Abdomen
	In vertebrates, the part of the body that contains the digestive system or 'the belly'. In worms and insects the lower part of the body.
	Aboral
	Away from or opposite to the mouth.
	Abyssal Zone
	The bottom of the deep ocean, between 0-2 degrees Celsius
	Anal
	Situated at or near the anus.
	Ambulacral grooves
	Grooves where the tube feet of echinoderms are located.
	Amino acids
	Compounds containing amino,(NH2) and carboxyl (COOH). Produced from proteins by hydrolysis or obtained from food in organisms that obtain their nourishment from external organic substances.
	Amoeboid
	A protozoan whose shape is subject to constant change, usually referred to, to typify the most primitive type of life form.
	Amnion
	The foetal membrane of birds, reptiles and mammals. Inner embryonic membrane of insects.
	Amniote
	Animals such as birds, reptiles and mammals that have an amnion during their foetal life.
	Aphotic zone
	The zone of the water column with no light at all.
	Assymetrical
	Not having regular symmetry , or regularity.
	Bacteria
	Unicellular organisms with no distinct cell nucleus.
	Bathyal Zone
	The region of the ocean from the edge of the continental shelf to the depth of water where the temperature is constant, about 4 degrees Celsius ,at about 4000m, it is also called the continental slope.
	Benthic
	Living on the sea bottom.
	Bioaccumulation
	The process when toxic substances, such as heavy metals and pesticides are passed along the foodchain by animals eating each other.Each level that the toxins pass through, concentrates them, and an accumulated level is passed to the higher food level.
	Biodiversity
	The variety of biological life in an area.
	Bioluminescence
	The production of light by living organisms. The light is due to a chemical reaction that produces very little heat and produces light of a variety of different colours.
	Biomass
	The combined weight of all organisms in a community, or living in a particular area.
	Bilaterally symmetrical
	Having two sides the same ,or symmetrical about an axis.
	Bio-erosion
	Erosion, or decay due to living things.
	Biramous
	Divided into two branches
	Blastopore
	A point or opening, in early embryonic development , on a ball of cells (known as the gastrula) where there is an inward movement of the layer of cells to form a pocket opening onto the original surface. In many animals the blastopore eventully forms the
	Bleaching
	The process when a coral polyp expells it's symbiotic partner, the zooxanthellae, from it's body.
	Boring sponges
	Boring sponges chemically digest the limestone skeletons of corals during their search for food and living space.This breaks down the structure of the reef.
	Broadcast spawn
	Sperm and egg cells shed directly into the water, to be dispersed by ocean currents
	Buffer
	A chemistry term describing a solution made up of a dissolved acid and it's base, that maintains a certain PH.
	Bursal
	A sac like cavity
	By-catch
	The excess amount or undesired species caught in a fishing practice.
	Calcareous
	Consisting primarily of Calcium Carbonate.
	Calcium carbonate
	A chalk like substance secreted by certain animals that forms a shell or skeleton.
	Camouflage
	The adaptation of an organism to blend into or hide in it's environment.
	Carapace
	The hard shield covering the whole or part of the back of certain animals.
	Carnivore
	Animals which feed on flesh
	Cartilage
	Gristle, a firm but elastic tissue, found generally in connection with bones.
	Catchment
	An area of land defined by the common flow of water on it.
	Cephalothorax
	The body region formed by the fusion of the head and chest (ie. the part of the body containing the heart and lungs etc) such as in Crustaceans.
	Cerata
	Leaf like protrusions which act like gills on the back of nudibranchs.
	Chelate
	Claw like or pincer like.
	Chitin
	A hard substance used to form exoskeletons, in organisms such as crustaceans.Composed of a nitrogenous carbohydrate derivative.
	Chitinous
	Having an exoskeleton of chitin. A nitrogenous carbohydrate derived skeletal substance.Such as in insects and crustaceans.
	Cilia
	Hairlike protrusions of cells. Can beat rhythmically and cause locomotion or currents in the surrounding water.
	Chlorophyll
	The green pigment that exists in green plants such as algae(except blue-green algae) and all higher plants. Responsible for the light capture in photosynthesis and is the site of the first conversion of light energy into chemical energy.
	Cnidocytes
	Stinging cells of jellyfish, hydroids, sea anemones and corals.
	Collagen fibres
	A Protein or primary component of white connective tissue fibres and the organic part of bones. Also occurs in some fish scales.
