Glossary

Abiotic: physical properties of an environment
Adaptation: a change in an organism allowing it to be better suited to live in its environment
Anaerobic respiration: type of respiration not involving oxygen use
Anoxic: almost no oxygen present
Ballast water: fresh or salt water held in ships to increase stability, ships fill tanks in one location and release water in a different location
Barrier island: an island off the coast that protects the mainland
Bateau boat: a light flat-bottomed boat
Best management practices: a way to reduce the impact of non-point source pollution on waterways
Biotic: the living things in an environment (plants and animals)
Blue carbon: carbon removed from atmosphere by coastal plants and sediment and stored in coastal ecosystems
Brackish: mixture of freshwater and seawater
Decomposition: the process of breaking down naturally
Detritus: leftover organic matter after decomposition (e.g. small pieces of decomposing marsh grass)
Dike: a wall put in place to prevent flooding and control water flow
Ecosystem: a system formed by the interaction between and among organisms and the physical environment
Erosion: gradual wearing away of something by wind or water
Estuary: the area where a river meets the ocean, resulting in a series of mixing zones from freshwater (0 ppt) to full strength seawater (36 ppt)
Eutrophication: excess nutrients in the water
Greenhouse gases: gases that trap heat in the atmosphere
Halophyte: salt tolerant plants
High marsh: upper zone of the salt marsh with infrequent flooding
Hypoxia: oxygen levels low enough to stress organisms
Impervious surfaces: material that water cannot penetrate such as roofs, roads, and parking lots
Impoundment: an enclosed body of water
Intertidal: an area submerged at high tide and exposed at low tide
Invasive species: organisms not naturally found in an area which often compete with and become more abundant than native species
Invertebrate: an animal lacking a backbone
Keystone species: a species that plays a vital role in shaping an ecosystem
Living shoreline: the use of plants, sand, oyster shell, and other organic material to stabilize a bank, thus protecting it from erosion
Low impact development: utilizes on-site treatment of stormwater in an environmentally conscious way such as infiltration
Low marsh: lower zone of the salt marsh flooded for most of the day
Monoculture: the presence of only one plant in an area
Mud flat: intertidal habitats with no plants, occurring in areas with weaker currents and muddy sediments
Native: originally found or naturally occurring in an area
Niche: a species’ role in an ecosystem
Non-point source pollution: pollution which cannot be traced to a specific source but comes from multiple sources
Non-target organisms: an organism not meant to be caught
Nutrients: substances such as Nitrogen and Phosphorous, required for growth and reproduction, that runoff of nearby land into local waterways
Operculum: a hard lid or flap that covers and protects (e.g. gill cover)
Oyster reef: a large colony of oysters in the intertidal or subtidal habitats
Pluff mud: Very fine muddy sediment in the tidal creek and low marsh zones that one can sink in.
Refuge: an area which provides shelter and protection
Resident: an organism that spends its whole life in the salt marsh-tidal creek ecosystem
Salt panne: area in the high marsh with high salinity and sandy sediments
Sand flat: intertidal habitats occurring in areas with stronger currents and sandy sediments
Sea level rise: an increase in sea level due to the melting of land ice
Semi-diurnal: occurring twice a day
Sequester: to take away and store something
Shell midden: an area where empty oyster shells were piled by local tribes
South Atlantic bight: Cape Hatteras, NC to West Palm Beach, FL
Stormwater runoff: water that runs off the land into local waterways
Transient: an organism that spends only part of its life in the salt marsh-tidal creek ecosystem
Turbidity: the cloudiness of the water related to sediment levels
Upland border: transition zone between the high marsh and uplands where plants must be able to tolerate some salt
Vegetative buffer: generally undisturbed vegetation zone between development and salt marsh or estuary
Water quality: a measure of water properties such as turbidity, oxygen, and nutrient levels often used to relate to organism health
Wetland: marsh or swamp area that is always or frequently wet
Wrack: broken off stems of Spartina alterniflora that move with the tide and accumulate in mats