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B

benthic

Occurring at the bottom of a body of water, for example, a seabed, riverbed, or lake bottom.

binomial nomenclature

The two-part scientific name — genus and species — for a plant or animal.

biodiversity

The variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur.

bioturbator

An organism that disturbs sediments by burrowing or feeding.

Bivalvia

A class of the phylum Mollusca including species with two shells hinged together, a soft body, and lamellate gills. Commonly called bivalves.

broadcast spawning

Releasing gametes — eggs and sperm — into the water for external fertilization.

byssus

A tuft of long, tough filaments which are formed in a groove of the foot, and issue from between the valves of certain bivalve mollusks, by which they attach themselves to rocks, etc.