Aquatic Biomes • Freshwater –Ponds & Lakes –Streams & Rivers –Wetlands Marine Oceans Coral Reefs Estuaries Freshwater Ponds & Lakes Streams & Rivers Wetlands Freshwater • Freshwater is defined as having a low salt concentration—usually 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) 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 Lakes and Ponds are divided into three different “zones” determined by depth and distance from the shoreline littoral zone limnetic zone profundal zone Ponds and Lakes Streams & Rivers • bodies of flowing water moving in one direction • found everywhere—they 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 Streams & Rivers Wetlands Wetlands are areas of standing water that support aquatic plants. Marshes, swamps, and bogs are all considered wetlands Freshwater Wetlands • highest species diversity of all fresh water ecosystems. • many species of amphibians, reptiles, birds (such as ducks and waders), and furbearers can be found in the wetlands • There are also salt water wetlands and marshes. Wetlands Aquatic Ecosystems Marine Oceans Coral Reefs Estuaries Marine Biomes • cover about three-fourths (72%) of the Earth’s surface and include oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries • algae supply much of the world’s oxygen supply and take in a huge amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide • evaporation of the seawater provides rainwater for the land Estuaries • 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 Estuaries • Estuaries are almost as abundant in life as tropical rainforests. • Estuaries are sometimes called “marine nurseries” – habitats for many juvenile organisms, especially for fishes Oceans • largest of all the ecosystems • dominate the Earth’s surface • great diversity of species Ocean Zones • separate zones – Intertidal – Pelagic – Abyssal – Benthic Intertidal Zone where the ocean meets the land sometimes submerged and at other times exposed Pelagic – Open Ocean Waters deeper than intertidal leading all the way to open ocean. Closer to shore is called the Neritic Zone. Benthic Zone • The Benthic Zone is just a deep layer of the Palagic Zone. • The Benthic Zone holds deep water sea creatures. 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 Abyssal Zone • Abyssal Zone is the deepest of the deep. Many creatures are not able to live in these conditions. Life is not abundant. • It is the absolutely lowest section of the pelagic zone. Deep Water Squid Basketstar Sea Pig Sea Spider Shrimp Winged Sea Cucumber Medussa Deep Sea Smoker - 648°F Deep-sea Anemone Hydrothermal Vent Oceanic Zones • The Ocean does not receive light all the way to the bottom. • The upper layer of the ocean that receives light is called the photic zone. • The lower area that does not receive light is called the aphotic zone. Bibliography 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/index.html http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/marsh/freshwater.shtml http://mbgnet.mobot.org/ http://www.runet.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/intro.htm l http://archive.globe.gov/sdabin/wt/ghp/tg+L(en)+P(seasons/Miniinvestigation) http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/ecoregions/global2 00/pages/home.htm “Coral Reefs.” World Book. Chicago: World Book, 1998. Vol. 4, p. 257. “Coral Reefs.” http://kidscience.about.com/kids/kidscience/cs/coralreefs/
