Aquatic Ecosystems
In aquatic enviroments, water temperature, amount of sunlight, and the amount of dissolved oxygen and salt in the water are important.
Rivers and streams- Flowing freshwater enviroments can vary from small, to gurgling brooks, to large slow moving rivers.
Naturally fast-flowing have clearer water and high oxygen
In areas where water movement slows, the debris sink to the bottom. These area have more nurients levels and more plant growth.
When a low place in the land fills with rainwater a lake or pond can form.
Lakes are larger and deeper than ponds. Plant growth is limited to shallow areas in lakes.
Floating in the warm sunlight waters there are microscopic algae, plant, and plankton,.
A pond is small shallow body of water
The warm sunlight arm causes growth of plants and algae. Ponds are high in nutrients.
Fertilizer and sewage can cause excessive plant growth in ponds and lakes. The growth and decay of these plants reduces the oxygen levels.
Wetlands-
A region of land that are wet for all or most of the year
Can also be called a swamp, bog, or fen.
They have very fertile soil. They have many plants and animals
Wetlands are important.
Products that come for wetlands are meat and berries.
Wetlands are now being restored and access to some places are prohibited
Saltwater Ecosystems- 95% of the water on Earth contains various salts
Open Ocean
The lighted zone is 200m or so.
Below is the darker zone
Coral Reefs- formed over lond periods of time
Reefs do not adapt to many changes
Seashores- shallow water along the world coastlines
Intertidal zone- the portion of the shoreline is covered with water at high tide
Organisms that live in the intertidal zone have to adapt to the waves
Estuaries
Area where a river meets an ocean
Not as salty as the ocean