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Aquatic Ecosystems

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Title: Aquatic Ecosystems


1
Aquatic Ecosystems
  • Freshwater
  • Ponds Lakes
  • Streams Rivers
  • Wetlands
  • Marine
  • Oceans
  • Coral Reefs
  • Estuaries

2
Freshwater
  • Ponds Lakes
  • Streams Rivers
  • Wetlands

3
Freshwater
  • Freshwater is defined as having a low salt
    concentrationusually less than 1
  • Plants and animals in freshwater regions are
    adjusted to the low salt content and would not be
    able to survive in areas of high salt
    concentration (i.e, ocean)

4
Ponds and Lakes
  • range in size from just a few square meters to
    thousands of square kilometers
  • ponds may be seasonal, lasting just a couple of
    months (such as sessile pools)
  • lakes may exist for hundreds of years or more
  • may have limited species diversity since they
    are often isolated from one another and from
    other water sources like rivers and oceans

5
Ponds and Lakes
  • divided into three different zones determined
    by depth and distance from the shoreline
  • littoral zone
  • limnetic zone
  • profundal zone

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7
Littoral Zone
  • warmest since it is shallow and can absorb more
    of the Suns heat
  • sustains a fairly diverse community, which can
    include several species of algae (like diatoms),
    rooted and floating aquatic plants, grazing
    snails, clams, insects, crustaceans, fishes, and
    amphibians
  • the egg and larvae stages of some insects are
    found in this zone
  • vegetation and animals living in the littoral
    zone are food for other creatures such as
    turtles, snakes, and ducks

8
Limnetic Zone
  • near-surface open water surrounded by the
    littoral zone
  • well-lighted (like the littoral zone) and is
    dominated by plankton, both phytoplankton and
    zooplankton
  • plankton are small organisms that play a crucial
    role in the food chain most life would not be
    possible without them
  • variety of freshwater fish also occupy this zone

9
Profundal Zone
  • Plankton have short life spanswhen they die,
    they fall into the deep-water part of the
    lake/pond
  • much colder and denser than the other two
  • little light penetrates all the way through the
    limnetic zone into the profundal zone
  • animals are decomposers

10
Ponds and Lakes
  • Temperature
  • varies seasonally.
  • Summer
  • from 4 C near the bottom to 22 C at the top
  • Winter
  • from 4 C while the top is 0 C (ice)
  • between the two layers is a narrow zone called
    the thermocline where the temperature of the
    water changes rapidly with depth

11
Ponds and Lakes
  • during the spring and fall seasons is a mixing of
    the top and bottom layers resulting in a uniform
    water temperature of around 4 C
  • mixing also circulates oxygen throughout the lake
  • many lakes and ponds do not freeze during the
    winter resulting in the top layer being a little
    warmer

12
Ponds and Lakes
  • ice can develop on the top of lakes during winter
  • blocks out sunlight and can prevent
    photosynthesis
  • oxygen levels drop and some plants and animals
    may die
  • called "winterkill."

13
Ponds and Lakes
14
Streams Rivers
  • bodies of flowing water moving in one direction
  • found everywherethey get their start at
    headwaters, which may be springs, snowmelt or
    even lakes
  • travel all the way to their mouths, usually
    another water channel or the ocean

15
Watershed
  • describes an area of land that contains a common
    set of streams and rivers
  • drains into a single larger body of water, such
    as a larger river, a lake or an ocean

16
Streams Rivers
  • characteristics change during the journey from
    the source to the mouth
  • temperature is cooler at the source than it is at
    the mouth
  • water is also clearer, has higher oxygen levels,
    and freshwater fish such as trout and
    heterotrophs can be found there

17
Streams Rivers
  • Towards the middle part of the stream/river, the
    width increases, as does species
    diversitynumerous aquatic green plants and algae
    can be found

18
Streams Rivers
  • toward the mouth the water becomes murky from all
    the sediments that it has picked up upstream
  • decreasing the amount of light that can penetrate
    through the water
  • less light
  • less diversity of flora
  • lower oxygen levels
  • fish that require less oxygen, such as catfish
    and carp, can be found

19
Streams Rivers
20
Wetlands
  • Wetlands are areas of standing water that support
    aquatic plants
  • Marshes, swamps, and bogs are all considered
    wetlands

