benthic

[ ben-thik ]

adjective

1. of or relating to a benthos.
2. of or relating to a benthon.

benthic

/ bĕn′thĭk /

1. Relating to the bottom of a sea or lake or to the organisms that live there.

Word History and Origins

Origin of benthic¹

benth(os) + -ic

Example Sentences

Most living shark species are still bottom dwellers, occupying what scientists refer to as the benthic zone.

From Science Daily

“Urchins are critical components of benthic ecosystems, and there are pretty tight tipping points: We don’t want too many or too few,” Harvell says.

From Science Magazine

Their analyses show that the rapid transition of ancestrally bottom-dwelling, or benthic, anglerfishes into open-ocean, or pelagic, habitats occurred during a period of major global warming 50 to 35 million years ago.

From Science Daily

They examined the effects of stony coral tissue loss disease on fish and benthic reef communities, which comprises anything living on the sea floor, like coral, algae, and sponges.

From Science Daily

"Over short time scales, intermittent disturbances such as hurricanes can alter the structure and function of the coral reef benthic community and impact recovery time," said Chaves Fonnegra.

From Science Daily