APES Review 1: Aquatic Biomes

Lakes

A body of water that is surrounded by land it can be fresh water or salt water. Lakes and Ponds represent a freshwater biome type that is generally referred to in the scientific community as a lentic ecosystem (still or standing waters).

Environmental Parameters

A defining feature of a pond is the presence of standing water, which provides habitat for wetland plants and animals.

Wetlands

A lowland area, such as a marsh or swamp, that is saturated with moisture, especially when regarded as the natural habitat of wildlife. The wetland biome consists of any body of water that stands still and lies low. Wetlands are normally located near a river, lake, or stream and often provide these areas with plant matter which feeds fish.

Marshlands (saltmarsh)

A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. They also support terrestrial animals and provide coastal protection.

Animals

A variety of animals make their home in wetland habitats. Mammals that might live in wetlands include beavers, otters, bobcats, deer, minks and muskrats. Alligators, snakes, turtles, newts and salamanders are among the reptiles and amphibians that live in wetlands.

Location(s)

An estuary is an area where seawater mixes with freshwater. Estuaries can be found along the coast. Each day as the tide rises, saltwater is brought into the estuary. Freshwater comes down the rivers and creeks and mixes with this saltwater.

Animals

Animals that live in the Freshwater Biomes include: Frogs, Mosquitos, Turtles, Raccoons, Shrimp, Crab, Tadpoles, and Snakes. Obviously there are animals that live both in the water and on the land of the freshwater biome. The animals living on the land are usually dependent on the lakes and streams to supply their water. The size and type of fish is deponents upon the area and the season. Bass, Catfish, and Tilapia are among the types of fish found in the areas.

Locations(s)

Approximately 70% of the Earth's surface is covered in water from oceans. There are five ocean biomes in the world - Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean.

Plants

Besides zooxanthellae, algae and seagrasses are the main types of plants in the coral reef ecosystem. These plants give food and oxygen to the animals that live on the reef. Seagrasses are especially important because they provide shelter for juvenile reef animals like conch and lobster.

Marine Biomes

Biome, include estuaries (where ocean meets river), intertidal zone (where oceans meet land), continental shelves (the relatively shallow oceans that border continents), coral reefs, and the pelagic ocean (the deep oceans). The marine biome is the biggest biome in the world! It covers about 70% of the earth. It includes five main oceans: the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern, as well as many smaller Gulfs and Bays. Marine regions are usually very salty!

Environmental Parameters

Climatic factors include temperature and rainfall; hydrologic factors include tidal inundation and wave energy; and physical factors include elevation and slope, sediment and soil composition, and surface water and soil salinity.

Plants

Emergent plants include cattails, flowering rush and bulrushes. Algae are free-floating plants without any true stems, leaves or roots. Stonewort, plankton algae and chara can be found in many rivers and streams. Mosses grow in clumps and have only simple leaves.

Estauries

Estuary biomes are normally located along coasts, where freshwater rivers meet saltwater oceans. In fact, estuaries have protected many coastal towns from flooding. An estuary can be surrounded by swamps, coral reefs, and beaches. During dry seasons, there is normally not much freshwater coming down from the rivers.

Animals

Freshwater rivers are often home a wide variety of species from insects, to amphibians, reptiles, fish, birds and even mammals. Turtles, ducks, otters, crocodiles, catfish, dragonfly and crabs can be found in rivers all around the world, and the Amazon river is even home to the rare and pink, freshwater dolphin.

Animals

Other animals found in the salt marsh include many different types of birds. Shorebirds such as dowitchers, sandpipers, and black-necked stilts can often be found during the low tide probing the mud for food. The mud contains an abundance of life including aquatic worms, snails, and crabs.

Plants

Plant species diversity is relatively low, since the flora must be tolerant of salt, complete or partial submersion, and anoxic mud substrate. The most common salt marsh plants are glassworts (Salicornia spp.) and the cordgrass (Spartina spp.), which have worldwide distribution.

Plants

Plants that are adapted to moist and humid conditions (such as those found in wetlands) are called hydrophytes. These include cattails, water lilies, bulltongue, sedges, tamarisk, and many kinds of rush.

Plants

Plants who live in still waters have different adaptations. Water lilies, algae, and duckweed float on the surface. Cattails and reeds grow along the shoreline of many freshwater ecosystems.

Animals

Ponds are teeming with both animal and plant life. Some animals live in the water (fish, crayfish, tadpoles, etc.), some live above the water (ducks, insects, etc.), and others live in the area surrounding the pond (raccoons, earthworms, etc.).

Ponds

Ponds represent a freshwater biome type that is generally referred to in the scientific community as a lentic ecosystem (still or standing waters). Scientists that study lakes and ponds are known as limnologists.

Coral Reefs

Prominent oceanic features composed of hard, limy skeletons produced by coral animals; usually formed along edges of shallow, submerged ocean banks or along shelves in warm, shallow, tropical seas.

Location(s)

Salt marshes occur worldwide, particularly in middle to high latitudes. Thriving along protected shorelines, they are a common habitat in estuaries. In the U.S., salt marshes can be found on every coast. Approximately half of the nation's salt marshes are located along the Gulf Coast.

Animals

Snails, worms, turtles, frogs, marsh birds, mollusks, alligators, beavers, otters, snakes, and many types of insects live there too. Some unusual animals, like the river dolphin and the diving bell spider, are freshwater creatures.

