Aquatic Biome Chart

Lakes Oligotrophic lake Eutrophic lake Wetlands Physical environment Standing body of water Large to small Deep to shallow Depth creates light stratification temperate lakes undergo semiannual mixing of water tropical lowland lakes have yearround mixing of water depth causes light stratification habitat inundated by water at least sometimes supports plants adapted to water-saturated Chemical environment Geologic features Surface area to depth ration nutrient-poor and oxygen-rich not much decomposable organic matter in bottom sediment less surface area relative to depth compared to eutrophic lake nutrient-rich and oxygenpoor at bottom in summer/winter nutrient-rich and often oxygen-poor high capacity to filter dissolved nutrients and chemical large surface area, but not deep basin wetlandsin shallow basins and filled-in lakes/ponds riverine wetlands – Photosynthetic organisms Littoral zoneshallows; rooted plants Limnetic zonedeeper water; phytoplankton, cyanobacteria Heterotrophs Human impact limnetic zooplankton feed on phytoplankton benthicinvertebrates, based on oxygen content nutrient enrichment algal blooms; oxygen depletion fish kills most productive biomes on earth pond lilies, cattails, cypress, sedges, spruce adapted to wet soils, anaerobic DIVERSE invertebrates, birds, insects, muskrats, gators, dragonflies, otters purify water and prevent flooding Europe has drained 90% of its wetlands soils Streams and rivers Moving body of water = current Headwaterscold, clear, turbulent, swift, high O2, narrow, rocky Downstreamwarmer, turbid, well oxygenated, wide, slow, silt Stratified Estuaries Transition area between river and ocean Salt water flows up estuary at high tide; returns at low tide Higher density saline water at pollutants along rivers and streams fringe wetlands – along coasts of lakes and oceans; marine/fresh Salinity and Headwater nutrients streams narrow, increase from rocky bottom, headwater to shallows/deep mouth pools Organic material Downstream usually wide slow with originates from silty bottom forested streams soil/water swamps= woody plants; bogs= sphagnum moss Phytoplankton and rooted aquatic plants in dessert and grassland DIVERSE Fish, invertebrates Distributed throughout vertical zones Nutrients from temperate and tropical forest vegetation Salinity is high near ocean, freshwater at other end; fluctuates with tides High nutrient high content; very productive like wetlands Saltmarsh grasses and algae, including phytoplankton major producers DIVERSITY Filling, dredging, and pollution disrupt worldwide Complex flow patterns and sediment from network Tidal channels, islands, natural levees, mudflats Municipal, agricultural, industrial pollution Degrades water quality Kills organisms Dams/floods impair natural ecosystems and threaten migration bottom; less dense freshwater on top Intertidal zones Periodically submerged and exposed by tides Variation in salinity and temperature Causes stratification Oxygen and nutrients restores each high tide Rock versus sand substrate define organisms Configuration of bays and coastline influence wave magnitude High diversity and biomass of attached marine algae-lower rocks Sandy areas with waves lack plants/algae Sandy areas protected from waves have seagrass and algae Most organisms attach to rocks or burry in sand Some small fish, sponges, echinoderms Oil spills have disrupted many areas Rock walls and barriers to prevent wave erosion disrupt zone Oceanic pelagic Open water, zone constantly mixed by winddriven currents Oxygen level high Nutrient levels lower than coastline Tropical oceans lowest; temperate/high latitude renewed fall/spring 70% of earth’s surface Average depth pf 4000m, up to 10000m Phytoplankton dominate, including photosynthetic bacteria Spring surge with turnover Account for half of the photosynthetic activity on earth Zooplankton dominate; protists, worms, krill, larvae, fishes Squids, fish, sea turtles, marine mammals Overfishing has depleted fish stocks worldwide Pollution, ocean acidification, global warming Coral reefs Oxygen level Unicellular and DIVERSITY Largely formed coral require Overfishing; Marine benthic zone from calcium high carbonate skeletons of corals Shallow reefs near islands along edge of continents Sensitive to temperature below 18 C and above 30 C Deep sea reefs at 200m1500m solid substrate for attachment Begins as fringing reef, then barrier reef, then coral atoll multicellular algae Unicellulars from mutualistic bond with coral-organic matter Multicellulars grow on reef Corals, diverse fish, invertebrates Diversity rivals level in a rainforest collecting coral has depleted fish stocks worldwide Pollution, ocean acidification, global warming Consists of the seafloor below surface waters of coastal, neritic zone Seafloor of offshore pelagic zone Netitic zone receives sunlight Pressure increases and temperature decreases with Majority is soft sediment, some rocky substrates on reefs Seaweed and filamentous algae only in neritic zones Autotrophschemoautotrophs, prokaryotes oxidize H2S for energy Neritic zone has small fish and invertebrates Deep zone depends on organic matter raining down from above Tube worms have chemoautotrophs as symbols Overfishing; dumping organic creates oxygendeprived areas Oxygen usually present at concentrations to support life High organic enrichment depletes oxygen depth