4/4/2017 TheAquaticBiome

Wateristhecommonlinkamongthe
fivebiomesanditmakesupthe
largestpartofthebiosphere,
coveringnearly75%oftheEarths
surface.Aquaticregionshouse
numerousspeciesofplantsand
animals,bothlargeandsmall.In
fact,thisiswherelifebeganbillions
ofyearsagowhenaminoacidsfirst
startedtocometogether.Without
water,mostlifeformswouldbe
unabletosustainthemselvesand
theEarthwouldbeabarren,desert
likeplace.Althoughwatertemperaturescanvarywidely,aquaticareastendto
bemorehumidandtheairtemperatureonthecoolerside.

Theaquaticbiomecanbebrokendownintotwobasicregions,freshwater(i.e,
pondsandrivers)andmarine(i.e,oceansandestuaries).

FreshwaterRegions
Freshwaterisdefinedashavingalowsaltconcentrationusuallylessthan1%.
Plantsandanimalsinfreshwaterregionsareadjustedtothelowsaltcontent
andwouldnotbeabletosurviveinareasofhighsaltconcentration(i.e,ocean).
Therearedifferenttypesoffreshwaterregions:pondsandlakes,streamsand
rivers,andwetlands.Thefollowingsectionsdescribethecharacteristicsofthese
threefreshwaterzones.

PondsandLakes
Theseregionsrangeinsizefromjustafewsquaremeterstothousandsof
squarekilometers.Scatteredthroughouttheearth,severalareremnants
fromthePleistoceneglaciation.Manypondsareseasonal,lastingjusta
coupleofmonths(suchassessilepools)whilelakesmayexistfor
hundredsofyearsormore.Pondsandlakesmayhavelimitedspecies
diversitysincetheyareoftenisolatedfromoneanotherandfromother
watersourceslikeriversandoceans.Lakesandpondsaredividedinto
threedifferentzoneswhichareusuallydeterminedbydepthanddistance
fromtheshoreline.

Thetopmostzoneneartheshoreofalakeorpondisthelittoralzone.This
zoneisthewarmestsinceitisshallowandcanabsorbmoreoftheSuns
heat.Itsustainsafairlydiversecommunity,whichcanincludeseveral
speciesofalgae(likediatoms),rootedandfloatingaquaticplants,grazing
snails,clams,insects,crustaceans,fishes,andamphibians.Inthecaseof
theinsects,suchasdragonfliesandmidges,onlytheeggandlarvae
stagesarefoundinthiszone.Thevegetationandanimalslivinginthe
littoralzonearefoodforothercreaturessuchasturtles,snakes,and
ducks.

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Thenearsurfaceopenwatersurroundedbythelittoralzoneisthelimnetic
zone.Thelimneticzoneiswelllighted(likethelittoralzone)andis
dominatedbyplankton,bothphytoplanktonandzooplankton.Planktonare
smallorganismsthatplayacrucialroleinthefoodchain.Withoutaquatic
plankton,therewouldbefewlivingorganismsintheworld,andcertainly
nohumans.Avarietyoffreshwaterfishalsooccupythiszone.

Planktonhaveshortlifespanswhentheydie,theyfallintothedeep
waterpartofthelake/pond,theprofundalzone.Thiszoneismuchcolder
anddenserthantheothertwo.Littlelightpenetratesallthewaythrough
thelimneticzoneintotheprofundalzone.Thefaunaareheterotrophs,
meaningthattheyeatdeadorganismsanduseoxygenforcellular
respiration.

Temperaturevariesinpondsandlakesseasonally.Duringthesummer,the
temperaturecanrangefrom4Cnearthebottomto22Catthetop.
Duringthewinter,thetemperatureatthebottomcanbe4Cwhilethetop
is0C(ice).Inbetweenthetwolayers,thereisanarrowzonecalledthe
thermoclinewherethetemperatureofthewaterchangesrapidly.During
thespringandfallseasons,thereisamixingofthetopandbottomlayers,
usuallyduetowinds,whichresultsinauniformwatertemperatureof
around4C.Thismixingalsocirculatesoxygenthroughoutthelake.Of
coursetherearemanylakesandpondsthatdonotfreezeduringthe
winter,thusthetoplayerwouldbealittlewarmer.

StreamsandRivers
Thesearebodiesofflowingwatermovinginonedirection.Streamsand
riverscanbefoundeverywheretheygettheirstartsatheadwaters,
whichmaybesprings,snowmeltorevenlakes,andthentravelalltheway
totheirmouths,usuallyanotherwaterchannelortheocean.The
characteristicsofariverorstreamchangeduringthejourneyfromthe
sourcetothemouth.Thetemperatureiscooleratthesourcethanitisat
themouth.Thewaterisalsoclearer,hashigheroxygenlevels,and
freshwaterfishsuchastroutandheterotrophscanbefoundthere.
Towardsthemiddlepartofthestream/river,thewidthincreases,asdoes
speciesdiversitynumerousaquaticgreenplantsandalgaecanbefound.
Towardthemouthoftheriver/stream,thewaterbecomesmurkyfromall
thesedimentsthatithaspickedupupstream,decreasingtheamountof
lightthatcanpenetratethroughthewater.Sincethereislesslight,thereis
lessdiversityofflora,andbecauseoftheloweroxygenlevels,fishthat
requirelessoxygen,suchascatfishandcarp,canbefound.

