benthos
Ocean floor community
Benthos refers to the organisms that live on or in the bottom of a body of water—the ocean floor, lake beds, river bottoms.
These include creatures that burrow into sediment, attach to rocks, or crawl along the substrate: clams, sea cucumbers, crabs, bottom-feeding fish.
The term also describes this zone itself as a habitat, distinct from the open water above.
The benthos of the deep ocean remains largely unexplored.
Loose waste from decay
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- food webInterconnected predator-prey relationships
- organic matterMaterial from living sources
- biogeochemistryStudy of life-driven elemental cycles
anoxic · remineralization · filter feeding · grazing · predation · scavenging · ecological niche · succession
Underwater terrain below
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
- substrateUnderlying supporting material
- continental shelfSubmerged perimeter of landmass
- hydrothermal ventOcean floor hot spring
coral reef · kelp forest · mangrove · tide pool · salt marsh · mudflat · sandy bottom · rocky bottom
Two-shelled mollusks
- nematodesCylindrical unsegmented worms
- amphipodsSmall laterally-flattened crustaceans
- isopodsEqual-footed crustacean order
- gastropodsBelly-footed mollusks
copepods · tardigrades · macrofauna · interstitial fauna · deposit feeders · filter feeders · detritivores · burrowers
Bottom of inland water
- river bedFloor of flowing water
- limnologyStudy of inland waters
- freshwater musselsBivalves inhabiting rivers and lakes
- crayfishFreshwater pinching crustacean
Underwater excavation apparatus
- quadratBlank typesetting block
- transectObservation path for surveys
- biomassLiving material in aggregate
- abundanceAmple supply, overflowing
taxonomy · identification · preservation · sorting · enumeration · remote sensing · underwater camera · ROV
detritus
Loose waste from decay
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- food webInterconnected predator-prey relationships
- organic matterMaterial from living sources
biogeochemistry · anoxic · remineralization · filter feeding · grazing · predation · scavenging · ecological niche · succession · colonization
seabed
Underwater terrain below
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
- substrateUnderlying supporting material
- continental shelfSubmerged perimeter of landmass
hydrothermal vent · coral reef · kelp forest · mangrove · tide pool · salt marsh · mudflat · sandy bottom · rocky bottom · trench
bivalves
Two-shelled mollusks
- nematodesCylindrical unsegmented worms
- amphipodsSmall laterally-flattened crustaceans
- isopodsEqual-footed crustacean order
gastropods · copepods · tardigrades · macrofauna · interstitial fauna · deposit feeders · filter feeders · detritivores · burrowers
lake bed
Bottom of inland water
- river bedFloor of flowing water
- limnologyStudy of inland waters
- freshwater musselsBivalves inhabiting rivers and lakes
dredge
Underwater excavation apparatus
- quadratBlank typesetting block
- transectObservation path for surveys
- biomassLiving material in aggregate
abundance · taxonomy · identification · preservation · sorting · enumeration · remote sensing · underwater camera · ROV
- benthic speciesOrganisms inhabiting water body floors
- benthic communitiesOrganisms inhabiting water body floors