Anaerobic -- Living, active or occuring in the absence of oxygen. Without oxygen.

Biodiversity -- The variety of life forms in a given area.

Community -- An interacting population of various species in a common location.

Consumer -- An organism that ingests other organisms or organic matter in a food chain.

Decomposer -- An organism that feeds on and breaks down organic substances.

Detritus -- Decaying organic materials.

Ecosystem -- All living things and their environment in an area of any size, linked together by energy and nutrient flow.

Emergent -- Wetland vegetation which protrudes above the water level.

Exotic Species -- Species that are foreign to an environment, having come from another part of the world.

Food Chain -- The transfer of food energy from the source in plants through a series of animals.

Habitat -- The environment in which an organism normally lives. The arrangement of food, water, shelter and space suitable to an organism's needs.

Hydric Soil -- Soil characterized by, and showing the effects of, the presence of water.

Hydrology -- The study of the behavior of water in the atmosphere, on the earth's surface and underground.

Hydrophytic Plant -- A plant characterized by its adaptations to a water-saturated environment.

Marsh -- A wetland characterized by soft, wet and low-lying land, marked by herbaceous (non-woody) vegetation.

Niche -- The role or function played by an organism in a biological community.

Non-native -- Another term for an exotic species.

Plankton -- Minute, free-floating aquatic plants and animals.

Producer -- A photosynthetic green plant that constitutes the first nutritional level in a food chain.

Submergent -- A wetland plant that has adapted to grow underwater.

Swamp -- A saturated lowland characterized by certain trees and woody vegetation.

Wetland -- A landform characterized by the presence of water (though not necessarily during all seasons of the year), by hydric soils and by hydrophytic vegetation.