Glossary (eng)

(sometimes referred to as supereutrophic) Water body which is fertile and has extremely high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen. It is rarely suitable for recreation and habitat for desirable aquatic species is limited.

A condition in which there is oxygen deficiency in a habitat.

Partial lack of oxygen.

An empirical cumulative distribution function of elevations and/or depths. A curve that illustrates the relative portion of surface area occurring at different depths or elevations within a specified region.

Fossilized behaviour of extinct organisms (traces, tracks, burrows, borings, footprints, nests, dung, gastroliths, burrow, stomach contents, etc.). Ichnofossils record the activity (movenment and behavior of animals). Trace fossils are most commonly represented in the geologic record by features formed through animal activity in a substrate of some sort, such as sediment, rock, or wood. These features include burrows, tracks, trails, and borings.

Information based on measured data used to represent a particular attribute, characteristic, or property of a system, e.g., the amount of hazardous substances present in bird eggs can describe the state of the marine environment.

Species which reflects certain property of a system.

Animals that live within sediment.

Zone of the seabed below the low-water mark characterized by sufficient light to allow plant growth.

Entirely surrounded by firm ground and connected to ocean or near-by see by one or several straits. It is distinguished by apartness from the ocean and particular water exchange.