{"thcode":2,"term":{"code":358,"name":"estuarine ecosystems","parent":54,"scope":"Biological communities and habitats within sea inlets or the zones where rivers meet the seas which are subject to tidal effects and the mixture of fresh and saltwater."},"uf":[{"name":"estuarine ecosystem functions","usewith":{"code":315,"name":"ecosystem functions","parent":310,"scope":"The total life activities of organisms in habitats and the effects of those activities on the nonliving components of the environment."}}],"bt":[{"code":54,"name":"aquatic ecosystems","parent":319,"scope":"Communities of interdependent organisms living primarily in or on water."},{"code":319,"name":"ecosystems","parent":921,"scope":"The interacting populations of plants, animals, and  microorganisms occupying a certain area, and their relationship to the environment."},{"code":921,"name":"population and community ecology","parent":1174,"scope":"Interactions of a single species (population) or an association of different species (community) occupying a particular region, including their biotic and abiotic environments."},{"code":1174,"name":"topics","parent":1,"scope":"Themes, subjects, and concerns for which USGS information resources are relevant."},{"code":1,"name":"Categories","parent":null,"scope":"Thematic terms for categorizing information resources.  This thesaurus is intended to support finding and understanding scientific information."}],"nt":[],"rt":[{"code":53,"name":"aquatic biology","parent":650,"scope":"The scientific study of organisms living in or near water.  This term is to be used for the science of 'aquatic biology' and for  biological studies in fresh and brackish water. For marine biological studies, use 'marine biology'."},{"code":311,"name":"ecology","parent":650,"scope":"Study of the relations between living plants and animals and their environment."}]}