough, flexible tissue (like that at the tip of
your nose) that forms the skeletons of some animals like sharks, skates and
rays. Caudal
fin: a fish’s tail fin. Cetacean:
any member of the group (order Cetacea) of marine
mammals, which includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Community:
all of the plants and animals living in a specific
areas (habitat). Competition:
interactions between plants or animals in which one
adversely affects another for some limited resource (space, food, mates, etc.) Consumer:
organisms that do not make their own food but feeds
on other plants and animals. Countershading:
a type of protective coloration (camouflage) in which
an animal is light on the underside and dark on top. Crustacean:
a member of the invertebrate group of animals called
Arthropods. Crustaceans include
shrimps, crabs, barnacles, and other animals having jointed legs, segmented
bodies, and a hard external skeleton. Decomposer:
bacteria and fungus that chemically break down dead
plant and animal matter and use it as a source of energy and nutrients. Deep
sea: the deep, lower regions of the ocean where sunlight
doesn’t penetrate. Deposit-feeder:
an animal that feeds by consuming detritus on or in
the seafloor. Detritus:
Plant, animal and other matter that has been broken
into small pieces by wave or other mechanical or biological action. Dolphin:
any of several water-dwelling mammals with numerous
teeth and often a beaklike snout. Dorsal:
on or toward the back or topside (opposite of
ventral). Dorsal
fin: a fin on a fish’s back. Dredge:
a net attached to a frame that’s dragged along the
ocean bottom to collect animals. Drift
seaweed: a piece of seaweed that has broken free of its
attachment and drifts with ocean currents. Echo-sounder:
a machine that determines water depth by measuring
the time it takes for sound waves to reach the bottom and echo back to the
surface. Echolocation:
the use of echoes to navigate or locate prey; sonar
used by toothed whales. Ecology:
the study of the interaction of organisms and their
physical and biological environment. Egret:
a water bird which nests in colonies in thickets of
wax myrtle and yaupon on estuarine islands.
Egrets are white and feed in marshes and tidal creeks and ponds, spearing
fish with their sharp bills. Electric
organ: cells in the pectoral fins (wings) of some rays and
the tails of some skates that release pulses of electricity. Electroreception:
the ability to sense an electric field, used by
sharks, skates and rays to find nearby prey. Estuary:
a water area where salt water and fresh water mix to
produce intermediate saltiness, such as in the coastal sounds and river mouths
of North Carolina. Evolution:
the process of gradual changes over long periods of
time. Extinct:
no longer exists. Fiddler
Crab: a saltwater crustacean which lives in holes along
tidal mudflats. They eat detritus
and are eaten by wading birds such as egrets and ibises, fish and other crabs. Filter-feeder:
an animal which strains or filters water flowing
through or around its body to capture suspended food particles. Fish:
a vertebrate with scales and fins that lives in water
and breathes with gills. Flounder:
a flat, bony saltwater fish which lives in bays and
coastal waters. They are carnivores
eating shrimp, small fish and crabs and are eaten by larger fish.
Flounder is considered a popular food fish for people.
As an adult a flounder has both eyes on one side of its head, have a
white belly and a dark upper body. Larvae
have eyes on each side of its head. Flukes:
a whale’s flat, horizontal tail fins. Food
chain: a sequence of plants and animals that shows who eats
whom: the direction food energy is transferred from one creature to the next. Gas
bladder: a gas-filled sac found in many fishes that helps
provide buoyancy; also called a swim bladder. Gastropod:
a member of the group of invertebrates called
Mollusks, and which includes snail-type animals and others which have a one
piece shell or not shell, and a broad ventral “foot”. Whelks and sea slugs are gastropods. Grazer:
an animal which moves slowly over a surface, feeding
on organisms found there. Gill:
a respiratory organ where blood vessels absorb oxygen
from the water and release carbon dioxide into the water.
