Lotic Ecosystem Vocab terms

8. positioning of an organism in a food chain such as decomposer, consumer, or producer
9. small particles of soil, rock, sand, and other minerals carried by the water
10. Shallow, fast-moving section of a river characterized by turbulent water
15. freshwater ecosystem characterized by flowing water
17. animal lacking a backbone such as insects
18. specific environment or place an organism and its species resides in
19. found downstream from riffles, slower-moving section of a river
20. complex network of interrelated food chains in an ecosystem

1. Steepness or slope of land where a river or stream flows
2. the bottom, or substrate, of a lotic system, inhabited by benthic organisms
3. the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water
4. a partially enclosed coastal body of water where freshwater from rivers mixes with the Ocean
5. the introduction of harmful substances of contaminants
6. the seasonal movement of fish within a lotic system
7. area along banks or shores of a river or stream characterized by vegetation and other important factors to a river ecosystem
11. process of rock and soil wearing away via water flow and collision
12. area of land that is periodically saturated with water and serves as transition from aquatic to terrestrial zones
13. A small, narrow, usually fast-flowing body of water
14. study of water
16. A larger, broader, usually slower-flowing body of water