Understanding Freshwater Ecosystems and Aquatic Life

1. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Aquatic Ecosystems • The types of organisms in an aquatic ecosystem are mainly determined by the water’s_______________. • Aquatic ecosystems • _____________: Salt water • _____________: No salt • Freshwater ecosystems include • Ponds • Lakes • Streams • Rivers • Wetlands

2. Freshwater Ecosystems • _____________________are areas of land that are periodically under water or whose soil contains a great deal of moisture

3. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Characteristics of Aquatic Ecosystems • Factors affecting organism distribution in an aquatic ecosystem: • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • Three groups of aquatic organisms include • _____________ • _____________ • _____________

4. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Characteristics of Aquatic Ecosystems • _____________are the mass of mostly microscopic organisms that float or drift freely in the water, and can be microscopic animals called _____________ or microscopic plants called ___________________ • _______________are all organisms that swim actively in open water, independent of currents. • _________________are bottom-dwelling organisms which are often attached to hard surfaces. • ____________________ are also aquatic organisms.

5. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Lakes and Ponds • Lakes, ponds, and wetlands can form naturally where ___________________________________. • Humans intentionally create artificial lakes by damming flowing rivers and streams to use them for power, irrigation, water storage, and recreation. • Lakes and ponds can be structured into __________ and _________________ zones. The types of organisms present depend on the _______________ available.

6. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Life in a Lake • The_________________is a shallow zone in a freshwater habitat where _____________________. • Abundant and diverse plant and animal life • Some plants are rooted in the mud underwater with their upper leaves and stems above water. Other plants have floating leaves. • In ________________________, plants, algae, and some bacteria capture solar energy to make their own food during photosynthesis.

7. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Life in a Lake • Some bodies of fresh water have areas so deep that there is _________________________________. • _____________ live in the deep areas of freshwater. Fish adapted to cooler, darker water also live there. • Eventually, dead and decaying organisms reach the _______________________. • The _________________________is the region near the bottom of a pond, lake or ocean which is inhabited by decomposers, insect larvae, and clams.

8. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Life in a Lake • Animals that live in lakes and ponds have _________________ that help them obtain what they need to survive. • For example, ____________________ use the hairs under their bodies to trap surface air so that they can breathe during their dives for food. • And, in regions where lakes partially freeze in the winter, __________________________ into the littoral mud to avoid freezing temperatures.

9. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 A Lake Ecosystem

10. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 How Nutrients Affect Lakes • _______________________ is an increase in the amount of nutrients, such as nitrates, in an aquatic ecosystem. • As the amount of plants and algae grow, the number of bacteria feeding on the decaying organisms also grows. • These bacteria use the oxygen dissolved in the lake’s waters. Eventually the reduced amount of oxygen kills oxygen loving organisms.

11. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 How Nutrients Affect Lakes • A lake that has large amounts of plant growth due to nutrients is known as a eutrophic lake. • Lakes naturally become eutrophic over a long period of time. • However, eutrophication can be accelerated by runoff, such as rain, that can carry sewage, fertilizers, or animal wastes from land into bodies of water.

12. Objectives: Freshwater Aquatic Food Chains • Objective #1: To create 2 food chains each representing a typical freshwater aquatic lake or pond. Organisms observed in laboratory must be included in the food chain. • Objective #2: To identify examples of organisms that occupy the three areas found in a freshwater lake/pond: plankton, nekton, benthos.

13. Requirements for food chains: • Each food chain will contain 5 trophic levels. • 1st and 2nd trophic levels must be examples of plankton. • 1 food chain will use the prepared slide of phytoplankton as the primary producer • The other food chain will use the “living” specimen of algae as the primary producer • The 2nd trophic level will be a plankton organism either observed in lab or research

14. Requirements for food chains: • 3rd trophic level may be a nekton organism or a benthic organism. Your choice • 4th trophic level must a a nekton organism • 5th trophic level must be a benthic organism. Nematodes/worms observed in lab would be good examples.

