The plankton and nekton that inhabit the water column over the continental shelf are said to live in what zone?

Neritic Zone.

Explanation:

In marine biology, the neritic zone, also called coastal waters, the coastal ocean or the sublittoral zone, refers to that zone of the ocean where sunlight reaches the ocean floor, that is, where the water is never so deep as to take it out of the photic zone.

9.9 years

a = p(1 + rt) . . account balance after time t at rate r starting with principal p

3000 = 2500(1 + 0.0202t) . . filling in the given numbers

1.2 = 1 + 0.0202t . . divide by 2500

0.2 = 0.0202t . . . subtract 1

0.2/0.0202 = t ≈ 9.901

it will take about 9.9 years for the account balance to reach $3000.