Aquatic Biomes
Vocabulary
Understand and be able to apply each of these terms.
1. Salinity –Freshwater is defined as less than 1% salt,Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water or in soil.2. Plankton –are any organisms that live in the water column and are incapable of swimming against a current.
3. Nekton –refers to the aggregate of actively swimming aquatic organisms in a body of water
4. Benthos –the community of organisms which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone.
5. Littoral Zone –is the part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore.
6. Benthic Zone- the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean or a lake, including the sediment surface and
some sub-surface layers.
7. Eutrophication – ecosystem response to the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system.8. River Source –The term upriver refers to the direction leading to the source of the river, which is against the direction of flow.
9. River Course –Likewise, the term downriver describes the direction towards the mouth of the river, in which the current flows
10.River Mouth –is a part of a stream where it flows into another stream, river, lake, reservoir, sea, or ocean.
11. Marsh –a type of wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.
12. Swamp – is a wetland that is forested.
13.Bog –is a wetland that accumulates peat, a deposit of dead plant material.
14. Lagoon- is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by barrier islands or reefs.
15. Estuary – form a transition zone between river environments and ocean environments and are subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of fresh water and sediment.
16. Abundance –an extremely plentiful or over sufficient quantity or supply
17. Diversity –the condition of having or being composed of differing elements
18. Watershed -carries water "shed" from the land after rain falls and snow melts. Drop by drop, water is channeled into soils, groundwaters, creeks, and streams, making its way to larger rivers and eventually the sea.
19. Hydrophytes- These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface,
20. Halophytes- is a plant that grows in waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores.
Read, analyze, and give complete answers to these questions.
1. What are the three important benefits (ecosystem service) provided by wetlands? They prevent flooding from happening they hold the water like a sponge, Wetlands accept water during storms and whenever water levels are high. When water levels are low, wetlands slowly release water, they also release vegetative matter in the rivers.
2. What causes high and low tides? Explain. : caused by the rise and fall of sea levels brought about by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth.
3. Where would you find an estuary? What type of organisms would you expect to find there? They are usually found along the coast and the organisms hat you would find there would be Pickle Weed, Salt Grass, Fish like carp, stickleback,geese.
4. What is the definition of “freshwater”? Water that is not salty especially used as a resource
5. The mouth of a river can sometimes become “murky” because of all of the sediments that are washed
downstream. Name 3 problems are caused by “murkiness”? - The water becomes polluted, can cause deaths to animals, poorwater quality, not very drinkable any more.
6. Name 2 types of fish that can live in low oxygen environments: A type of jelly fish with shells, and Betta fish
7. Explain why reefs are so important to preserve. What are some of the dangers to coral reefs? Name 2. -The climate change, which can cause disruption in their ecosystem, Over fishing disrupts the ecological balnce of coral reef and warps the food chain.
8. There are different types of marine reef environments. Define the following:
a. Fringing Reefs: They are the environment close to the shore which is attached and has a steep seaward edge
b. Barrier Reefs: A long, narrow ridge of coral or rock parallel to and relatively near a coastline, separated from the coastline by a lagoon too deep for coral growth.
c. Atolls: A coral island or series of coral islands forming a ring that nearly or entirely encloses a shallow lagoon. Atolls are surrounded by deep ocean water and range in diameter from about 1 km (0.62 mi) to over 100 km (62 mi). They are especially common in the western and central Pacific Ocean and are believed to form along the fringes of underwater volcanoes.
d. Coral Reefs: reefs, often of great extent, made up chiefly of fragments of corals, coral sands, and the solid limestone resulting from their consolidation. They are classed as fringing reefs, when they border the land; barrier reefs, when separated from the shore by a broad belt of water; atolls, when they constitute separate islands, usually inclosing a lagoon.
9. Draw a diagram of a marine environment and define the following:
a. Intertidal: is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide (in other words, the area between tide marks)
b. Pelagic: Any water in a sea or lake that is neither close to the bottom nor near the shore can be said to be in the pelagic zone.
c. Abyssal: the deep sea (2000 meters or more) where there is no light
d. Benthic: the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean or a lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. 10. What is “winterkill” in a lake? What happens? Winter kill occurs in frozen lakes and ponds where the exchange of gases between the water below the ice and the air above is not enough to maintain oxygen levels that support fish. The fish and animals in this area die.
