Aquatic Ecology

Notes
Chapter Overview Questions
 What are the basic types of aquatic life
zones and what factors influence the
kinds of life they contain?
 What are the major types of freshwater
life zones, and how do human activities
affect them?
Chapter Overview Questions
 What do we know about aquatic
biodiversity, and what is its economic
and ecological importance?
 How are human activities affecting
aquatic biodiversity?
 How can we manage and sustain the
world’s marine fisheries?
Chapter Overview Questions
(cont’d)
 How can we protect, sustain, and
restore wetlands?
 How can we protect, sustain, and
restore lakes, rivers, and freshwater
fisheries?
Chapter Overview Questions

 Why is water so important, how much freshwater is

available to us, and how much of it are we using?
 What causes freshwater shortages, and what can
be done about this problem?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of
withdrawing groundwater?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of
using dams and reservoirs to supply more water?
 Chapter Overview Questions
(cont’d)
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of
transferring large amounts of water from one place
to another?
 Can removing salt from seawater solve our water
supply problems?
 How can we waste less water?
 How can we use the earth’s water more sustainably?
 What causes flooding, and what can we do about it?
WATER’S IMPORTANCE,
AVAILABILITY, AND RENEWAL

 Water keeps us alive, moderates climate,

sculpts the land, removes and dilutes
wastes and pollutants, and moves
continually through the hydrologic cycle.
 Only about 0.02% of the earth’s water
supply is available to us as liquid
freshwater.
WATER’S IMPORTANCE,
AVAILABILITY, AND RENEWAL

 Comparison of
population sizes
and shares of the
world’s freshwater
among the
continents.

Figure 14-2
WATER’S IMPORTANCE,
AVAILABILITY, AND RENEWAL
 Some precipitation infiltrates the ground and is
stored in soil and rock (groundwater).
 Water that does not sink into the ground or
evaporate into the air runs off (surface runoff)
into bodies of water.
 The land from which the surface water drains into
a body of water is called its watershed or
drainage basin.
 Unconfined Aquifer Recharge Area

Precipitation Evaporation and transpiration Evaporation

Confined
Recharge Runoff
Area

Flowing
Recharge
artesian Stream Well
Unconfined
well requiring a
Aquifer
Infiltration Water pump
table Lake
Infiltration
Unconfined aquifer
Les
Le ss per
erm
meeaab
ble
material su
suc h as
ch as cl
cla
ay Confined aquifer
Confining impermea
b
blle
e rock laye
yer
Fig. 14-3, p. 308
WATER’S IMPORTANCE,
AVAILABILITY, AND RENEWAL
 We currently use more than half of the world’s
reliable runoff of surface water and could be
using 70-90% by 2025.
 About 70% of the water we withdraw from rivers,
lakes, and aquifers is not returned to these
sources.
 Irrigation is the biggest user of water (70%),
followed by industries (20%) and cities and
residences (10%).
Salinity
 The saltiness.

                                                                                                                     
Niches
What Kinds of Organisms Live in
Aquatic Life Zones?
 Aquatic systems contain floating, drifting,
swimming, bottom-dwelling, and decomposer
organisms.
 Plankton: important group of weakly swimming,
free-floating biota.
 Phytoplankton (plant), Zooplankton (animal),
Ultraplankton (photosynthetic bacteria)
 Necton: fish, turtles, whales.
 Benthos: bottom dwellers (barnacles, oysters).
 Decomposers: breakdown organic compounds
(mostly bacteria).
 Phytoplankton
 Description– small drifting plants
 Niche – they are producers that support
most aquatic food chains
 Example – cyanobacteria & many types of
algae
Zooplankton
 Description – herbivores that feed on
phytoplankton or other zooplankton
 Niche – food stock for larger consumers
 Example – krill; small crustaceans
Nekton
 Description – larger, strong-
swimming consumers
 Niche – top consumers in the
aquatic ecosystem
 Example – fish, turtles, and whales
 Benthos
 Description – bottom-dwelling
creatures
 Niche – primary consumers,
decomposers
 Example – barnacles, oysters, and
lobsters
Freshwater
Ecosystems
FRESHWATER LIFE ZONES

 Freshwater life
zones include:
 Standing (lentic)
water such as
lakes, ponds, and
inland wetlands.
 Flowing (lotic)
systems such as
streams and rivers.

Figure 6-14
Flowing Water
Ecosystems
Because of different
environmental conditions in
each zone, a river is a system
of different ecosystems.
 Natural Capital

Ecological Services of Rivers

• Deliver nutrients to sea to help sustain

coastal fisheries

• Deposit silt that maintains deltas

• Purify water

• Renew and renourish wetlands

• Provide habitats for wildlife

Fig. 12-11, p. 267

Freshwater Streams and Rivers:
From the Mountains to the Oceans

 Water flowing from mountains to the sea

creates different aquatic conditions and
habitats. Figure 6-17
Headwater Stream
Characteristics
A narrow zone of cold, clear water that
rushes over waterfalls and rapids. Large
amounts of oxygen are present. Fish
are also present. Ex. trout.
Downstream Characteristics
 Slower-movingwater, less oxygen,
warmer temperatures, and lots of
algae and cyanobacteria.
Energy Source
 Gravity
Standing Water
Ecosystems
Lakes, ponds, etc.
Life in Layers
 Life in most aquatic systems is found in
surface, middle, and bottom layers.
 Temperature, access to sunlight for
photosynthesis, dissolved oxygen
content, nutrient availability changes
with depth.
 Euphotic zone (upper layer in deep water
habitats): sunlight can penetrate.
 Lakes: Water-Filled
Depressions
 Lakes are large natural bodies of standing
freshwater formed from precipitation, runoff, and
groundwater seepage consisting of:
 Littoral zone (near shore, shallow, with rooted plants).
 Limnetic zone (open, offshore area, sunlit).

