2.9 Major Aquatic Ecosystems

Pages 60-62

Freshwater Ecosystemssalt concentration below 1%

• Puddles• Ponds• Rivers• Streams• Lakes

Rivers and Streams

Run from high elevations to low elevations

Animals that live in rivers and streams

• Organisms must swim or anchor themselves to the bottom

Plants

Freshwater Ecosystems

Oligotrophic lake• Deep• Cold• Nutrient poor• Clear

Plants that live in oligotrophic lakes

• Few algae• Few rooted plants

Animals that live in oligotrophic lakes

• Lake trout small mouth bass

• crayfish

Eutrophic Lakes

• High in nutrients• Many plants and algae• Cloudy with microscopic plankton

Eutrophic Lakes

• Lots of algae and rooted water plants

Eutrophic Lake Animals

• Very biodiverse

Wetlands and Bogs

• Shallow water• Saturated soils• Nutrient rich• Filters water• Huge biodiversity

Marsh

Bog

Wetlands

Watershed

• An area of land through which all water drains into a single river or lake.

Marine Ecosystems

• Important part of water cycle• 3% salt concentration• Produce oxygen • Absorbs carbon dioxide

Oceans

• Support little life• Open ocean is nutrient poor and deep ocean

is too dark for plants

Oceans

Continental shelves• Rich in nutrients• Huge biodiversity

Oceans

Cover 70% of Earth’s surface

Coral Reefs

• Warm shallow oceans• Huge biodiversity• Tourism• Sensitive

Estuaries

• Fresh water and saltwater environments mix• Shellfish • Rich in nutrients

Mangroves

• Along tropical and semitropical sandy shorelines

• Prevent erosion

The Intertidal Zone

• The area between high tide and low tide• 2 tides a day• Summer and winter extremes and wave action• Seaweeds• Barnacles• Sea stars• urchins

Intertidal zones