Habitat:
a place where a plant or animal lives (its home)
including its surrounding environment. Herbivore:
an animal that eats plants or plant matter. Holdfast:
the part of a seaweed that attaches it to the
seafloor. Hydrodynamics:
the study of fluids in motion and the movements of
objects through fluid. Inorganic:
compounds or substances that contain no carbon and
are not of animal or plant origin; they are essential in living processes and
are obtained by plant primarily from soil and water. Intertidal:
the area of shore between the highest and lowest tide
levels. Invertebrate:
an animal without a backbone. Jellyfish:
a saltwater invertebrate which drifts with the
currents to get from place to place. They
are abundant in sounds and estuaries during summer and eat small organisms that
they sting with tentacles which are covered by an umbrella shaped dome.
Jellyfish are eaten by only a few animals, most notably sea turtles. Kelp:
any of the large brown seaweeds. Krill:
shrimp like crustaceans (mostly of the genus
Euphausia) to two inches long; large populations lives in certain seas and are
the main food of some fishes and baleen whales. Larva
(plural larvae): the young and immature form of an animal, unlike the
adult, that must change to become an adult. Light
absorption: the dimming of light as it passes through water. Limiting
factor: a biological or physical factor that limits the
survival of an organism. Mammal:
a warm-blooded animal with hair that breathes air,
has internal fertilization and nurses its live-borne young. Marine:
of or relating to the oceans and salt water. Melon:
a dolphin’s or toothed whale’s protruding,
fat-filled forehead that is used like a lens to focus sounds. Midwater:
the region between the ocean surface and the bottom. Migration:
an animal’s travels from one region to another that
occur on a natural cycle, like the steelhead’s journey from a river to the
ocean and back. Nekton:
animals that are active swimmers, like a slender
snipe eel, salmon and shark, that are strong enough to move against ocean
currents. Niche:
the particular way in which an organism obtains its
food and reacts; an organism’s way of life.
The role a species plays in the community. Nocturnal:
active at night. Oceanography:
the study of all aspects of the physics, chemistry,
geology and biology of the sea. Omnivore:
an animal that eats both plants and animals. Operculum:
a lid-like covering which serves as a protective
“door”, sealing the opening to the shell of gastropods when the animal
withdraws into the shell. Opportunist:
an animal that eats almost any plant or animal that
comes its way. Organic;
substances or compounds containing carbon, derived
from plants and animals; they are a source of energy and nutrients, especially
for consumers. Organism:
a living thing, like a plant or animal. Parasite:
a plant or animal that lives in or on another plant
or animal and obtains nourishment from it. Pectoral
fin: one of a pair of fins along a fish’s sides just
behind its gills. Pelagic:
occurring in the open ocean. Pelvic
fin: one of a pair of fins on a fish’s underside,
usually just below and behind the pectoral fins. Photosynthesis:
the process by which green plants use energy from
sunlight to produce sugar and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water. Phytolankton:
drifting plants in the ocean. Planktivore:
an animal that eats plankton. Plankton:
drifting organisms in the sea.
These can be as small as microscopic algae or as large as an 1800 pound
sunfish. Pod:
a group of whales swimming closely together. Pollution:
degradation of the natural environment. Predator:
an animal that kills and eats other animals. Prey:
an animal that is killed and eaten by a predator. Population:
all of the organisms of a kind living together in an
area. Producer:
Plants, including algae that are able to produce food
from basic raw materials. Radula:
a filelike tongue or band of horny teeth
inside the mouth of gastropods (snails and other mollusks) which is
covered with small “teeth”; used for scraping, tearing, boring, and
ingesting food. Ray:
a fish (related to sharks) that bears live young and
has a cartilaginous skeleton, broad flat body and blunt snout. Riptide:
a tide opposing another tide, producing rough waters. Salinity:
a measurement of salt dissolved in water; sea water
salinity is about 3.5 percent. Salt
marsh: community of plants rooted in soils that are
alternately flooded and drained by tides. Scales:
thin, overlapping flat plates that form a protective
outer covering on fishes, reptiles and the legs of birds. Schooling:
several to hundreds of fishes swimming together in a
very coordinated manner. Scavenger:
animals that eat the remains or wastes of other
organisms. Sea
anemone: a saltwater invertebrate, which looks like, an
underwater flower attached to rocks and hard substrates.