11. Describe the differences in the types of food webs found in the two ocean light zones, euphotic and
aphotic. Where does the initial energy input for each come from? The food in the euphotic zone depends on the on phytoplankton and the creatures that feed on it and its on the surface of the water s it gets much energy from the sun.The aphotic part of the ocean that is too deep to recieve sunlight. there is no photosynthesis here, and the food chain is based on deeper living creatures (though most of the food supply does in fact also begin with phtyoplantkton)
12. Explain how lakes “turn-over” yearly and what this process causes. Name one positive and one negative
aspect of turn-over. A lake turn over is the progression that occurs when the water in the lake turns over from top to bottom. In this process, the ice in the spring's melts and the lake water turn out to be of similar temperature regardless of how deep the lake is.
Draw a diagram of a lake and define the following:
a. Littoral Zone- the region of the shore of a lake or sea or ocean
b. Limnetic Zone-open surface waters in a lake, away from the shore. The vegetation of the littoral zone surrounds this expanse of open water and it is above the profundal zone.
c. Profundal Zone- deep zone of an inland body of freestanding water, such as a lake or pond, located below the range of effective light penetration
ShoreClimatograph
Use the data provided to construct a climatograph. Temperature should be displayed as a line graph and
precipitation as a bar graph.
Month Precipitation (cm) Temperature (C)
January 10 35
February 3 37
March 2 39
April 5 40
May 13 42
June 9 44
July 2 45
August 2 44
September 2 42
October 8 40
November 18 37
December 7 35
What type of biome do you think this is and why?
I think this is the biome of slat marsh i think this is salt marsh because temperatures are somewhat low and so is the precipitation until it gets to November.
Understand and be able to apply each of these terms.
1. Salinity –Freshwater is defined as less than 1% salt,Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water or in soil.2. Plankton –are any organisms that live in the water column and are incapable of swimming against a current.
3. Nekton –refers to the aggregate of actively swimming aquatic organisms in a body of water
4. Benthos –the community of organisms which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone.
5. Littoral Zone –is the part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore.
6. Benthic Zone- the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean or a lake, including the sediment surface and
some sub-surface layers.
7. Eutrophication – ecosystem response to the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system.8. River Source –The term upriver refers to the direction leading to the source of the river, which is against the direction of flow.
9. River Course –Likewise, the term downriver describes the direction towards the mouth of the river, in which the current flows
10.River Mouth –is a part of a stream where it flows into another stream, river, lake, reservoir, sea, or ocean.
11. Marsh –a type of wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.
12. Swamp – is a wetland that is forested.
13.Bog –is a wetland that accumulates peat, a deposit of dead plant material.
14. Lagoon- is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by barrier islands or reefs.
15. Estuary – form a transition zone between river environments and ocean environments and are subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of fresh water and sediment.
16. Abundance –an extremely plentiful or over sufficient quantity or supply
17. Diversity –the condition of having or being composed of differing elements
18. Watershed -carries water "shed" from the land after rain falls and snow melts. Drop by drop, water is channeled into soils, groundwaters, creeks, and streams, making its way to larger rivers and eventually the sea.
19. Hydrophytes- These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface,
20. Halophytes- is a plant that grows in waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores.
Read, analyze, and give complete answers to these questions.
1. What are the three important benefits (ecosystem service) provided by wetlands? They prevent flooding from happening they hold the water like a sponge, Wetlands accept water during storms and whenever water levels are high. When water levels are low, wetlands slowly release water, they also release vegetative matter in the rivers.
2. What causes high and low tides? Explain. : caused by the rise and fall of sea levels brought about by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth.
3. Where would you find an estuary? What type of organisms would you expect to find there? They are usually found along the coast and the organisms hat you would find there would be Pickle Weed, Salt Grass, Fish like carp, stickleback,geese.
