Definition: Active swimming organisms that live in the water column and are able to move independently of the water mass (adapted from Lincoln et al., 1998).
Definition: A taxon is Extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died. A \r\ntaxon is presumed Extinct when exhaustive surveys in known and/or expected habitat, \r\nat appropriate times (diurnal, seasonal, annual), throughout its historic range have failed \r\nto record an individual. Surveys should be over a time frame appropriate to the taxon’s life cycle and life form.
Definition: sediment that accumulates in the flat or very gently sloping areas of the deep ocean basin floor. The three main types are siliceous oozes, calcareous oozes, and red clays.
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.