AP Environmental Science Unit 1: Aquatic Biomes

Biome definition (land vs water) → land = temp, precip, plants/animals; water = light, depth, temp, currents/tides.

Freshwater biomes:

• Streams & Rivers (lotic, 3 zones, watershed).

• Ponds & Lakes (lentic, oligotrophic vs eutrophic).

• Inland Wetlands (marshes, swamps, floodplains; ecosystem services like filtering water, flood control, biodiversity).

Marine biomes:

• Open Ocean (photic, aphotic, euphotic, bathyal, abyssal).

• Estuaries & Salt Marshes (brackish, high NPP, mangroves).

• Intertidal Zone (tide changes, specialized species).

• Coral Reefs (nutrient-poor water, coral-algae symbiosis, high biodiversity/NPP).