21
Wetlands
  • Plants
  • adapted to the very moist and humid conditions
    are called hydrophytes
  • Pond lilies Cattails
    Sedges
  • Tamarack
    Black Spruce
  • Gum
    Cypress

22
Wetlands
  • highest species diversity of all ecosystems
  • many species of amphibians, reptiles, birds (such
    as ducks and waders), and furbearers can be found
    in the wetlands
  • not considered freshwater ecosystems as there are
    some, such as salt marshes, that have high salt
    concentrationsthese support different species of
    animals, such as shrimp, shellfish, and various
    grasses

23
Wetlands
  • River Otter

  • Damselfly Dragonfly Mayfly
  • Crayfish Snails Leech
    Bluegill Bass
  • Catfish Sculpin Minnow
    Snakes

  • Frog Turtle
  • Great Blue Heron Canadian Goose

24
Aquatic Ecosystems
  • Marine
  • Oceans
  • Coral Reefs
  • Estuaries

25
Marine
  • cover about three-fourths of the Earths surface
    and include oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries
  • algae supply much of the worlds oxygen supply
    and take in a huge amount of atmospheric carbon
    dioxide
  • evaporation of the seawater provides rainwater
    for the land

26
Oceans
  • largest of all the ecosystems
  • dominate the Earths surface
  • separate zones
  • Intertidal
  • Pelagic
  • Abyssal
  • Benthic
  • great diversity of species
  • richest diversity of species even though it
    contains fewer species than there are on land

27
Oceans
28
Intertidal Zone
  • where the ocean meets the land
  • sometimes submerged and at other times exposed
  • waves and tides come in and out
  • communities are constantly changing

29
Intertidal Zone
  • rocky coasts
  • stratified vertically
  • Where only highest tides reach
  • a few species of algae and mollusks
  • submerged during high tide
  • more diverse array of algae and small animals,
    such as herbivorous snails, crabs, sea stars, and
    small fishes
  • bottom of the intertidal zone
  • only exposed during the lowest tides, many
    invertebrates, fishes, and seaweed can be found

30
Intertidal Zone
  • sandier shores
  • not as stratified
  • waves keep mud and sand constantly moving
  • very few algae and plants can establish
    themselvesthe fauna include worms, clams,
    predatory crustaceans, crabs, and shorebirds.

31
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33
Wave Regions
  • much stronger than wind
  • decide what grows where
  • shores classified by amount of wave action
  • Exposed shores receive full brunt of the ocean
    for most or at least some of the time
  • Semi-exposed shores sheltered by barrier
    islands but still have to cope with waves
  • Sheltered shores shelter of peninsulas and
    inshore islands
  • Enclosed shores
  • river mouths and estuaries
  • completely sheltered by either a protective rocks
    or a sand bar

34
Pelagic Open Ocean
  • waters further from the land, basically the open
    ocean
  • generally cold though it is hard to give a
    general temperature range since, just like ponds
    and lakes, there is thermal stratification with a
    constant mixing of warm and cold ocean currents

35
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36
Epipelagic Open Ocean
  • extends down to around 200m
  • lowest depth that light can penetrate
  • flora in the epipelagic zone include surface
    seaweeds
  • fauna include many species of fish and some
    mammals, such as whales and dolphins
  • many feed on the abundant plankton

37
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38
Mesopelagic Zone
http//oceanlink.island.net/oinfo/deepsea/meso.htm
l
  • "twilight zone" of the ocean
  • photic zone above
  • darkness below
  • food becomes scarce some animals
  • migrate up to the surface at night to feed
  • rely on food that falls down from above
  • eat each other
  • sometimes the only things to eat may be bigger
    than the hunter
  • developed long sharp teeth,
  • expandable jaws and stomachs

39

ctenophore related to
jellyfish Big Scale - ambush predator
cilia can be illuminated


Firefly squid


three kinds of
photophores Hatchet Fish only a few
inches long
Viperfish
specially adapted
hinged skull Dragonfish - stomachs hold
big meals Snipeel up to 1.2m

Siphonophores are colonies of animals

related to jellyfish

best known is Portugese Man of War
http//oceanlink.island.net/oinfo/deepsea/meso.htm
l
40
Bathypelagic Zone
  • extends down from 1000 to 4000m
  • only light is from bioluminescent organisms
  • only food is what trickles down from above, or
    from eating other animals
  • water pressure at this depth is considerable
    (100 400 atmospheres)
  • most animals are either black or red in color
  • very little blue/green light penetrates this deep
    red is not reflected and looks black

