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Freshwater Biomes. Four different freshwater ecosystems. Ponds/Lakes Streams Rivers Wetlands: marshes & swamps. Freshwater Biomes. Freshwater contains less than 1% salt. The main abiotic factors that determine the type of aquatic biome are: sunlight, temperature and salinity.
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Four different freshwater ecosystems • Ponds/Lakes • Streams • Rivers • Wetlands: marshes & swamps
Freshwater Biomes • Freshwater contains less than 1% salt. • The main abiotic factors that determine the type of aquatic biome are: sunlight, temperature and salinity. • Sunlight and nutrients determine the distribution of organisms. The warmer the water the more life, the more food the more life.
Ponds and Lakes • Scattered all over • Can be a few square meters to square kilometers • Ponds seasonal, lakes can last hundreds of years • 4 main zones • Littoral • Limnetic • Profundal • Benthic- bottom or floor
Littoral Zone: • Located at the land at the edge of the water, shallow • Warmest water • Receives the most sunlight • Flora:cattails, rushes, water lilies, & weeds, plants rooted to the bottom • Fauna: snails, insects & larvae, clams, worms,, frogs, salamanders, turtles, fish, & snails
Open Water Zone or Limnetic Zone • Located from the littoral zone across the top of water & goes as deep as light can reach, shallow water • Fauna:plankton,and fish, algae, microscopic Crustaceans, bass and trout • Plankton are small organisms that play a crucial role in the food chain.
Profundal ZoneDeep Water Zone • Deepest freshwater zone • Coldest water • No light in this zone • Fauna: catfish, carp, worms, insect larvae, fungi, bacteria, crustaceans • All of these are bottom feeders and eat the dead things that fall to the bottom
Benthic Zone • Benthic Zone is the area at the bottom of a lake or pond • The bottom is covered with dead and decaying plants and animals • Also covered with a layer of sediment