1.2 Aquatic biomes

Aquatic biome

• Autotrophic And Heterotrophic Species

• Chemical Environment

• Salinity

• Geologic Features

• Physical Environment

• Current

• Depth

• Pressure

Varying factors is aquatic biomes

Depth

 

●Gases

 

●Lentic vs. Lotic

 

●Nutrient (Chemical) Concentration

 

●Pressure

 

●Salinity

 

●Sunlight Availability

Brackish biomes

• coastal marshes

• Estuaries

• Deltas

Freshwater biomes

• rivers

• Streams

• Lakes

• lentic (moving water)

• Lotic (still water)

Salt water biomes

• oceans

• Benthic

• Deep water

• Open water

• Shallow water

• Tide pools

Oligarchic lake

• Low nutrient levels in water

• Cool temps

• 
  

Eutrophication lakes

• nutrient levels

• Warm temps

• Lower oxygen

Rivers and streams

Vary in composition, current, depth, and width

• species must adapt to constant flow

• Chemical transports

• Supports riparian (river) ecosystems

• Connects ecosystems

• Ecological corridors

• Water exchange occurs between river water and groundwater

Wetlands

• form at the transition between land and water

• Transitions zones like ____ are also called ecotones

• Nurseries for juveniles of many species

• Support migrating species

• Biodiversity hotspots

• The mitigate flooding and filter chemical pollutants

Benthic zones

• Extremely, hidden, variable, vast, and surprisingly rich in species

• Bottom of the ocean

• Largest habitat on earth

• Energy sources are chemicals and detritus also know as marine snow

• Has highly adapted and often slow growing species

• Sunlight limited or dark in some areas

• “Alien environment on our own planet”

Pelagic zone biome

• constantly moving (from winds, gyres, upwelling)

• Layers vary in depth pressure and sunlight

• Open water (no bottom and no shore)

• Supported by sunlight, photosynthesis, and phytoplankton at the surface

Shallow Saltwater biomes

• sunlight rich and highly productive

  (coral reefs, intertidal areas and tidal pools, kelp forests, seagrass beds)

• Productive and complex habitats

• Biodiversity centers

• Complex food webs

• Critical nurseries that support offspring of many species

Intertidal zones

Areas where the ocean meets the land between high and low tides

• drastic changes between high and low tides (moisture, salinity, sunlight, waves)

• Species are adapted to variable conditions

Estuaries

Brackish water ecotones where rivers enter oceans

• dynamic and variable mixing zones

• Highly productive nutrient traps

• Nursery habitats for juvenile marine species

• Seasonal and tidal variation

• Sensitive to human activity

• Support migration of aquatic and terrestrial species

Estuarine support mangrove forests

• complex habitat supports many species

• Erosion, flooding, and pollution mitigation

• Nursery for juveniles of many species

• Species are adapted to fluctuating oxygen, salinity, tides, and waves