Eutrophication - A condition where nutrients, especially nitrogen and phos- 

 phorous compounds, are excessively available allowing algae and other micro- 

 scopic plant life to become superabundant, often resulting in the decline of 

 more valuable organisms and high primary productivity coupled i-rLth lowered 

 species diversityo 



Food Web - A sequence of organisms, each of which provides food for the next 

 in the chain; generally involves complex interrelationships among the organisms 

 of an ecosystem. 



Habitat - The sum total of environmental conditions of a specific place that 

 is occupied by an organism, a population or a community. 



Oyster Setting - That period in the life-cycle of oysters when they change 

 from swimming forms to attached, shelled oysters on the bottom. 



Pelagic - Organisms which inhabit the water column as opposed to benthic 

 species which live on the bottom, or littoral species which live near the 

 intertidal zone. 



Phytoplankton - The plant organisms which drift passively or s^^7im weakly in 

 the aquatic realm, and are generally distributed by local tides and currents. 



Raft Culture - The use of rafts to grow shellfish off the bottom and thus away 

 from bottom crawling predators; production may be improved by this method. 



River Basin - The total area drained by a river and its tributaries. 



Stenohaline - Organisms which tolerate only a narrow range of salinity variations. 



Synergistic/Synergism - The cooperative action of separate substances, the total 

 effect being greater than the sum of the effects of the substances acting in- 

 dependently. 



Trophic Level - The position which an organism occupies in a food chain or 

 food web, such as primary producer, herbivore or carnivore. 



Zooplankton - The animal organisms which drift passively or swim weakly in the 

 aquatic realm, being generally at the mercy of tides and currents but able to 

 rise and settle. 



B-2 