	Collar cells
	A cell with a funnel shaped rim or a collar around the base of the flagellum.
	Commensal
	A animal that lives in association with another. Both deriving benefits from the association.
	Compensation depth
	The depth at which more O2 is used up than is produced by photosynthesis
	Continental drift
	The movement of continents, due to the process of plate tectonics.
	Continental shelf
	The shallow area of sea that is around any continent. Usually extending to an average width of 70km,and becoming deeper towards the seaward edge, usually to about 130m.
	Corraline Algae
	Heavily calcified,encrusting algae.
	Counter shading
	The coloration pattern found in open water animals, usually the upper surfaces are darkly colured and the lower ones lighter or silvery.
	Coxal plates
	Plates on the base segment of the legs in crabs and insects,spiders etc.
	Deposit feeder
	An animal that eats masses of sediment, and processes them through it's digestive tract.
	Demersal
	Living at or in the deep water, at the bottom of a sea.
	Dermal rays
	Bony spines found in the fins of fishes.
	Dermatitis
	An allergic condition causing skin irritation.
	Detritus feeders
	Animals which feed on the excrement and other waste products of all types of organisms, including the remains after their death.
	Detritivores
	Animals who feed on, and derive their nutrients from decay and waste matter
	Deuterostome
	A major division in animal evolution, as oppossed to protostomes. Deuterostomia is dependent on certain developmental characteristics, such as radial cleavage, the blastopore becoming the anus (not the mouth), the mesoderm (or cells which form tissue) ar
	Dinoflagellate
	A single celled phoyosynthetic microalgae which can swim using it's flagellae.
	Diploid
	Cells that contain two of each type of chromosome characteristic to it's species.
	Disphotic zone
	Zone of the ocean where there is not enough light for plants to grow, which can extend to 400m.
	Dissolution
	The dissolving of a substance in a solvent.
	Dorsal
	The upper side of the animal. Lying near or along the back.
	Echinoplutei
	The larvae (or 'pluteus') of echinoderms.
	Ecosystem
	A community of organisms, interacting with one another, plus the environment they live in , like a reef or a forest.
	El Nin)
	A southeast current in southeastern Pacific Ocean bringing warm water to the coast of South America in December and January. It brings with it, tropical fauna and is called El Nino, because it is close to christmas,and means ,'the christ child'.
	Endothermic
	Heat from within, binding or using internal heat energy.
	Epilithic
	The habitat of rock surfaces.
	Eukaryotic
	Cells with an organised nucleus and other membrane bound sub-structures.
	Euphotic zone
	The upper part of the open ocean zone, where enough light penetrates to allow plants (including plankton) to grow.
	Eutrophication
	An accelarated growth of algae due to increased nutrient levels in the water.
	Exoskeletons
	A skeleton outside the body. Usually a hard covering or supporting structure excreted by the skin or the 'ectoderm'
	Faeces
	The indigestable part of food and the residue of body secretions,that is expelled through the anus.
	Fertilisation
	The fusion of two sex cells, each with a single or half set of chromosomes (haploid gametes) to form a cell that has a complete set of chromosomes , (diploid zygote),one half from each original sex cell.
	Filter feeder
	An animal which gains it's nutrients by filtering or trapping edible particles from the seawater.
	Filter feeding
	Filtering or trapping edible particles from the seawater, typical of animals with limited mobility.
	Food chains
	The order in which different animals are eaten by each other. For example, a fish larvae may be eaten by a larger fish, who is eaten by a shark, that may be caught and eaten by man.
	Flagellated
	Having a flagellum.
	Flagellum
	A whip like bit ,on many protists and cells, made from protoplasm and provides locomotion for a cell capable of movement.
	Foraminifera
	A unicellular calcareous, protozoan.
	Gametes
	An egg or sperm cell.
	Ganglia
	A mass of nerve cells or the nerve centre.
	Gene Pool
	The collective name for all the genes of a particular population
	Gonochoristic
	Animals that use internal fertilisation and have seperate sexes.
	Gyres
	A roughly circular path of water circulation in the open ocean.
	Habitat
	Place or environment where a particular species live.
	Hadal zone
	The zone of the ocean at depths greater than the abyssal zone, or more than 6km.
	Haploid
	A cell containing only one of each type of chromosme, characteristic to it's species.