 Profundal zone (deep, open water, too dark for

photosynthesis).
 Benthic zone (bottom of lake, nourished by dead
matter).
Littoral Zone
A shallow area near the shore, to the
depth at which rooted plants stop
growing. Ex. frogs, snails, insects,
fish, cattails, and water lilies.
Limnetic Zone
 Open,sunlit water that extends to the
depth penetrated by sunlight.
Profundal Zone
 Deep,open water where it is
too dark for photosynthesis.
Thermal
Stratification
Lakes: Water-Filled
Depressions

Figure 6-15
Definition
 Thetemperature difference in deep
lakes where there are warm
summers and cold winters.
Lakes: Water-Filled
Depressions
 During summer and winter in deep
temperate zone lakes the become
stratified into temperature layers and will
overturn.
 This equalizes the temperature at all depths.
 Oxygen is brought from the surface to the
lake bottom and nutrients from the bottom
are brought to the top.
Causes
 During the summer,
lakes become stratified
into different
temperature layers that
resist mixing because
summer sunlight warms
surface waters, making
them less dense.
Thermocline
 The middle layer
that acts as a barrier
to the transfer of
nutrients and
dissolved oxygen.
Fall Turnover
 As the temperatures begin to drop,
the surface layer becomes more
dense, and it sinks to the bottom.
This mixing brings nutrients from
the bottom up to the surface and
sends oxygen to the bottom.
 Spring Turnover
 As top water warms and ice melts,
it sinks through and below the
cooler, less dense water, sending
oxygen down and nutrients up.
Freshwater
Wetlands
Freshwater Inland Wetlands:
Vital Sponges
 Inland wetlands
act like natural
sponges that
absorb and store
excess water
from storms and
provide a variety
of wildlife
habitats.
Figure 6-18
Freshwater Inland Wetlands:
Vital Sponges
 Filter and degrade pollutants.
 Reduce flooding and erosion by absorbing
slowly releasing overflows.
 Help replenish stream flows during dry
periods.
 Help recharge ground aquifers.
 Provide economic resources and recreation.
Marshes
 An area of temporarily flooded, often
silty land beside a river or lake.
Swamps
A lowland region permanently covered
with water.
Hardwood Bottomland Forest
 Anarea down by a river or stream
where lots of hardwoods, like oaks,
grow.
 Prairie Potholes
 Theseare depressions that hold water out
on the prairie, especially up north in
Canada. It is a very good duck habitat.
Peat Moss Bog
A wet area that over time fills in (the last
stage of succession is peat moss). It can
be very deep. In Ireland, they burn this
for wood.
Importance of freshwater
wetlands
 They filter & purify water.
 Habitat for many animals and
plants.
Historical Aspects
 Developers and farmers want Congress to
revise the definition of wetlands. This
would make 60-75% of all wetlands
unavailable for protection. The Audubon
Society estimates that wetlands provide
water quality protection worth $1.6 billion
per year, and they say if that wetlands are
destroyed, the U.S. would spend $7.7
billion to $31 billion per year in additional
flood-control costs.
Estuaries
Definition
A partially enclosed area of coastal
water where sea water mixes with
freshwater.
Salt Marshes
 The ground here is saturated with water and
there is little oxygen, so decay takes place
slowly. It has a surface inlet and outlet, and
contains many invertebrates. It is also the
breeding ground for many ocean animals. Ex.
crabs and shellfish.
Mangrove Forests
 These are along warm,
tropical coasts where there is
too much silt for coral reefs to
grow. It is dominated by salt-

 
tolerant trees called
mangroves (55 different
species exist). It also helps to
                                 

protect the coastline from

erosion and provides a
breeding nursery for some
2000 species of fish,
invertebrates, and plants.
 Importance of Estuaries
Just one acre of estuary provides $75,000
worth of free waste treatment, and has a
value of about $83,000 when recreation and
fish for food are included.
 Prime Kansas farmland has a top value of
$1,200 and an annual production value of
$600.
The Everglades
Southern Florida to the
Keys
 Case Study:
Restoring the Florida Everglades
 The world’s largest ecological restoration project
involves trying to undo some of the damage inflicted
on the Everglades by human activities.
 90% of park’s wading birds have vanished.
 Other vertebrate populations down 75-95%.

 Large volumes of water that once flowed through the

park have been diverted for crops and cities.
 Runoff has caused noxious algal blooms.
Problems
 As Miami develops, it encroaches on
everglades. Plus, it prompts people vs. wildlife.
It is freshwater and local areas are draining it.
Restoring the
Florida
Everglades
 The project has
been attempting
to restore the
Everglades and
Florida water
supplies.

Figure 12-10
 Restoration
 Buildhuge aqueduct, or find other
sources of fresh water an protect it
federally under endangered species
act, etc.
The Water
Resource
 Importance
 Leonardo da Vinci said
that “Water is the driver
of nature.” Without
water, the other nutrient
cycles would not exist in
their present forms, and
current forms of life on
earth could not exist.
Hydrogen Bonds
Attraction Between Molecules
 The strong forces of attraction
between molecules of water.
Heat Capacity
 Water changes temp very slowly because it
can store heat. This protects living
organisms from the shock of abrupt
temperature changes.
Heat of Vaporization
 The temperature at which water
turns to vapor.
Universal Solvent

 
 Watercan dissolve a
wide variety of
compounds. This
means it can easily
become polluted by
                                                                   

water-soluble
wastes.
Expansion When Frozen
 Icehas a lower density than
liquid water. Thus, ice floats on
water.