Definition: A sheet of saline water separated from the open sea by sand or shingle banks. The sheet of water between an offshore reef, especially of coral and mainland. The sheet of water within a ring or horseshoe shaped atoll.
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: 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).
Definition: Skeletal support provided by hydrostatic pressure from a fluid filled cavity (e.g. the coelum) surrounded by muscles. Hydrostatic pressure provides skeletal support in sea anemones, jellyfish, nematodes, annelids, echinoderms, and other groups.