	Heavy metals
	The name applied to certain hard fusible metals such as gold, iron, tin, lead, zinc. Nickel,etc and also to the mixed metals, or metallic alloy such as brass, bronze and steel.
	Herbivores
	An animal that feeds on plants.
	Hermaphrodites
	Animals that have both ovaries and testes in the same body,(though not nessecarily at the same time)
	Host
	An organism infected by a parasite
	Hydrodynamic
	A body shape which is streamlined, to propell easily through the water.
	Hydrothermal vents
	Openings in the seafloor, near areas of volcanic activitythat dischage hot water, Three types 'black smokers',white smokers and cracks and fissures.
	Hyphae
	The non reproductive 'body' of a fungus.
	Indirect development
	An organisms that goes through a series of metamorphic changes, in order to reach maturity.
	Intertidal
	The zone of the shore that experiences regular changes in their environment caused by the rise and fall of the tide, and the action of waves on the shore.
	Invertebrate
	An animal without a backbone.
	Lagoon
	A warm, shallow, quiet waterway seperated from the open sea by a reef crest.
	Larvae
	The embryo stage of life of an organism, that becomes self supporting and independent, before it reaches maturity and it's adult form.
	Larval stage
	The stage of life during which the organism is a larva.
	Limiting element
	Is an element essential to life but less abundant in the environment.
	Madreporite
	A sieve like plate in the water vascular system of the echinoderms.
	Maxilla
	The back part of the upper jaw in crustaceans and sea spiders.
	Medusa
	The free swimming stage of some corals, jellyfish, anemones, hydroids and comb jellies, shaped like a bell or umbrella and swims by pulsations of the body.
	Metabolic Rate
	The rate describing all biochemical processes in a living organism.
	Microbes
	A microscopic organism.
	Microhabitat
	A smaller part of a habitat that has some internal interactions allowing it to function self-sufficiently within a generally larger habitat, such as a patch reef in a lagoon.
	Millennia
	A thousand years.
	Molting
	The act of shedding a layer of skin or a cuticle layer.
	Monogamous
	To have only one mate.
	Mortality.
	Death
	Motile
	An animal that can move under power it generates itself.
	Multicellular
	Consisting of more than one cell.
	Mutualistic
	An animal that exploits mutualism
	Myomeres
	One of a series of muscles along the trunk of vertebrates, especially in fish.
	Nematocysts
	Specialised cell for stinging in jelly fish, anemones, corals, and hydroids.
	Neritic
	The relatively shallow waters over the continental shelf, are generally higher in nutrients than oceanic waters
	Notochord
	A skeletal rod always present in some developmental stage, of all chodates. Lies between the central nervous system and the gut.
	Omnivore
	An animal that eats both plants and other animals.
	Operculum
	A lid or a covering flap,like the gill cover in fishes , the flap covering the opening to the shell in gastropods.
	Ossicles
	small bones or skeletal calcareous plates.
	Ophiopluteus
	The free swimming larvae of a brittle star.
	Oral
	The side where the mouth lies.
	Oscula
	Lots of osculum.
	Osculum
	The opening in a sponge that has the outward flow of water
	Oxygen minimum zone
	The area where there is little input of 02 from plants, and the thermocline prevents mixing with the 02 -rich waters near the surface. In the polar regions, 02 is supplied to the deeper parts of the ocean by downward movement of dense, cold 02 -rich wate
	Parapodia
	Fleshy, segmental appendage of polychete annelid worms, a lateral extension of the foot for propulsion.
	Parasitic
	An organism living at the expense of another.
	Parasitism
	An organism that lives in a close relationship with or within another, to it's own advantage. The host does not benefit from this and may or may not be harmed by it.
	Pectoral fins
	Fin attached to the shoulder girdle.
	Pelagic
	The water column or open water section of the ocean. Excludes the bottm (or seafloor) and the shore.
	Pentamerous radial symmetry
	Arrangement of five similar parts around a central vertical axis, esp. in echinoderms.
	Pesticides
	Chemicals used in the control of pests, which threaten agricultural crops.
	PH
	a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration, or it's acidity.The pH of the ocean today is about 8.2
	Pharmacology
	The study of the chemistry of medicines and drugs and their affects on the body.
	Pharyngeal
	Describes the area of the throat and back of the nose.
	Pheromones
	Chemicals that influence the behaviour or development of other animals of the same species when released into the surroundings.
