Water Crossword

4. a key feature of aquatic ecosystems, mainly because light and temperatures decrease rapidly with depth
5. distributes water among atmosphere, biosphere, surface, and groundwater
6. vary mainly with depth, temperature, and salinity
7. communities that occur on the bottom
12. known for its free-floating mats of brown algae (in the western Atlantic)
13. special variety of trees that grow in salt water
14. bays where rivers empty into the sea, mixing fresh water with salt water
16. sharp temperature boundary between layers in water
18. (non living) components of an ecosystem
19. wetlands adapt to grow under saturated conditions
21. (sea) zones compromise the water column
23. shallow wetlands flooded regularly with seawater, occur on shallow coastlines
24. low, narrow, sandy islands that form parallel to a coastline
25. occupies shallow, warm, sandy areas near coral reefs

1. algae or tiny, free floating photosynthetic plants
2. corals expel their algal partner and then die
3. vary according to depth and light penetration, which control size and types of vegetation
8. broad, relatively shallow region along a continent’s coast, which may reach a few kilometers or hundreds of kilometers from shore
9. the path of water through our environment
10. Which one wetland is nutrient poor?
11. Which one wetland has high biological productivity?
15. shorelines
17. (living) components of an ecosystem
20. depressions in a rocky shoreline that are flooded at high tide but retain some water at low tide
22. among the world’s most productive and diverse ecosystems