15. Scenes from wetlands Identify 3 common features Seen in the pictures above.

16. Objectives • Objective #1: To define a wetland. • Objective #2: To explain six important functions of wetlands.

17. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Freshwater Wetlands • _______________________are areas of land that: • Have a unique type of soil • Have plants adapted to the wet environment • Contain water all year or at certain times during the year • PA’s definition: • “Those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions”

18. Plants in a wetland Rushes Sedges Pitcher plants Moss Silver maple Cattails

19. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Freshwater Wetlands

20. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Freshwater Wetlands • Wetlands perform several important environmental functions including: • ________________________ • Remove sediment by slowing water movement • Improve air quality by removing carbon dioxide • _________________________ • Home to 35% of threatened & endangered species • _________________________, high primary productivity rate

21. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Freshwater Wetlands -_____________________________ Amphibian reproduction • Ducks, geese, swans, herons reproduction • Spawning habitat for bullheads, yellow perch, pike, bluegill, walleyes, and muskellunge • Costal wetlands spawning and nursery grounds for salmon, striped bass, bluefish • ___________________________ • ____________________________ • “Natural sponge” absorbing excess water from runoff and flooding • Protect costal areas from storm surges

22. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Environmental Functions of Wetlands

23. Types of Wetlands • ______________ • ______________ • ______________

24. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Marshes • ___________________: • Mouth of rivers/Near streams and creeks • Low, flat lands with poor drainage • ____________________: • Bottom is rich in nutrients

25. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Marshes • ______________________: • Rooted in rich nutrient bottom with leaves emerging out of the water • Examples: • Grasses • Sedges • Bulrushes • Cattails

26. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Marshes • ______________________: • Beavers • Frogs • Turtles • Raccoons • Muskrats • Opossums • Insects • Birds (Marsh and migratory) • Video Segment

27. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Marshes • There are several kinds of marshes, each of which is characterized by its ________________. • ____________________ have slightly salty water • ____________________ contain saltier water

28. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Swamps • ______________________: • Low lying forested wetland, often near streams • _____________________: • Nutrient rich if swamp drains slowly • _________________: Further classify swamps • ___________________ • Dominated by cedars, pines, spruces, hemlock • ____________________ • Dominated by maples, willows, aspens, birches, elms, oaks

29. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Swamps • _______________________: • Beavers • Frogs • Turtles • Raccoons • Muskrats • Opossums • Birds • Insect • Reptiles • Video segment

30. Bogs • _____________________: • Low lying areas • ________________: • Mostly ____________: Decomposed plant matter • Very ________________ • _______________: • Mosses -Blueberries • Shrubs -Cranberries • Water lilies • Pitcher plants

31. Bogs • _________________: • Frogs • Turtles • Insects • Some birds • _______________________: • Very little oxygen in water • Little movement of water in a bog • Video Segment

32. Discovery Video Segment Discovery Video Segment

33. Objective • To compare and contrast the 3 types of wetlands found in PA. • To describe how humans are impacting wetlands. • To explain how a pond or lake becomes eutrophic.

34. PA’s Wetlands • Forested Wetlands • Scrub-shrub Wetlands • Emergent Wetlands

35. Forested Wetlands • Dominant plant: Mature woody trees • Examples • Red & Silver maple • River birch • Green ash • 36% of PA’s wetlands • Standing water during part or most of year • May be coniferous or hardwood wetlands

36. Shrub/Scrub Wetland • Dominant plant species: Shrubs & trees less than 20 feet tall • Examples • Blueberries • Winterberry • Mountain holly • Swamp rose • 12% of PA’s wetlands

37. Emergent Wetlands • Dominant plant species: Plants rooted in soil but emerge above water (Marshy environment) • Examples • Rushes • Grasses • Sedges

38. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Human Impact on Wetlands • Wetlands were previously considered to be wastelands that provide breeding grounds for insects. • As a result, many have been drained, filled, and cleared for farms or residential and commercial development. • The importance of wetlands is now recognized, as the law and the federal government protect many wetlands while most states now prohibit the destruction of certain wetlands.

39. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Rivers • At its headwaters, a river is usually cold and full of oxygen and runs swiftly through a shallow riverbed. • As a river flows down a mountain, it may broaden, become warmer, wider, slower, and decrease in oxygen. • A river changes with the land and the climate through which it flows.

40. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Life in a River • In and near the headwater, mosses anchor themselves to rocks by using rootlike structures called rhizoids. Trout and minnows are adapted to the cold, oxygen rich water. • Farther downstream, plankton can float in the warmer, calmer waters. Plants here can set roots in the river’s rich sediment, and the plant’s leaves vary in shape according to the strength of the river’s current. Fish such as catfish and carp also live in these calmer waters.

41. Section 1 Freshwater Ecosystems Chapter 7 Rivers in Danger • Industries use river water in manufacturing processes and as receptacles for wastes. In addition, people have used rivers to dispose of their sewage and garbage. • These practices have polluted rivers with toxins, which have killed river organisms and made river fish inedible. • Today, runoff from the land puts pesticides and other poisons into rivers and coats riverbeds with toxic sediments.

42. Chapter 7 Section 2 Marine Ecosystems Objectives • Explainwhy an estuary is a very productive ecosystem. • Comparesalt marshes and mangrove swamps. • Describe two threats to coral reefs. • Describetwo threats to ocean organisms.

43. Chapter 7 Section 2 Marine Ecosystems Marine Ecosystems • Marine ecosystems are located mainly in coastal areas and in the open ocean. • Organisms that live in coastal areas adapt to changes in water level and salinity. • Organisms that live in the open ocean adapt to changes in temperature and the amount of sunlight and nutrients available.

44. Chapter 7 Section 2 Marine Ecosystems Coastal Wetlands • Coastal land areas that are covered by salt water for all or part of the time are known as coastal wetlands. • Coastal wetlands provide habitat and nesting areas for many fish and wildlife. • They also absorb excess rain, which protects them from flooding, they filter out pollutants and sediments, and they proved recreational areas for boating, fishing, and hunting.

45. Chapter 7 Section 2 Marine Ecosystems Estuaries • Anestuaryis an area where fresh water from rivers mixes with salt water from the ocean. • As the two bodies meet, currents form and cause mineral rich mud with many nutrients to fall to the bottom making in available to producers. • Estuaries are very productive because they constantly receive nutrients from the river and ocean while the surrounding land protects the estuaries from the harsh force of ocean waves.

46. Chapter 7 Section 2 Marine Ecosystems Estuaries

47. Chapter 7 Section 2 Marine Ecosystems Plants and Animals of Estuaries • Estuaries support many marine organisms because they receive plenty of light for photosynthesis and plenty of nutrients for plants and animals. • The light and nutrients support large populations of rooted plants as well as plankton. Plankton in turn provide food for fish, which can then be eaten by larger animals such as dolphins. • Oysters and clams live anchored to rocks and feed by filtering plankton from the water.

48. Chapter 7 Section 2 Marine Ecosystems Plants and Animals of Estuaries • Organisms that live in estuaries are able to tolerate variations in salinity because the salt content of the water varies as fresh water and sat water mix when tides go in and out. • Estuaries also proved protected harbors, access to the ocean, and connection to rivers. As a result, many of the largest ports have been built on estuaries. • Six of the ten largest urban areas, including New York have been built on estuaries.

49. Chapter 7 Section 2 Marine Ecosystems Threats to Estuaries • Estuaries that exist in populated areas were often used as places to dump waste. Estuaries filled with waste could then be used as building sites. • The pollutants that damage estuaries include sewage, pesticides, fertilizers, and toxic chemicals. • Most of these pollutants break down over time, but estuaries cannot cope with the amounts produced by dense human populations.

50. Chapter 7 Section 2 Marine Ecosystems Salt Marshes • Salt marshesare maritime habitats characterized by grasses, sedges, and other plants that have adapted to continual, periodic flooding and are found primarily throughout the temperate and subarctic regions. • The salt marsh supports a community of clams, fish, aquatic birds, crabs, and shrimp. • Salt marshes, like other wetlands, also absorb pollutants to help protect inland areas.