41

Narcomedusa Vampire Squid Snake
Dragon Angler Fish
Amphi - crustacean
Ctenophore
voracious predator

Deepstaria very slow swimmers,
no tentacles, close flexible bells
(up to a meter across) around
their prey
Big Red
grows to over
a meter across
42
Abyssopelagic Zone - the Abyss
  • 4000m to the sea floor
  • only zone deeper than this is the hadal zone
  • areas found in deep sea trenches and canyons
  • home to pretty inhospitable living conditions
  • near- freezing temperatures
  • crushing pressures

43
  • Deep Water Squid

  • Basketstar

  • Sea Pig
    Sea Spider
  • Shrimp

  • Winged Sea Cucumber



  • Medussa


  • Deep Sea Smoker - 648F

  • Deep-sea Anemone
    Hydrothermal Vent

44
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45
  • Ballina Angelfish
  • Beaked Salmon
  • A deepsea anglerfish (no common name)
  • Duckbilled Eel
  • A fanfin anglerfish
  • Fangtooth
  • Gilbert's Halosaur
  • Gulper Eel
  • Hammerjaw
  • Largescale New Laternfish
  • Longray Spiderfish
  • Portuguese Dogfish
  • Sharpnose Sevengill Shark
  • Short-tail Torpedo Ray
  • Silver Lighthouse Fish
  • A snaggletooth (no common name)
  • Snubnosed Eel
  • Southern Spineback
  • Sparkling Slickhead

46
The Coral Reef Biome
  • A Look at a Marine Biome
  • Created by
  • Terri Street

47
What Is a Coral Reef?
  • A structure formed by coral polyps, tiny animals
    that live in colonies.
  • Coral polyps form a hard, stony, branching
    structure made of limestone.
  • New polyps attach to old coral and gradually
    build the reef.

48
Types of Coral Reefs
  • Fringing reefs
  • Submerged platforms of living coral extending
    from the shore into the sea
  • Barrier reefs
  • Follow the shore but are separated from it by
    water
  • Great Barrier Reef is worlds largest

49
Types of Coral Reefs
  • Atolls
  • Ring-shaped islands of coral in open sea
  • Form on submerged mud banks or volcano craters
  • Surround a seawater lagoon
  • Channels connect lagoon to the sea

50
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51
A World of Coral Reefs
52
Coral Reef Climate
  • Usually found near land in shallow, warm salt
    water
  • Lots of light
  • Tropical temperatures, averaging 70-85 F
  • Most coral cannot survive below 65 F

53
Coral Reef Plants
  • Phytoplankton
  • Microscopic
  • Basis for all ocean food chains

54
Coral Reef Plants
  • Algae
  • Green
  • Red
  • Brown algaetakes many forms

55
Coral Reef Plants
  • Seaweed and Sea grasses
  • Brown seaweed
  • Sea grass
  • Shoal grass
  • Turtle grass

56
Fascinating Fact The Great Barrier Reef
  • Worlds largest coral reef
  • Over 1257 mileslong
  • Off the northeast coast of Australia
  • Only grows about one inch per year

57
The Great Barrier Reef Home to
  • 1500 species of fish
  • 400 different types of coral
  • 4,000 mollusks
  • 500 species of seaweed
  • 215 species of birds
  • 16 species of sea snake
  • 6 species of sea turtle
  • Whales visit during winter

58
Coral Reef Creatures
  • Coral polyps
  • Tentacles
  • Digestivesac
  • Connectingfilaments
  • Skeletal body

59
Coral Reef Creatures
  • Symbiotic relationships
  • Coral with algae
  • Clown fish with sea anemones

60
Coral Reef Creatures
  • Tropical fish
  • Angel fish
  • John Dory
  • Butterfly fish
  • Sea horse
  • Octopus
  • Reef shark

61
Fascinating FactThe Sea Horse
  • Very weak swimmers
  • Female lays eggs, male carries them in pouch till
    birth
  • Only animal in which the father gives birth
  • Body covered with armored plates

62
Sample Food Chain
63
Endangered Coral Reefs
  • Major threats to coral reefs include
  • Ocean pollution
  • Dredging off the coast

64
Endangered Coral Reefs
  • Other dangers
  • Careless collection of coral specimens
  • Sedimentation
  • Inhibits growth of coral polyps
  • Inhibits algae growth
  • Upsets balance of the biome

