3. Freshwater
Freshwater is defined as having a
low salt concentration—usually
less than 1%
Plants and animals in freshwater
regions are adjusted to the low
salt content and would not be
able to survive in areas of high
salt concentration (i.e, ocean)
4. Ponds and Lakes
range in size from just a few square meters to
thousands of square kilometers
ponds may be seasonal, lasting just a couple
of months (such as sessile pools)
lakes may exist for hundreds of years or
more
may have limited species diversity since
they are often isolated from one another and
from other water sources like rivers and
oceans
5. Ponds and Lakes
Temperature
varies seasonally.
Summer
from 4° C near the bottom to 22° C at the top
Winter
from 4° C while the top is 0° C (ice)
between the two layers is a narrow zone
called the thermocline where the temperature
of the water changes rapidly with depth
6. Ponds and Lakes
during the spring and fall seasons is a
mixing of the top and bottom layers
resulting in a uniform water temperature
of around 4° C
mixing also circulates oxygen
throughout the lake
many lakes and ponds do not freeze
during the winter resulting in the top
layer being a little warmer
7. Ponds and Lakes
ice can develop on the top of lakes
during winter
blocks out sunlight and can prevent
photosynthesis
oxygen levels drop and some plants
and animals may die
called "winterkill."
9. Streams & Rivers
bodies of flowing water moving in one
direction
found everywhere—they get their start
at headwaters, which may be springs,
snowmelt or even lakes
travel all the way to their mouths,
usually another water channel or the
ocean
11. Wetlands
Wetlands are areas of standing
water that support aquatic plants
Marshes, swamps, and bogs are
all considered wetlands
12. Wetlands
Plants
adapted to the very moist and humid
conditions are called hydrophytes
Pond lilies Cattails Sedges
Tamarack Black Spruce
Gum Cypress
13. River Otter
Wetlands Damselfly Dragonfly Mayfly
Crayfish Snails Leech Bluegill Bass
Catfish Sculpin Minnow Snakes
Frog Turtle
Great Blue Heron Canadian Goose
15. Marine
cover about three-fourths of the Earth’s
surface and include oceans, coral reefs,
and estuaries
algae supply much of the world’s
oxygen supply and take in a huge
amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide
evaporation of the seawater provides
rainwater for the land
16. Oceans
largest of all the ecosystems
dominate the Earth’s surface
separate zones
Intertidal
Pelagic
Abyssal
Benthic
great diversity of species
richest diversity of species even though it
contains fewer species than there are on land
18. Pelagic – Open Ocean
waters further from the land, basically
the open ocean
generally cold though it is hard to give a
general temperature range since, just
like ponds and lakes, there is thermal
stratification with a constant mixing of
warm and cold ocean currents
22. What Is a Coral Reef?
A structure formed by coral polyps,
tiny animals that live in colonies.
Coral polyps form a hard, stony,
branching structure made of
limestone.
New polyps attach to old coral and
gradually build the reef.
25. Estuaries
enclosed body of water formed where
freshwater from rivers and streams flows into
the ocean, mixing with the salty sea water
estuaries and the lands surrounding them are
places of transition from land to sea, and from
fresh to salt water
although influenced by the tides, estuaries are
protected from the full force of ocean waves,
winds, and storms by the reefs, barrier islands,
or fingers of land, mud, or sand that define an
estuary's seaward boundary
26. Estuaries are semi-enclosed bodies of water where
fresh water from the land mixes with sea water.
Estuaries originate as: drowned
river valleys, bar-built estuaries, and
tectonic estuaries.
Salinity typically grades from
normal marine salinity at the tidal
inlet to fresh water at the mouth of
the river.
