Definission: overall repetitive or reflective pattern in the body of one individual of this taxon. eg: bilateral symmetry, rotational symmetry, radial symmetry
Definission: 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).
Definission: Colonial organisms are clonal colonies composed of many physically connected, interdependent individuals. The subunits of colonial organisms can be unicellular, as in the alga Volvox (a coenobium), or multicellular, as in the phylum Bryozoa. The former type may have been the first step toward multicellular organisms
Definission: 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.
Definission: Component found in mineralized skeletal tissue, (a specialized form of biogenic tissue in which the extracellular matrix is mineralized, and which functions in mechanical and structural support.)
Definission: Capable of the biological process in which new individuals are produced by either a single cell or a group of cells, in the absence of any sexual process.
Definission: Hard framework, internal or external, which supports and protects softer parts of plant, animal or unicellular organism, and to which muscles usually attach in animals, includes skeletons (derived from Lawrence, 2005).
Definission: A group of species that exploit the same food resources, and/or use the same feeding or foraging methods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_(ecology)