Wetlands
Wetlandsareareasofstandingwaterthatsupport
aquaticplants.Marshes,swamps,andbogsareall
consideredwetlands.Plantspeciesadaptedtothe
verymoistandhumidconditionsarecalled
hydrophytes.Theseincludepondlilies,cattails,
sedges,tamarack,andblackspruce.Marshflora
alsoincludesuchspeciesascypressandgum.
Wetlandshavethehighestspeciesdiversityofallecosystems.Many
speciesofamphibians,reptiles,birds(suchasducksandwaders),and
furbearerscanbefoundinthewetlands.Wetlandsarenotconsidered
freshwaterecosystemsastherearesome,suchassaltmarshes,that
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havehighsaltconcentrationsthesesupportdifferentspeciesofanimals,
suchasshrimp,shellfish,andvariousgrasses.

Visitourgalleryofwetlandsimages,whichillustratetheamazingdiversity
ofwetlandecosystems.

MarineRegions
MarineregionscoveraboutthreefourthsoftheEarthssurfaceandinclude
oceans,coralreefs,andestuaries.Marinealgaesupplymuchoftheworlds
oxygensupplyandtakeinahugeamountofatmosphericcarbondioxide.The
evaporationoftheseawaterprovidesrainwaterfortheland.

Oceans
Thelargestofalltheecosystems,oceansareverylargebodiesofwater
thatdominatetheEarthssurface.Likepondsandlakes,theoceanregions
areseparatedintoseparatezones:intertidal,pelagic,abyssal,and
benthic.Allfourzoneshaveagreatdiversityofspecies.Somesaythatthe
oceancontainstherichestdiversityofspecieseventhoughitcontains
fewerspeciesthanthereareonland.

Theintertidalzoneiswheretheoceanmeetsthelandsometimesitis
submergedandatothertimesexposed,aswavesandtidescomeinand
out.Becauseofthis,thecommunitiesareconstantlychanging.Onrocky
coasts,thezoneisstratifiedvertically.Whereonlythehighesttidesreach,
thereareonlyafewspeciesofalgaeandmollusks.Inthoseareasusually
submergedduringhightide,thereisamorediversearrayofalgaeand
smallanimals,suchasherbivoroussnails,crabs,seastars,andsmall
fishes.Atthebottomoftheintertidalzone,whichisonlyexposedduring
thelowesttides,manyinvertebrates,fishes,andseaweedcanbefound.
Theintertidalzoneonsandiershoresisnotasstratifiedasintherocky
areas.Waveskeepmudandsandconstantlymoving,thusveryfewalgae
andplantscanestablishthemselvesthefaunaincludeworms,clams,
predatorycrustaceans,crabs,andshorebirds.

Thepelagiczoneincludesthosewatersfurtherfromtheland,basicallythe
openocean.Thepelagiczoneisgenerallycoldthoughitishardtogivea
generaltemperaturerangesince,justlikepondsandlakes,thereis
thermalstratificationwithaconstantmixingofwarmandcoldocean
currents.Theflorainthepelagiczoneincludesurfaceseaweeds.The
faunaincludemanyspeciesoffishandsomemammals,suchaswhales
anddolphins.Manyfeedontheabundantplankton.

Thebenthiczoneistheareabelowthepelagiczone,butdoesnotinclude
theverydeepestpartsoftheocean(seeabyssalzonebelow).Thebottom
ofthezoneconsistsofsand,slit,and/ordeadorganisms.Here
temperaturedecreasesasdepthincreasestowardtheabyssalzone,since
lightcannotpenetratethroughthedeeperwater.Floraarerepresented
primarilybyseaweedwhilethefauna,sinceitisverynutrientrich,include
allsortsofbacteria,fungi,sponges,seaanemones,worms,seastars,and
fishes.

Thedeepoceanistheabyssalzone.Thewaterinthisregionisverycold
(around3C),highlypressured,highinoxygencontent,butlowin
nutritionalcontent.Theabyssalzonesupportsmanyspeciesof
invertebratesandfishes.Midoceanridges(spreadingzonesbetween
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invertebratesandfishes.Midoceanridges(spreadingzonesbetween
tectonicplates),oftenwithhydrothermalvents,arefoundintheabyssal
zonesalongtheoceanfloors.Chemosyntheticbacteriathrivenearthese
ventsbecauseofthelargeamountsofhydrogensulfideandother
mineralstheyemit.Thesebacteriaarethusthestartofthefoodwebas
theyareeatenbyinvertebratesandfishes.

CoralReefs
Coralreefsarewidelydistributedinwarmshallowwaters.Theycanbe
foundasbarriersalongcontinents(e.g.,theGreatBarrierReefoff
Australia),fringingislands,andatolls.Naturally,thedominantorganismsin
coralreefsarecorals.Coralsareinterestingsincetheyconsistofboth
algae(zooanthellae)andtissuesofanimalpolyp.Sincereefwaterstendto
benutritionallypoor,coralsobtainnutrientsthroughthealgaevia
photosynthesisandalsobyextendingtentaclestoobtainplanktonfromthe
water.Besidescorals,thefaunaincludeseveralspeciesof
microorganisms,invertebrates,fishes,seaurchins,octopuses,andsea
stars.

Estuaries
Estuariesareareaswherefreshwaterstreamsorriversmergewiththe
ocean.Thismixingofwaterswithsuchdifferentsaltconcentrations
createsaveryinterestinganduniqueecosystem.Microfloralikealgae,
andmacroflora,suchasseaweeds,marshgrasses,andmangrovetrees
(onlyinthetropics),canbefoundhere.Estuariessupportadiversefauna,
includingavarietyofworms,oysters,crabs,andwaterfowl.

BiomesHome
[Aquatic|Deserts|Forests|Grasslands|Tundra]
Importance|References

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