Benthic refers to the bottom of a body of water; the seafloor, a lake bed, a river bottom, etc. The benthic zone includes anything on, just above, or burrowing within the sediment under a body of water. While benthic zones tend to be ecologically different from those higher up in the water column, it is hard to make strong statements about benthic zones or benthic creatures in general, as there are a very wide range of environments within this category. However, plants often root here, dead animals land here, making it a good place for scavengers, and in deeper bodies of water this will often be a place of cold, dark, low oxygen, and extreme pressure.
116