epibenthos, n. Biol.
(ɛpɪˈbɛnθɒs)
[f. epi- + benthos n.]
The flora and fauna living at or near the bottom of any body of water, spec. on the surface of the bottom.
| 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXIII. 933/2 The epibenthos is obviously that fauna to which, except in polar regions, light and warmth are necessary. 1976 Jrnl. Appl. Ecol. XIII. 486 The low oxygen content observed in the downstream stations may be due to the epibenthos being displaced from the upstream sections by winter storms. 1990 Progress Oceanogr. XXV. 239 Despite the potentially important role of detritus in regulating the standing stock of detritivorous epibenthos and benthic infauna, we know little of the sources and quantities of detritus or of the processes that make it available. |
Hence epiˈbenthic a., belonging to or characteristic of the epibenthos.
| 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXIII. 933/1 The epibenthic fauna is exposed to certain definite environmental conditions. 1991 Aquaculture & Fisheries Managem. XXII. 35 The colonization of the benthos showed a marked ecological succession. Nematodes were the first group of animals to appear and reached a peak of abundance about 2 weeks before the epibenthic copepods. |