Glossary, continued. 



FINGERLING— Refers to a small juvenile fish that is 

 about 100 mm long. 



FLAGELLATE — Refers to cells that have motility or- 

 ganelles or microorganisms that possess one or more 

 flagella used for locomotion. 



FLORA — All of the plant species in a specified region, 

 including algae. 



FOOD WEB (CHAIN)— The feeding relationships of 

 several to many species within a community in a given 

 area during a particular time period. Two broad types 

 are recognized: 1) grazing webs involving producers 

 (e.g., algae), herbivores (e.g., copepods), and various 

 combinations of carnivores and omnivores, and 2) 

 detritus webs involving scavengers, detritivores, and 

 decomposers that feed on the dead remains or organ- 

 isms from the grazing webs, as well as on their own 

 dead. A food chain refers to organisms on different 

 trophic levels, while a food web refers to a network of 

 interconnected food chains. See TROPHIC LEVEL. 



FORAGE SPECIES — An organism that occurs in large 

 numbers and comprises a significant prey base for 

 predatory animals. 



FORAMINIFERIDA — A chiefly marine order of proto- 

 zoans with mosty multichambered shells. 



FORK LENGTH— distance from the tip of the snout to 

 the notch in the caudal fin. 



GASTROPODA— The largest class of the Phylum 

 Mollusca. This group includes terrestrial snails and 

 slugs as well as aquatic species such as whelks, 

 turbans, limpets, conchs, abalones, and nudibranchs. 

 Most have external shells that are often spiraled (but 

 this has been lost or is reduced in some), and move on 

 a flat, undulating foot. They are mostly herbivorous 

 and scrape food with a radula, an organ analogous to 

 a tongue. 



GASTRULATION — A stage in early embryogenesis 

 involving extensive cell movements, and in which the 

 gut cavity is formed and the three primary layers of the 

 animal body (ectoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm) are 

 placed in position for further development. 



GONOCHORISTIC— Refers to a species that has sepa- 

 rate sexes (i.e., male and female individuals). 



GREGARIOUS — Living together in groups, as in 

 schools, flocks, or herds. 



GROUNDFISH — Fish species that live on or near the 

 bottom, often called bottomfish. 



GYNOGENESIS — Embryonic development of an egg 

 without genetic contribution by a sperm, although 

 activation by sperm during spawning is required for 

 development to proceed. Gynogenetic development is 

 known to occurwithin the unisexual Menidia clarkhubbsi, 

 an all-female clonal complex which produces diploid 

 eggs without genetic recombination. 



FOULING — Occurs when large numbers of marine 

 plants and animals attach and grow on various sub- 

 merged structures (fioats, pipes, and pilings), often 

 interfering with their use. Fouling organisms include 

 algae, barnacles, mussels, bryozoans, and sponges. 



FRESH WATER— Water that has a salt concentration 

 of 0.0-0.5 parts per thousand (%o). 



FRY— Very young fish; may include both larvae and 

 young juveniles. 



GYRE — An ocean current that follows a circular or 

 spiral path around an ocean basin, clockwise in the 

 northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the south- 

 ern hemisphere. 



HABITAT — The particular type of place where an or- 

 ganism lives within a more extensive area or range. 

 The habitat is characterized by its biological compo- 

 nents and/or physical features (e.g., sandy bottom of 

 the littoral zone, or in seagrass beds within 3 m of the 

 water surface). 



GAMETE — A reproductive cell. When two gametes 

 unite they form an embryonic cell (zygote). 



GAMETOGENESIS— The formation of gametes. 



HAPLOSPORIDIAN— A unicellular protozoan occur- 

 ring in vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, often causing 

 disease. 



HARPACTICOIDA— An order of mostly free-living, 

 marine and freshwater, bottom-dwelling copepods. 

 Some are planktonic, and many are interstitial. 



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