Glossary:P Words

From Indian River Lagoon Project
Glossary Page Index
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
panne ( ( /pan/ ) ) noun
small pond or pool in the salt marsh.
parasitism ( par·a·sit·ism / ˈperəsəˌtizəm,ˈperəˌsīˌtizəm ) noun
similar to predation in that one species benefits from the relationship and the other is harmed; differs from predation in that parasitism generally not fatal to adversely affected organism.
pathogenic ( path·o·gen·ic / ˌpaTHəˈjenik ) noun
Causing disease; commonly applied to microorganisms that cause infectious diseases.
periphyton ( pe·riph·y·ton / pəˈrifəˌtän ) noun
a complex mixture of algae, detritus, bacteria, and microbes that are attached to submerged objects in most aquatic ecosystems.
Personal watercraft (PWC) are small vessels or conveyances that float on the water and are powered by engines, commonly propelled by jet drives to achieve fairly high speeds, usually in excess of 20 knots. PWC have no interior and are ridden by sitting on top of and astride them as one rides a motorcycle.

Personal water craft (PWC) are generally not considered boats. PWC are usually under 15 feet (4.6 meters) LOA.

Though personal watercraft are not considered boats, they must obey the same rules of the road as any boat of the same size, according to applicable Federal and local law.
toxic pollutants from crude oil products; mixture of hydrocarbons, which are organic solvents.
photosynthesis ( pho·to·syn·the·sis / ˌfōdōˈsinTHəsəs ) noun
process of using energy in sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and oxygen.
phytoplankton ( phy·to·plank·ton / ˌfīdōˈplaNGktən ) noun
floating plants or plant-like photosynthetic single cellular organisms
plankton ( plank·ton / ˈplaNGktən ) noun
free-floating organisms drifting in water, unable to swim against currents.
Pleasure Craft, in a marine context, are all boats used for recreational not commercial purposes. Though craft applies to all sizes of vessels, by convention pleasure craft are boats, and most commonly are small to moderate sized boats, under approximately 80 feet (24.3 meters) LOA.
An identifiable and confined discharge point for one or more water pollutants, such as a pipe, canal, channel, vessel, or ditch.
pollutant ( pol·lu·tant / pəˈlo͞otnt ) noun
Generally any substance, such as a chemical or waste product, introduced into the environment that adversely affects the usefulness of a resource.
pollution ( pol·lu·tion / pəˈlo͞oSH(ə)n ) noun
contamination of natural environment.
polyhaline adjective
high salinity about 30-335 ppt.
predation ( pre·da·tion / prəˈdāSH(ə)n ) noun
the killing and/or consumption of living organisms by other living organisms.
producer ( pro·duc·er / prəˈd(y)o͞osər ) noun
autotroph; organism that creates energy-rich compounds from sunlight (through photosynthesis) or certain chemicals (through chemosynthesis); first level in any food web; in estuarine systems, most abundant producers are phytoplankton.
a biological system that efficiently converts energy into growth and production.
protist ( pro·tist / ˈprōdəst ) noun
often unicellular but they can be multi-cellular or colonial the organisms in this Kingdom have characteristics of plants, animals and fungi and contains most algae.