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Introduction to Aquatic Ecology. Instructor: Dave Werner MATES. What is Aquatic Ecology?.
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Introduction to Aquatic Ecology Instructor: Dave Werner MATES
What is Aquatic Ecology? • Ecology=study of the relationships of organisms to their physical environment and to one another. The study of an individual organism or a single species is termed autecology; the study of groups of organisms is called synecology. • Add “Aquatic” to that definition
Question??? Why is aquatic ecology important to understand? Does it impact you?
Ecosystems • What is an ecosystem? • Within the biosphere—the total expanse of water, land, and atmosphere able to sustain life—the basic ecological unit is the ecosystem. An ecosystem may be as small as a tidal pool or a rotting log or as large as an ocean or a continent-spanning forest. Each ecosystem consists of a community of plants and animals in an environment that supplies them with raw materials for life, i.e., chemical elements and water. The ecosystem is delimited by the climate, altitude, water and soil characteristics, and other physical conditions of the environment.
Watersheds • What is a watershed? • The land area that drains rain and snowmelt to a river is called a watershed. • Every person on Earth lives in a watershed. • What is your watershed? • Can you name the major headwaters? • How does the land use affect your area?
Studying Our Local Aquatic Ecosystems • Equipment: • Water Quality Tests • D-Nets • Kick Seines • Bottom Samplers • Plankton Nets • Field
Your Challenge • Your challenge for the semester is to learn as much as possible about your surrounding environment. • Use the knowledge you gain to make a positive impact on the aquatic ecosystem.