Definition: Living in the fluid medium (water or air) but unable to maintain their position or distribution independently of the movement of the water/air mass (adapted from Lincoln et al., 1998).
Definition: aquatic organisms that construct and inhabit simple unbranched vertical shafts with only one opening to the surface. These are primarily above-sediment filter-feeders, surface deposit-feeders, and subsurface deposit-feeders (head-down, conveyor-belt feeders)
Definition: Upward conveyors are vertically oriented species that typically feed head-down at depth in the sediment. Vertically oriented head-down feeders actively select and ingest particles at the deeper sediments and egest these non-locally as faeces in the sediment surface
Definition: A group of hydrous aluminium phyllosilicate (phyllosilicates being a subgroup of silicate minerals) minerals (see clay minerals), that are typically less than 2micrometres in diameter. Clay consists of a variety of phyllosilicate minerals rich in silicon and aluminium oxides and hydroxides which include variable amounts of structural water.
Definition: The marine benthic biome (benthic meaning 'bottom') encompasses the seafloor and includes such areas as shores, littoral or intertidal areas, marine coral reefs, and the deep seabed.
