Aquatic Ecosystems• Determining factors:

– Depth (limits amount of sunlight and distance to nutrients)

– Flow (affects floating organisms and moves nutrients

– Chemical composition (salinity)

– Latitude (affects the temperature and density of the water)

Freshwater Ecosystems

• Flowing water Ecosystem– Rivers, Streams & Creeks• High concentration of oxygen with little plant life

Freshwater Ecosystems

• Standing water ecosystem– Lakes and ponds

• Recharge and discharge from streams, creeks, and rain brings nutrients

• Wind circulates nutrients

• Phytoplankton and algae form the base for the food chain

Freshwater Ecosystems

• Wetland– Bogs, swamps, and

marshes– Seasonal, shallow

breeding grounds for insects, fishes, and migratory birds

– Water is fresh, salt, or brackish (mixture)

Estuaries• Estuaries occur where rivers meet

the sea.– Salt marsh… temperate zone estuary– Mangrove swamp… widespread

through tropical regions (HI & Florida)• Water is a mix • Contain an very large amount of

detritus nutrients• Is able to support a very large biomass

Marine Ecosystem

• Separated into the photic and aphotic zones

Marine Ecosystem

• Divisions based on depth

Intertidal Zone

• Submerged part of the day and exposed to air part of the day– Many of the permanent population attach to and

live in rocks

Coastal Ocean• Neritic Zone…Extends from the low-tide mark to the continental shelf

(includes the coral reefs)– Lies mostly in the photic zone– Supports a great amount of sea life– Location of the kelp forests

Open Ocean Zones• Pelagic (surface) and Benthic (deeper)

– Largest marine zone (~90% of surface water)

– Depth 500m to ~11000m– Most of the photosynthesis on Earth

occurs here but primary productivity is low

– Deeper areas are cold, dark, and under extreme pressures (~30ft = 1atm of pressure)