epibenthos
/ˌɛpɪˈbɛnθɒs
/noun [mass noun] Ecology
The flora and fauna living on the surface of the bottom of a sea or lake.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....
- 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.
Derivatives
epibenthic
- These structures may also protect infauna from epibenthic predators, leading to higher clam survivorship.
- 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.
- Larger white perch seem to be more opportunistic than the smaller fish, becoming at least partly epibenthic feeders where sand shrimp are available.
Origin
Early 20th century: from Greek epi 'upon' + benthos 'depth of the sea'.
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