4. What is the definition of “freshwater”? Water that is not salty especially used as a resource
5. The mouth of a river can sometimes become “murky” because of all of the sediments that are washed
downstream. Name 3 problems are caused by “murkiness”? - The water becomes polluted, can cause deaths to animals, poorwater quality, not very drinkable any more.
6. Name 2 types of fish that can live in low oxygen environments: A type of jelly fish with shells, and Betta fish
7. Explain why reefs are so important to preserve. What are some of the dangers to coral reefs? Name 2. -The climate change, which can cause disruption in their ecosystem, Over fishing disrupts the ecological balnce of coral reef and warps the food chain.
8. There are different types of marine reef environments. Define the following:
a. Fringing Reefs: They are the environment close to the shore which is attached and has a steep seaward edge
b. Barrier Reefs: A long, narrow ridge of coral or rock parallel to and relatively near a coastline, separated from the coastline by a lagoon too deep for coral growth.
c. Atolls: A coral island or series of coral islands forming a ring that nearly or entirely encloses a shallow lagoon. Atolls are surrounded by deep ocean water and range in diameter from about 1 km (0.62 mi) to over 100 km (62 mi). They are especially common in the western and central Pacific Ocean and are believed to form along the fringes of underwater volcanoes.
d. Coral Reefs: reefs, often of great extent, made up chiefly of fragments of corals, coral sands, and the solid limestone resulting from their consolidation. They are classed as fringing reefs, when they border the land; barrier reefs, when separated from the shore by a broad belt of water; atolls, when they constitute separate islands, usually inclosing a lagoon.
9. Draw a diagram of a marine environment and define the following:
a. Intertidal: is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide (in other words, the area between tide marks)
b. Pelagic: Any water in a sea or lake that is neither close to the bottom nor near the shore can be said to be in the pelagic zone.
c. Abyssal: the deep sea (2000 meters or more) where there is no light
d. Benthic: the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean or a lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. 10. What is “winterkill” in a lake? What happens? Winter kill occurs in frozen lakes and ponds where the exchange of gases between the water below the ice and the air above is not enough to maintain oxygen levels that support fish. The fish and animals in this area die.
11. Describe the differences in the types of food webs found in the two ocean light zones, euphotic and
aphotic. Where does the initial energy input for each come from? The food in the euphotic zone depends on the on phytoplankton and the creatures that feed on it and its on the surface of the water s it gets much energy from the sun.The aphotic part of the ocean that is too deep to recieve sunlight. there is no photosynthesis here, and the food chain is based on deeper living creatures (though most of the food supply does in fact also begin with phtyoplantkton)
12. Explain how lakes “turn-over” yearly and what this process causes. Name one positive and one negative
aspect of turn-over. A lake turn over is the progression that occurs when the water in the lake turns over from top to bottom. In this process, the ice in the spring's melts and the lake water turn out to be of similar temperature regardless of how deep the lake is.
Draw a diagram of a lake and define the following:
a. Littoral Zone- the region of the shore of a lake or sea or ocean
b. Limnetic Zone-open surface waters in a lake, away from the shore. The vegetation of the littoral zone surrounds this expanse of open water and it is above the profundal zone.
c. Profundal Zone- deep zone of an inland body of freestanding water, such as a lake or pond, located below the range of effective light penetration
ShoreClimatograph
Use the data provided to construct a climatograph. Temperature should be displayed as a line graph and
precipitation as a bar graph.
Month Precipitation (cm) Temperature (C)
January 10 35
February 3 37
March 2 39
April 5 40
May 13 42
June 9 44
July 2 45
August 2 44
September 2 42
October 8 40
November 18 37
December 7 35
What type of biome do you think this is and why?
I think this is the biome of slat marsh i think this is salt marsh because temperatures are somewhat low and so is the precipitation until it gets to November.
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/4/2/23426136/1382125877.png)
Aquatic Ecosystems
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/4/2/23426136/5505400.jpeg?1382126086)
Marine Environment
![Picture](/uploads/2/3/4/2/23426136/3545796.jpeg?607)
Lake Diagram