	Phosphate
	A non-metallic element. An essential element for life as plants use it during photosynthesis, but is generally a limiting element.
	Photosynthesis
	A biochemical process that uses the chlorophyll pigment in plants to synthesize sugars, amino acids and lipids by taking Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Water (H2O)and converting this into usable enrgy for animals to consume..
	Phyllosoma
	A type of crustacean larva.
	Planktonic
	Free-floating microscopic or small aquatic organisms, both photosynthetic and heterotrophic (Protoctista, Animalia)
	Planula
	The planktonic larval form of some corals.
	Plate tectonics
	The theory explaining the movement of huge pieces of the Earths crust. The layers of the Earth have different densities. The crust and upper mantle (lower density outer layers) 'float' and move on the lower mantle and the semi-liquid layer (higher densit
	Pluteus
	The free swimming larva of ehinoderms.
	Polyp
	Solitary cnidarian (coral, hydroid, jelly fish and anemone), fixed to the substrate by one end and has a mouth at the other end which is surounded by a ring of tentactcles.
	Premaxilla
	The front part of the upper jaw in most vertebrates, bearing teeth , or forms the upper beak in birds.
	Radially symmetrical
	Arrangement of similar parts around a central vertical axis.
	Radiolarians
	A group of marine planktonic protozoans, whose skeletons are made of silica.
	Radula
	The scraping mouthpart of gastropods. A membrane with chitinous teeth in rows.
	Respiration
	The gaseous interchange between an organism and it's surrounding environment.
	Rudimentary
	At an early stage of development.
	Salinity
	The amount of dissolved inorganic minerals in seawater.
	Scavengers
	Any animal that feeds on dead organisms, waste or leftovers from others.
	Scleractinians
	Reef building or 'hermatypic' corals.
	Sedimentation
	a process that describes the addition of an amount of sediment or extremely fine particles to water.
	Sessile
	The term used to describe an animal that is attached to the substrate, stationary.
	Sexual dimorphism
	Having two physically different sexual forms, or sexes that look different to each other.
	Siliceous
	Composed of silicon or primarily of silicon.
	Silicon dioxide
	Sand is silicon dioxide,SiO(,
	Siltation
	a process that describes the addition of an amount of silt or extremely fine particles to the water
	Species diversity
	The different types of species present in an area.
	Spicules
	Small needle like spikes that provide structural support, found in the body of invertebrates such as sponges, echinoderms, chitons and radiolarians.
	Spongin
	The hardened protein that forms spicules
	Sublittoral zone
	This zone extends from below the low tide mark to the edge of the continental shelf, which generally reaches 150 to 300m depth.
	Suspension feeders
	Organisms that strain food from the surrounding water, such as sponges, corals or baleen whales.
	Symbionts
	One of the partners in a symbiotic relationship.
	Symbiosis
	The association of between two organisms.
	Symbiotic
	An an organism that lives in close relationship with another.
	Telson
	The unpaired, final segment of the abdomen of crustaceans.
	Thermocline
	Two layers of water in the ocean that consists of warm, less dense water on top and, dense colder water underneath.
	Thoracic
	A region of the thorax
	Thorax
	The part of the body between the neck and abdomen containing heart, lungs etc. or the body region behind the head of other animals.
	Totipotent
	A cell with the potential to develop into any type of cell present in an organism.
	Trace gases
	Gases ocurring in minute quantities such as water, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide .
	Trophic levels
	The levels or order of energy passing through an ecosystem, by way of organisms consuming each other.
	Tube feet
	Organs that are connected to the water vascular system of echinoderms, for locomotion, and also respiratory, food catching and sensory functions.
	Toxicity
	The potency of a poison.
	Upwelling
	The rise of deep, cold, dense water. The deep water rises to replace the wind displaced surface water, and is nutrient rich.
	Veliger
	The larva of a mollusc.
	Ventral
	Situated at or near the side of the animal that usually faces downwards.
	Water column
	The open water of the ocean between the surface and the floor.
	WaterCycle
	The movement of water though processes like condensation, evaporation, rain and run-off.
	Zoea
	One of the larval stages of crustaceans.
	Zooxanthellae
	Unicellular algae living within cells of a variety of marine animals especially corals, to their mutual advatage.
	Zygote
	The cell formed by the union of two gametes, a sperm and an egg cell, after fertilisation.