pelagic

views updated Jun 11 2018

pe·lag·ic / pəˈlajik/ • adj. technical of or relating to the open sea: the kittiwakes return from their pelagic winter wanderings. ∎ (chiefly of fish) inhabiting the upper layers of the open sea.Often contrasted with demersal.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

pelagic

views updated May 23 2018

pelagic
1. In marine ecology, applied to the organisms that inhabit open water, i.e. plankton, nekton, and neuston (although neuston are fairly unimportant in such environments).

2. In ornithology, applied to sea-birds that come to land only to breed, and that spend the major part of their lives far out to sea.

A Dictionary of Zoology MICHAEL ALLABY

pelagic

views updated May 09 2018

pelagic
1. In marine ecology, applied to the organisms that inhabit open water, i.e. plankton, nekton, and neuston (although neuston are fairly unimportant in such environments).

2. In ornithology, applied to sea-birds that come to land only to breed, and spend the major part of their lives far out to sea.

A Dictionary of Ecology MICHAEL ALLABY

pelagic

views updated Jun 08 2018

pelagic Describing organisms that swim or drift in a sea or a lake, as distinct from those that live on the bottom (see benthos). Pelagic organisms are divided into plankton and nekton.

A Dictionary of Biology

pelagic

views updated May 08 2018

pelagic In marine ecology, applied to the organisms that inhabit open water, i.e. plankton, nekton, and neuston (although neuston are fairly unimportant in such environments).

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY