Aquatic Biomes. Factors that Affect Aquatic Biomes In an aquatic ecosystem the most important...
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Transcript of Aquatic Biomes. Factors that Affect Aquatic Biomes In an aquatic ecosystem the most important...
Aquatic Biomes
Factors that Affect Aquatic Biomes
In an aquatic ecosystem the most important non-living factors are water temperature, amount of sunlight present, and amount of dissolved oxygen in the water
Factors that Affect Aquatic Biomes
- All living things in the water “breathe”, they just do it
in a different way than land creatures
Factors that Affect Aquatic Biomes
- Fish, worms, octopi, clams, corals, frogs, and many,
many others all breathe oxygen
Factors that Affect Aquatic Biomes
The oxygen needed by these biotic factors is dissolved
- This means that oxygen gas is mixed into the water the same way carbon dioxide is mixed into soda pop
Factors that Affect Aquatic Biomes
There are areas within the water that don’t receive sunlight
- This greatly impacts the food chains that can form there
Factors that Affect Aquatic Biomes
Water temperature affects the amount of dissolved oxygen a body of water can hold and can be determined by the amount of sunlight present
Freshwater Ecosystems
Freshwater Ecosystems The freshwater ecosystems
include rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, and wetlands
Rivers and Streams
MacArthur-Burney Falls State Park, CA
Trout Green River, UT
Brooks River, AK
Rivers and Streams- Rivers and streams are flowing water
- As the water moves, air mixes in, changing the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water
Rivers and Streams- Fast-moving streams
usually have a higher dissolved oxygen level than slow moving streams
Rivers and Streams- Most of the nutrients found
in rivers and streams have been washed there from land
- Where the water slows nutrients are left
Rivers and Streams- This area is home to
more plant growth and slower moving animals like minnows and leeches
Lakes and Ponds
Lakes and Ponds- Lakes and ponds are formed
when low places fill with rainwater, snowmelt, or water from streams
Manzanita Lake, CA
A pond in Idaho
Great Blue Heron
Paranagat Lake, NV
Lakes and Ponds- This water is standing
water because it hardly ever moves
- Plant growth usually takes place around the edges
where it is shallow and warm
Lakes and Ponds- Few, if any plants grow
on the bottom of lakes because sunlight
cannot reach there
Lakes and Ponds- Some plants will grow on
the bottom of ponds because they are shallower and light can
reach the bottom
- Ponds tend to be high in nutrients because they
are high in plant life
Lakes and Ponds- Floating on the upper levels
of ponds and lakes is a mixture of microscopic plants, algae, and animal- like organisms called plankton
Lakes and Ponds- This is a major food
source in aquatic environments
FYI: Pond Scum is NOT a plant. It is a plant-like protist called algae; this is related to the plant-like protists in plankton.
Wetlands
Wetlands Regions that are wet for all or
most of the year are wetlands
- They are also called swamps, bogs, and fens
Wetlands Only plants adapted to
water-logged soil can grow there
Wetlands Wetlands animals include beavers,
muskrats, alligators, and bog turtles
- Many migratory bird populations use the
wetlands as breeding grounds
Human Impact Rivers and streams were once used
for many activities
Human Impact- However, many factories and people thought that they were places to dump sewage and pollutants
- Now, treating sewage and restricting pollution have led to improvements in water quality
Ponds and Lakes These areas are often victim to
run-off from land- Fertilizers, sewage, and
other pollutants run off into the water
Ponds and Lakes This reduces the dissolved oxygen
and makes the water unfit to live in
Fines and regulations are helping prevent some pollution of ponds and lakes
Wetlands These areas were once considered
useless and full of disease They were drained to make way for
human engineering
Wetlands Now, the wetlands are being saved
and protected Some products that come from the
wetlands include cranberries, fish, shellfish, and plants
Saltwater Ecosystems
Saltwater Ecosystems 95% of the water on earth is salty
- The concentration of salt in the water is called salinity
Saltwater Ecosystems Saltwater ecosystems are found in
oceans, seas, coastal inlets, estuaries, and a few inland places
Open Oceans
Open Oceans Scientists divide the ocean into
regions based on where light can penetrate to
Mussels, worms, and spider crabs in Gulf of Mexico
Brain coral and sea fan
Amberjack fish
Open Oceans The photic zone is only about
200 m deep
- There plankton is the major food source because
most plankton are able to produce their own food
Open Oceans The aphotic zone is below 200
m deep
- There organisms feed on dead material sinking from the photic zone
Open Oceans- They also eat each other
because few can make their own food
Coral Reefs
Coral Reefs One of the most diverse
ecosystems in the world is the coral reef
In the Red Sea Fanning Island Reef Florida Keys
Coral Reefs Coral reefs are formed by
microscopic animals secreting shells of calcium carbonate
- These shells build up over hundreds of years and
form the reef
Coral Reefs Reefs do not adapt to long-term
stress well
- Run-off from fields, sewage, and increased amounts of sediment have polluted the reef, killing some areas
Sediments from land can cause large amounts of damage to reefs.
Blast fishing off the coast of Indonesia not only killed the fish but also the reef.
Coral Reefs- There are regulations in
place to protect the reefs and the areas that surround them
Coral Reef transplant after Indonesian tsunami of 2004.
Seashores
Seashores All of earth’s landmasses are
boarded by ocean water
- These shallow salt-water environments are influenced by the tides and waves
Seashores- The gravitational pull of the
moon on the earth causes tides to move water in and out over the shoreline
Seashores The intertidal zone is an area
that is covered with water at high tide and exposed to the air during low tide
Bay of Fundy
Seashores- Organisms that live here
must be adapted to large changes in salinity, moisture, temperature and waves
Estuaries
Estuaries There a river meets the ocean, causing
freshwater and saltwater to mix, an estuary forms
- They are also called bays, lagoons, harbors, inlets, and sounds
A mangrove forest in Florida
Tidal stream near Charleston, SC
Salt marsh near Georgetown, SC
This estuary is off the coast of Florida.
Estuaries- Here salinity and
temperature change often
Estuaries- These regions are
extremely fertile because of nutrients being brought in by the freshwater
Estuaries- They are rich in
nutrients and are a place where many organisms raise their young
Estuaries Estuaries are home to algae,
salt-tolerant grasses, shrimp, crabs, clams, oysters, snails, worms, and fish
Estuaries- They are home to much
of the seafood consumed by humans