Aquatic Ecology

Ecological Principles
 What is it?
Aquatic ecology is the study of water
based ecosystems

Complexity depends upon how close we

look at any particular system

They are under extreme pressure

Very, very importantWHY???

What pressure are they under?
Pressure from development (i.e. loss)
Urbanisation
Land clearing
Pressure from pollution
Toxins
Acid/base
Pressure from stress (water usage)
Stagnation
Water levels
 Importance of aquatic ecosystems
Biodiversity
Species richness/trophic structure
Breeding
Breeding grounds for many species
Buffer systems
Physical and chemical
Sinks
Resting places for sediments and chemicals
Only part of the hydrological cycle
What other parts are there?
The important questions of Aquatic
Ecosystems
What are they really?
How many types are there?
Classification
What are the physical properties?
What are the chemical properties?
What are the biological properties?
What are the anthropological properties?
 Remember Hydrology?
The water cycle???
Relate to the Hunter Valley
Some basics
1 mm of rain = 1 L/m2
The average annual rainfall in the Hunter is
approximately 1300 mm/yr
This is 1300 L/m2/yr
Hunter valley is ~ 22 000 km2
Where is this water shortage?
Discuss!
What is an aquatic ecosystem?
They are an area of water, in which
significant biological activity can occur

This definition excludes most groundwater

systems

Aquatic ecosystems can involve flowing or

still water, and can be fresh or saline
 How many types are there?
Several, depending on how close we look!
Freshwater (Limnology)
Lakes (lentic)
Rivers (lotic)
Groundwater
Brackish water (inter-tidal)
Marine water (Oceanography)
Anthropogenic waters (i.e drinking water)
 Still Freshwater
Lentic (standing) Systems

Lakes, ponds, dams etc

How are they formed?
Glacial activity
Tectonic activity
Erosion
Man Made
General lye of the land.
 Classification of Lentic Waters
Classifications
Oligotrophic
Newer, colder, deeper waters that are low in life
and relatively unproductive (low PP).
Eutrophic
Older, warmer, shallower waters that are high in
life and highly productive (high PP)
Mesotrophic
Somewhere in-between (i.e. Lake Macquarie)
 Freshwater Lentic Systems
What physical properties can they exhibit?
Depth
Surface area
Light
Temperature
Inputs and outputs
Altitude
Longitude and latitude
 Lentic Water
Depth, surface area & volume

Volume

Depth Surface Area

 What is the issue with depth?
The depth of water determines the amount
of light (which affects what???)
?

The depth of the water also determines

some attributes of temperature
Altitude, latitude and longitude also affect this
 Relating depth with light
There is a relationship with depth and light
intensity, as well as a depth/wavelength
relationship

Light intensity decreases with depth

Some wavelengths of light travel deeper

 Relating depth with light
Within the photic zone, the colours of the
light spectrum are able to penetrate
through water before being absorbed at
varying depths. The following data
illustrates how the light spectrum is
affected by depth:
 Relating depth with light
(these values are not valid for all waters)

Colour Depth
Red 5m
Orange 15m
Yellow 30m
Green 60m
Blue 75m
Indigo 85m
Violet 100m
Relating depth with light
IR Reds Greens Blues

Loss of intensity
and separation
of wavelengths
 Lentic water and light
Riparian Riparian
Edge Littoral Zone Edge

Limnetic zone

Compensation Depth

Profundal zone
 Depth & Light
This is obviously an important aspect of
aquatic ecology.

Without light, no photosynthesis occurs

and PP is very low.

In the profundal zone, different (anerobic)

chemistry applies
 Depth & Light
Anaerobic zones have no oxygen (DO 2)

This results in reduction chemistry, where

chemicals such as methane (CH4) instead
of oxidised chemicals such as CO 2 being
formed.

Example found in swamp gas (CH4, H2S)

Temperature Gradients
(thermal stratification)

Epilimnion >20OC

Metalimnion
(Thermocline) >4 but <20OC
Do you remember
Hypolimnion
4OC the properties of
water?

Decreasing temperature
 Inputs and outputs
Input

How long does it take to change over the

entire volume of a water body? The question
residence time is very important in ecology
and environmental chemistry/engineering.

output
 Significance?
The residence time for water equates to the
residence time for chemicals such as nutrients

If there is a long residence time, then there is a

good chance of algal blooms if nutrient overload
occurs

This is very important for ecologists who will

determine the fate of organisms as a result of
eutrophication
Freshwater Lotic Systems

(Rivers & Streams)

 Freshwater Lotic Systems
How do rivers, streams and creeks differ
from lentic systems?
They exhibit significant rates of flow
They exhibit turbulence
They have significant energy
Generally lower in volume
But what are they really?
 What is a river?
A silly question?.......No!

Rivers form because of gravity

A river, stream or creek is simply a
catchments delivery/removal system
Mother natures pipelines
Paths of least resistance
 A Rivers Flow
There are two aspects of flow that can be
measured;

The Flow Rate (Velocity, V) (which is a measure of

the speed at which the water is moving i.e. 2 m/s

The volumetric flow rate (which is the volume of the

water in 2 m/s)

How could these be relevant pieces of information?

 Turbulence
Turbulence is the degree of agitation in the
water

This can dramatically affect all aspects of

water including biotic structure and DO2
levels

Proportional to flow rate and surface

features of the river
Velocity Profiles
Velocity profile for a wide river
Velocity Profiles
Velocity profile for a narrow creek
 Effects of the velocity profile
What effects does velocity have?

Distribution of organisms within the river

Distribution of sediments

More importantly, how does this affect our

sampling of these waters?
Flow Rate & Energy
 Flow Rate & Energy
Results in distribution of matter
CPOM vs FPOM
Gravel, sand, silt
Determinant in floral species distribution
Large plants with roots need fine matter
Algae / bacteria like low energy areas
Determinant in animal species distribution
Animals (zooplanktonfish) follow plants
 What about the Ecology?
Discuss the trophic structure of
a) A river, and,
b) A small stream (i.e. Toronto)
The zones of freshwater bodies
 Lotic or Lentic?
The diagram represents both systems
It is important that you relate the ecology
to the water bodies geography
We shall perform several experiments to
help you understand this, including;

Physicals, chemicals, bacteria, PP, algae

and macro-invertebrate analysis
 Class Group Exercises
Volumetric flow rate determination
Lentic habitat profile
Lotic habitat profile