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 habitat that is in or on a sea or ocean containing high concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids (typically >35 grams dissolved salts per litre).
Definition: The mediterranean sea biome comprises mostly enclosed seas that have limited exchange of deep water with outer oceans and where the water circulation is dominated by salinity and temperature differences rather than winds.