Characteristics of Aquatic Biomes

salinity, depth, flow, temperature

Freshwater: Rivers & Lakes

-Rivers have high O2 due to flow mixing water & air, also carry nutrient-rich sediments (deltas & flood plains = fertile soil) - lakes= standing bodies of fresh H2O

What are the zones within a lake?

littoral, limnetic, profundal, benthic

Littoral Zone

shallow water with emergent plants

Limnetic Zone

where light can reach (photosynthesis), no rooted plants, only phytoplankton

Profundal Zone

too deep for sunlight (no photosynthesis)

Benthic Zone

murky bottom where inverts (bugs) live, nutrient-rich sediments

Freshwater: Wetlands

area with soil submerged/saturated in water for at least a part of the year, but shallow enough for emergent plants

What are the benefits of Wetlands?

- strores excess water during storms= lessening floods - recharges groundwater by absorbing rainfall into soil - roots of wetland plants filter pollutants from water draining through - high plant growth due to lots of water and nutrients in sediments

Estuaries

-areas where rivers empty into the ocean - mix of fresh & salt water - high productivity due to nutrients in sediments deposited into estuaries by rivers

What are 2 examples of Estuaries?

Salt Marsh and Mangrove Swamps

Salt Marsh

- along coast in temperate climates - breeding ground for many fish & shellfish species

Mangrove Swamps

- along coast of tropical climates - provide a habitat for many speciec of fish & shellfish

Coral Reef

- warm shallow waters beyond the shoreline; most diverse marine biome - mutualistic relationship between corel and algae - coral takes CO2 out of the ocean to create calcium carbonate exoskeleton and provide CO2 to the algae - algae live in the reef and provide sugar (energy) to the coral (codependent species)

Intertidal Zones

- narrow band of coastlne betwee high and low tide - organisms must be adapted to survive crashing waves and direct sunlight/heat during low tide - shells and tough outerskin can prevent drying out during low tides

Open Ocean

- low productivity/ areas as only algae and phytoplankton can survive in most of the ocean - so large that algae and phytoplankton produce a lot of earth's O2 and abosrb a lot of the atmosphere CO2

What are the 2 zones of the Open Ocean?

Photic and Aphotic Zone

Photic Zone

area where sunlight can reach (photosynthesis)

Aphotic Zone (abyssal)

area too deep for sunglight