65
Estuaries
http//www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/about1.htm
  • enclosed body of water formed where freshwater
    from rivers and streams flows into the ocean,
    mixing with the salty sea water
  • estuaries and the lands surrounding them are
    places of transition from land to sea, and from
    fresh to salt water
  • although influenced by the tides, estuaries are
    protected from the full force of ocean waves,
    winds, and storms by the reefs, barrier islands,
    or fingers of land, mud, or sand that define an
    estuary's seaward boundary

66
Estuaries are semi-enclosed bodies of water where
fresh water from the land mixes with sea water.
  • Estuaries originate as drowned river valleys,
    fjords, bar-built estuaries, and tectonic
    estuaries.
  • Salinity typically grades from normal marine
    salinity at the tidal inlet to fresh water at the
    mouth of the river.

67
Estuaries can be subdivided into three types
based upon the relative importance of river
inflow and tidal mixing.
  • Salt-wedge estuaries are dominated by the outflow
    from rivers.
  • Partially-mixed estuaries are dominated by
    neither river inflow nor tidal mixing.
  • In well-mixed estuaries tidal turbulence destroys
    the halocline and water stratification.
  • Because river discharge and tidal flow vary,
    conditions within an estuary can also change,
    being well-mixed when river flow decreases
    relative to tidal mixing, to becoming a
    salt-wedge estuary at times of maximum river
    discharge.

68
The widely fluctuating environmental conditions
in estuaries make life stressful for organisms.
  • Estuaries are extremely fertile because nutrients
    are brought in by rivers and recycled from the
    bottom because of the turbulence.
  • Stressful conditions and abundant nutrients
    result in low species diversity, but great
    abundance of the species present.
  • Despite abundance of nutrients, phytoplankton
    blooms are irregular and the base of the food
    chain is detritus washed in from adjacent salt
    marshes.
  • The benthonic fauna strongly reflects the nature
    of the substrate and most fishes are juvenile
    forms living within the estuary until they mature
    and migrate to the ocean.

69
Estuaries
http//www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/about1.htm
  • Estuaries are sometimes called marine nurseries
  • habitats for many juvenile organisms, especially
    for fishes
  • many fish are born and grow up in estuaries
  • migrate to the open ocean

70
Lagoons are isolated to semi-enclosed, shallow,
coastal bodies of water that receive little if
any fresh water inflow.
  • Lagoons can occur at any latitude and their
    salinities vary from brackish to hypersaline
    depending upon climate and local hydrology.
  • Bottom sediments are usually sand or mud eroded
    which was from the shoreline or swept in through
    the tidal inlet.
  • In the tropics, the water column is typically
    isothermal.
  • In the subtropics, salinity generally increases
    away from the inlet and the lagoon may display
    inverse flow.

71
Salt marshes are intertidal flats covered by
grassy vegetation.
  • Marshes are most commonly found in protected
    areas with a moderate tidal range, such as the
    landward side of barrier islands.
  • Marshes flood daily at high tide and then drain
    through a series of channels with the ebb tide.
  • They are one of the most productive environments.
  • Marshes can be divided into two parts Low salt
    marshes and High salt marshes.
  • Distribution and density of organisms in salt
    marshes strongly reflects availability of food,
    need for protection, and frequency of flooding.

72
Mangroves are large woody trees with a dense,
complex root system that grows downward from the
branches
  • Mangroves are the dominant plant of the tropical
    and subtropical intertidal area
  • Distribution of the trees is largely controlled
    by air temperature, exposure to wave and current
    attack, tidal range, substrate and sea water
    chemistry
  • Detritus from the mangrove forms the base of the
    food chain

73
Bibliography
  1. http//www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome
    /index.html
  2. http//www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/marsh/fres
    hwater.shtml 
  3. http//mbgnet.mobot.org/ 
  4. http//www.runet.edu/swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/bio
    mes/intro.html
  5. http//archive.globe.gov/sda-bin/wt/ghp/tgL(en)P
    (seasons/Miniinvestigation)
  6. http//www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/ecore
    gions/global200/pages/home.htm
  7. Coral Reefs. World Book. Chicago World Book,
    1998. Vol. 4, p. 257.
  8. Coral Reefs. http//kidscience.about.com/kids/ki
    dscience/cs/coralreefs/
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