Definition: A landform consisting of loose rock particles such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, cobble, or even shell fragments along the shoreline of a body of water.
Definition: A steep-sided valley on the sea floor of the continental slope. Many submarine canyons are found as extensions to large rivers; however there are many that have no such association. Canyons cutting the continental slopes have been found at depths greater than 2 km below sea level. Many submarine canyons continue as submarine channels across continental rise areas and may extend for hundreds of kilometers.
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.
Definition: muscular waves propelling an animal over a mucus layer overlaying the substrate; alternating regions of muscular contraction and expansion create traveling waves that shear the mucus, resulting in translation of the animal.
Definition: Capable of creating a new organism by combining the genetic material of two gametes, which may come from two parent organisms or from a single organism, in the case of self-fertilizing hermaphrodites.
