Definition of epibenthos in English:
epibenthos
noun ˌɛpɪˈbɛnθɒsˌepəˈbenTHäs
mass nounEcology The flora and fauna living on the surface of the bottom of a sea or lake.
Example sentencesExamples
- Values were predicted to be low among the crustacean-dominated epibenthos since we expected marsh detritus to be a prominent food resource.
- Until the 1970s, the continental shelf of the Beaufort Sea off Alaska was also considered barren of rocky substrates and associated epibenthos.
- This overall form, together with the apparent restriction of Eurytholia fossils to calcareous deposits, suggests that the animal was not pelagic but belonged instead to the vagile epibenthos.
- As discussed above for the genus, this echinoid is interpreted to have lived upright as epibenthos, with the long axis perpendicular to the substrate.
Derivatives
adjective
Ecology During dives to over 80 m to feed on epibenthic prey, thick-billed murres near Coats Island, Nunavut, Canada appeared to descend almost vertically, so that data from time-depth recorders approximated actual swimming speeds.
Example sentencesExamples
- Larger white perch seem to be more opportunistic than the smaller fish, becoming at least partly epibenthic feeders where sand shrimp are available.
- Compared to epibenthic dwellers like trout, strictly benthic fish species are even more affected by changes in water level because they rely on specific substratum characteristics.
- These structures may also protect infauna from epibenthic predators, leading to higher clam survivorship.
- In marine soft bottoms, large epibenthic predators sometimes disturb the sediment while feeding, which may affect food quality (such as particle composition and silt concentration) for suspension feeders.
Origin
Early 20th century: from Greek epi 'upon' + benthos 'depth of the sea'.