Environmental Parameters

Streamflow, or channel runoff, is the flow of water in streams, rivers, and other channels, and is a major element of the water cycle. It is one component of the runoff of water from the land to waterbodies, the other component being surface runoff.

Environmental Paremeter(s)

Streamflow, or channel runoff, is the flow of water in streams, rivers, and other channels, and is a major element of the water cycle. It is one component of the runoff of water from the land to waterbodies, the other component being surface runoff.

Location(s)

Streams and rivers are found all across the Earth and travel thousands of miles before they join a ocean. A spring, lake or snow melt begins the formation of a river or a stream and ends at an ocean or other body of water.

Streams

Streams and rivers are part of the freshwater biome, which also includes lakes and ponds. They usually begin at a source in higher and cooler climates than their mouths, which is where they empty into larger bodies of water, traditionally other water channels or the ocean.

Environmental Parameters

The average temperature of any ocean biome is 39 degrees. However, that can change based on the depth of the water, the wind, and if the sun is shining or not. In many areas of the Artic Ocean, it is covered with thick layers of ice for most of the year. The water in an ocean biome is always moving.

Plants

The commonly found examples are cattails, duckweed, sedges, etc. The trees growing in these areas are gum, cypress, black spurce, tamarack, etc. These can be either natural or man-made. The community of plant biomes growing in lakes and ponds are usually grasses and weeds.

Animals

The coral provides shelter for many animals in this complex habitat, including sponges, nudibranchs, fish (like Blacktip Reef Sharks, groupers, clown fish, eels, parrotfish, snapper, and scorpion fish), jellyfish, anemones, sea stars (including the destructive Crown of Thorns), crustaceans (like crabs, shrimp, and lobsters).

Environmental Parameters

The coral reef biome climate is tropical. Coral reef temperatures in the wild range from 68 to 97°F (20 to 36°C). The warm, shallow water is essential for photosynthesis of the zooxanthellae algae.

Location(s)

The coral reef biome is located within the ocean but is separate from the ocean biome. It is located in a shallow, clear portion of the ocean in mostly tropical areas. These areas include the coasts of East Africa, South India, Australia, Florida, the Caribbean, and Brazil.

Plants

The estuary is a hostile environment for most plants because salt dominates. Seagrass (Zostera capricorni) is the only flowering plant in New Zealand capable of living submerged in sea water. Seagrass decline. Spike grass, also known as salt grass and scientifically known as Distichlis spicata, is a short grass species that grows near and around marshland. Purple Loosestrife. Smooth Cordgrass. Sea Lavender.

Environmental Parameters

The freshwater biome consists of many unmoving bodies of water known as ponds and lakes. A pond is a shallow hole where water builds up over time from falling rain.

Freshwater Biomes

The freshwater biome is made up of any of body of water that is made of freshwater such as lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers. They cover roughly 20% of the Earth and are in various locations spread out all over the world. Most freshwater biomes consist of moving water and contain many types of fish.

Plants

The most common ocean plants are kelp, algae, sea grass, and phytoplankton. Sea plants like marine algae, seagrasses, marsh grass, and mangroves provide habitats for many marine creatures including shrimp, bivalves, fish, plankton, and other small organisms.

Animals

The ocean contains a large variety of animal life, including fish, mollusks, dolphins, seals, walruses, whales, crustaceans, bacteria, sea anemones and many others. Most marine animals live in the top two ocean zones, where they have access to plants and other ocean animals to eat.

Oceans

The ocean holds the largest of Earth's biomes. The ocean is not the same everywhere. There are many different ecosystems within the ocean depending on conditions such as the water temperature, the amount of sunlight that filters through the water, and the amount of nutrients.

Animals

The plants attract lots of different animals to the estuary and those animals attract other animals to the estuary. Common animals include: shore and sea birds, fish, crabs, lobsters, clams, and other shellfish, marine worms, raccoons, opossums, skunks and lots of reptiles.

Location(s)

They are found in all types of environments and continents. They range in size from just a few square meters to thousands of square kilometers. Just as there are many freshwater fish found in rivers and streams, there are also many species found in lakes and ponds.

Environmental Parameters

They are key indicators of water quality and environmental conditions for the plants and animals that live in or use the estuary. The reserves also sample the water for nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and chlorophyll on a monthly basis. Weather can have a major impact on water quality in estuaries.

Location(s)

This leaves only 1% of freshwater found around the Earth. Still, freshwater biomes are found all around the world. Lake Victoria in South Central Africa, as well as the Great Lakes of the Midwest U.S. and Canada, are very well known freshwater areas.

Plants

Water lilies, algae, and duckweed float on the surface. Cattails and reeds grow along the shoreline of many freshwater ecosystems. Estuaries house plant life with the unique adaptation of being able to survive in fresh and salty environments.

Location(s)

Wetlands are areas where standing water covers the soil or an area where the ground is very wet. Unlike estuaries, freshwater wetlands are not connected to the ocean. They can be found along the boundaries of streams, lakes, ponds or even in large shallow holes that fill up with rainwater.

Environmental Parameters

Wetlands typically have three general characteristics: soggy soils, water-loving plants and water. Scientists call these: hydric soils, hydrophytic vegetation, and wetland hydrology.

Rivers

With few exceptions, rivers take the water that collects in a watershed and ultimately deposits that water in the ocean. Along the way, the river biome serves as an important life-giving source to many plants and animals.