Definition: Active swimming organisms that live in the water column and are able to move independently of the water mass (adapted from Lincoln et al., 1998).
Definition: A habitat that is in or on a sea or ocean containing high concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids (typically >35 grams dissolved salts per litre).
Definition: Component found in mineralized skeletal tissue, (a specialized form of biogenic tissue in which the extracellular matrix is mineralized, and which functions in mechanical and structural support.)
Definition: The number of fossil occurrences in the Paleobiology Database (https://paleobiodb.org) that are identified as belonging to a particular taxon or any of its subtaxa.
Definition: A group of species that exploit the same food resources, and/or use the same feeding or foraging methods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_(ecology)
Definition: An organism which obtains food primarily by suspension feeding. Reid WDK, Wigham BD, McGill RAR, Polunin NVC (2012) Elucidating trophic pathways in benthic deep-sea assemblages of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge north and south of the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 463:89-103. doi:10.3354/meps09863
