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: The community of microscopic, unicellular eukaryotic algae (Baccilariophyceae, Chlorophyceae and Dinophyceae) and the prokaryotic Cyanobacteria which live on sediment surfaces. See Kiel, 2004. The microphytobenthos and its role in aquatic food webs. Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel http://epic.awi.de/11852/1/Abe2004e.pdf