They use stinging tentacles to catch small fish and other prey.
Few animals eat sea anemones. Sea
anemones can move short distances with their basal feet. They can live in
intertidal areas by retracing their tentacles and storing water until high tide
allows them to feed again. Sea
horse: a small, semitropical marine fish with a slender
tail, plated body, and a head somewhat like that of a horse.
The male sea horse gives birth to its live babies. Sea
level: the average height of the surface of the seas after
tidal and wind effects are removed. Sea
turtle: a saltwater reptile which breathes air and spends
most of its life at sea. The
loggerhead is the most common sea turtle found along the Carolina coast. Other
sea turtles include: the Hawskbill,
Green, and Leatherback sea turtle. Sea
urchin: a saltwater invertebrate, which is round, spiny and
herbivorous. They graze on algae
and detritus form grass beds and rocky areas.
Sea urchin has spines, which protect its back, but are vulnerable on the
mouth side to attacks from fish, crabs, eels and sea otters. Skate:
an egg-laying fish (related to sharks) with a
cartilaginous skeleton, broad flat body and pointed snout. Sound:
Areas of water, which separate the mainland from the
outer barrier islands. (Trinity
Center is situated between Bogue Sound and the Atlantic Ocean.) Sounding:
a whale’s long, deep dive, usually taken after a
series of shallow surface dives. Species:
plants or animals that are similar to each other and
breed only with one another. Spiracle:
a small gill opening, just behind the eye, in some
sharks and all skates and rays. Spout:
a whale’s blow, or exhaled breath, at the surface
of the water. Substrate:
a surface available for living things; the bottom
material on or in which an organism lives or two which it is attached. Surf
line: the area near shore where the waves break. Suspension-feeder:
an animal that filters out detritus or other
particles suspended in the water. Swim
bladder: a gas- or oil-filled sac found in many fishes that
helps provide buoyancy. Terrestrial:
of the land. Thermocline:
a zone where the temperature drops rapidly as you
descend into deeper water. Tidal
creek: narrow channels that wind through the salt marsh and
are subject to changing tides. Tide:
the alternate rise and fall of the surface of oceans,
seas, etc., caused by the attraction of the moon and sun.
A tide (both high and low) occurs twice in each period of 24 hours and 50
minutes. Tide
pool: a pool of water left along the shore as the tide
level falls. Trawl:
a funnel-shaped net towed through the ocean to
collect fishes and invertebrates. Ventral:
on or toward the belly or underside (opposite of
dorsal). Vertebrate:
an animal with a segmented spinal column or
“backbone” containing a central spinal cord; fishes, amphibians, reptiles,
birds, and mammals. Vertical
migration: an animals’ daily or seasonal movement up toward
the ocean surface and back down to deeper water. Water
strider: a freshwater insect with long, thin legs, that
enables it to move across the surface of the water. Trout and other pond carnivores and birds eat water striders. Whelk:
a saltwater mollusk, which lives in sounds and
intertidal areas. They are
carnivores and eat bivalves. Whelks
are eaten by crabs and octopuses. They
move just under the surface of the sandy or muddy substrate. Wrack:
seaweed that has washed up on shore. Zonation:
distribution of plants and animals into zones or
specific areas, which differ from each other in species composition; caused by
different environmental conditions in each zone. Zooplankton:
drifting animals in the ocean which include the
larval stages of many larger animals; feed on phytoplankton and other
zooplankton and, in turn, are an important food source for larger animals in
marine food webs. |
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Make a Difference As
the old man walked the beach at dawn, Finally, catching up with the youth, he asked him why he was doing this. The answer was
that stranded starfish would die if
left until the morning sun.
“But the beach goes on for miles and there are millions of starfish,” countered the old man. “How can your effort make any difference?”
The young man looked at the starfish in his hand and carefully threw it to safety in the waves. “It makes a difference to this one,” he said. -Anonymous
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