Ecology and the Biosphere Crossword Puzzle

QUESTIONS LIST: canopy : the uppermost layer of vegetation in terrestrial biome, thermocline : a narrow stratum of rapid temperature change in the ocean and lakes, tundra : a terrestrial biome at the extreme limits of plant growth, disturbance : a natural or human-caused event that changes a biological community and usually removes organisms from it, wetland : a habitat that is inundated by water that supports plants adapted to water-saturated soil, biomes : classified according to the vegetation and characterized by the organisms to that particular environment, coral reefs : the tropical ecosystems created by the hard skeletal structures secreted primarily by cnidarians, ecosystem : all the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact, population : a localized group of individuals of the same species that can interbreed, estuary : the area where a freshwater stream or river merges with the ocean, biotic : pertaining to the living organisms in the environment, benthic zone : the bottom surface of an aquatic environment, abiotic : nonliving matter, tropics : latitudes between 23.5° north and south, eco tone : the transition from one type of habitat or ecosystem to another, permafrost : a permanently frozen soil layer, photic zone : the narrow top layer of an ocean or lake, where light penetrates sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur, detritus : dead organic matter, ecology : the study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment, deserts : terrestrial biomes characterized by very low precipitation, savanna : a tropical grassland biome with scattered individual trees and large herbivores, maintained by occasional fires and drought, turnover : the mixing of waters as a result of changing water temperature profiles in a lake, climograph : a plot of the temperature and precipitation in a particular region, climate : the long-term prevailing weather conditions.