Freshwater Habitats and Their Management

Of the World

70% of the world is filled with Water

97% of that water is from the oceanmeaning… 97% is salt water. This leaves 3%.

1/3 of that 3% is Frozen on the Ice Caps.

..less than 2% of the water on Earth is fresh water

Fish and Wildlife

• Water is vital to hundreds of species of fish and wildlife• There is more wildlife in freshwater then any other

habitat in the world.• Some species require a specific habitat to survive.

– Many of these animals have evolved to fill a particular niche in the ecosystem.

– Due to this niche, when we alter their habitat is often leads to extinction• Dams• Drain marshes & swamps• Pollute fresh water with sewage, industrial waste, pesticides, and

petroleum products.

Pollution

• Cities & Industries dump chemicals, polluted waste water, raw sewage into waterways

• Pesticides and herbicides that farms use wash into watersheds

• In 1960s and early 1970s many of our historic scenic waterways were a national disgrace.– Lake Erie was biologically dead– Potomac River was cesspool (stench drove tourist away)

• The Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 funded identifying sources of pollution.

The Movement

Litter

Not only is it ugly…

There are numerous accounts of small mammals becoming entangled. Almost always ended in strangulation or starvation

Destruction of Freshwater Habitats

• When we dam the land around it is altered forever.– Leading to destroyed vegetation– Results in erosion• Leading to cloudy, muddy waterways, detrimental to

many aquatic life forms

Freshwater Habitats

• Lakes• Rivers• Reservoirs• Small ponds• Swamps• Streams• Marshes

Reservoirs

Are large impoundments we have created to provided water and hydroelectric power for many large metropolitan areas

Freshwater Habitats

Rivers and streams drain excess surface water and provided excellent wildlife and fish habitat.

The low-lying areas, or bottoms, associated with streams and rivers generally teem with wildlife.

Overflow their banks and deposit layers of fine, rich soil eroded from areas upstream on the surrounding bottoms.

For this reason river bottoms are preferred habitats for many species

Small Ponds

• They are generally shallower than lakes or reservoirs– Allow more sunlight to penetrate to the bottom– Promotes more aquatic plant growth– Provides habitats

• These provide habitats for many waterfowl

Marshes and Swamps

• Low-lying areas• Have few, if any large areas of open water, but

water is always present• Sensitive to pollution, increased

sedimentation resulting from construction.