Aquatic Ecosystems
1.
2.
Rivers & Streams
Ponds & Lakes
3.
Wetlands
4.
Shorelines
5.
Temperate Oceans
6.
Tropical Oceans
Rivers & Streams
• Rivers and streams channel water across
the land masses of earth from mountains
to oceans.
• Water not absorbed becomes surface
water. If it follows a gradient to a stream it
eventually flows to a larger river and then
to the ocean.
• They account for only .3% of earth’s
surface.
Rivers & Streams
• Watersheds* It comes as no surprise that
the widest rivers have the biggest
watersheds. The Mississippi watershed
drains about half the Midwest and eastern
United States.
• The Mississippi and Missouri river systems
account for 3,740 miles in the United
States. The Nile is the longest in the world
at 4,145 miles.
Rivers & Streams
• Life is abundant in this ecosystem. Both
plant and animals
• Each aquatic community has a variety of
plants which provide shelter and food for
many of the animals living in the
community, and add oxygen to the water.
Some of these plants grow along the
water's edge, such as pickerelweed.
River /Stream Plants
• EMERGENTSPlants that grow out of
water are called emergents. Some
emergents are: broadleaf arrowhead,
named for the shape of its leaf, and soft
rush.
River /Stream Plants
• FLOATING PLANTS Other aquatic plants
have adapted so that their leaves float on
the surface of the water. These plants,
such as spatter dock (left), floating
pondweeds (bottom left), and duckweed
(bottom right), tend to occur in ponds and
in backwaters of streams and rivers where
there is little or no current.
River /Stream Plants
• SUBMERGENTS A third group of plants
grow completely submerged under the
surface of the water. The roots of this
water milfoil (right) anchor it into the
bottom of the pond. Coontail (below), also
a submerged plant, is a bit different. Often
it isn't rooted to the ground.
River /Stream Critters
Many of the animals which live in aquatic
ecosystems rely on the plants for food. There
are many insects living in and around bodies of
water. Some of these insects live their adult lives
as flying insects, like the dragonfly, but their
larval stages are spent in the water.
• dragonfly nymph
River /Stream Critters
• Damselfly The damselfly adult looks
much like the dragonfly. However, it can
be distinguished by the way it holds its
wings when at rest. The dragonfly holds its
wings out to the sides when resting,
whereas the damselfly holds its wings
together above it body.
• damselfly nymph
River /Stream Critters
• Mayfly; are seen most often when they swarm
for mating or come to lights at night. Adults
generally do not eat, and live for only a few
days.
• nymph of the mayfly
• most often found in clear streams. Its shape is
flattened to resist the force of fast currents.
These nymphs generally feed on detritus, or
decaying matter, and algae.
River /Stream Critters
• Stonefly nymphs found under stones and amongst debris in clean, cool, running
water and indicate good water quality.
• Cranefly
•
feed on detritus, such as decaying leaves, which accumulates in ponds or backwater streams
• DobsonflyMost dobsonfly species are nocturnal. Males of some species have mandibles
which are tusklike. They can bite
River /Stream Critters
•
Water Bugs Before diving below the surface of the water, the giant water bug
captures a bubble of air which it takes underwater and uses for oxygen
• The water scorpion
is found in ponds and other still waters
Water striders are found on the surface of still and
slow moving waters. They glide over the water, using
their long spiderlike legs with waxy hairs on the tip to
stay on top of the water surface. They eat aquatic
insects.
Water Boatmen
most common of the aquatic bugs
.