<descriptor thcode="62"><thesaurus thcode="62" name="Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard" scope="Categories of ecosystems for coastal, estuarine, and marine environments." creator="FGDC" rights="public domain" date="2017-05-10" codetype="alpha" prefix="cmecs" uri="https://www2.usgs.gov/science/CMECS" tblname="cmecs" root_code="root" contact="pschweitzer"><category><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/></category><altlabel><altlabel>CMECS</altlabel><altlabel>CMECS</altlabel><altlabel>Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)</altlabel><altlabel>Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)</altlabel></altlabel></thesaurus><term thcode="62" code="BC-459" name="Larval Worm Spawning Aggregation" parent="BC-408" scope="Biotic Group: Water parcels in which gametes and larvae from various worm taxa are aggregated (often in very high abundance) after simultaneous spawning, and they are the dominant form of zooplankton. ..."/><bt><term thcode="62" code="BC-408" name="Worm Meroplankton" parent="BC-385" scope="Biotic Subclass: Water parcels in which various meroplanktonic worm phyla are the perceived dominant feature. Many worm taxa spawn planktonic larvae, and identification can be difficult."/><term thcode="62" code="BC-385" name="Zooplankton" parent="BC-384" scope="Biotic Group: Water parcels or layers in which zooplankton are perceived to be the dominant feature. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="BC-384" name="Planktonic Biota" parent="BC-C002" scope="Biotic Setting: Planktonic Biota includes biota that drift, float, or remain suspended in the water column in aggregations that are big enough to be (a) detected by the human eye (or with mild magnification) or (b) sampled with a fine-plankton net. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="BC-C002" name="Biotic" parent="root"/><term thcode="62" code="root" name="CMECS" scope="Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard: Category terms encompassing waters from the head of tide or inland incursion of ocean salinity to the splash zone of the coasts to the deepest portions of the oceans and the deep waters of the Great Lakes."/></bt></descriptor>