Aquatic Ecosystem

Prepared By Jhansirani.R AP/ECE

OCEANS

FRESH WATER

Aquatic ecosystem
Aquatic ecosystem deals with water bodies and the biotic communities present in them They are of major 2 types Freshwater
o o

Lentic (standing water) Lotic (running water)

Marine water

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Pond Ecosystem

Pond ecosystem
It is a small fresh water aquatic ecosystem where water is stagnant Ponds is seasonal in nature It receives enough water during rainy season ponds are shallow (hardly 12-15 feet) water bodies in which sunlight can reach to its bottom This permits the growth of the plants that grow there. Lotus, water lilies, duckweed, starwort and pondweeds are commonly found here

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Pond ecosystem
They play important role in villages They contain several types of Algae, aquatic plants, insects, fishes, & birds Ponds are exposed to anthropogenic (humangenerated) pressures They are used for washing cloths, bathing, swimming, cattle bathing, and drinking, hence get polluted.

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pond weed starwort

Duck weed
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Lake Ecosystem

Lake ecosystem
Lakes are usually big freshwater bodies with standing water They have a shallow water zone called littoral zone Open water zone where effective penetration of solar light takes place called limnetic zone Deep bottom area where light penetration is negligible, known as profundal zone Dal lake in Srinagar (J&K), Naini lake in Nainital (uttarakhand) Loktak lake in Manipur are some of the famous lakes of our country.
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Organisms in lakes
The lakes have several types of organisms Planktons: That float on the surface of waters E.g. phytoplankton's like algae & Zooplanktons like Rotifers. Nektons: That swim e.g. fish Neustons: That rest or swim on the surface Benthos: That are attached to the bottom sediments e.g. snails Periphytons: That are attached or clinging to other plants or any other surface e.g. crustaceans

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Profundal Zone

Stratification
Stratification: The lakes show stratification or zonation based on temperature difference During summer, the top waters become warmer than the bottom waters Only the warm top water circulates without mixing with the cold layer thus forming a distinct zonation Epilimnion: Warm, lighter, circulating surface layer Hypolimnion: Cold, viscous, non-circulating bottom layer Thermocline: Lies in between the 2 layers, the region of sharp drop in temperature.
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Types of lakes
Oligotrophic lakes: Which have low nutrient concentrations Eutrophic lakes: Which are over nourished by nutrients like nitrogen, & phosphorus, usually as a result of agricultural run-off or municipal sewage discharge. They are covered with algal blooms e.g. Dal lake Dystrophic lakes: They have low pH, high humic acid content and brown waters e.g. bog lakes
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Types of lakes
Endemic lakes: They are very ancient, deep and have endemic fauna which are restricted only to that lake e.g. The lake Baikal in Russia, the deepest lake, which is now suffering a threat due to industrial pollution. Desert salt lakes: That occur in arid regions and have developed high salt concentrations as a result of high evaporation e.g. Great salt lake, Utah; Smbhar lake in Rajasthan
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Types of lakes
Volcanic lakes: That receive water from magma after volcanic eruption. They have highly restricted biota. e.g. Tazawa lake, Japan Crater lake, Oregon Yellowstone lake, Wyoming Meromictic lakes: That are rich in salts and are permanently stratified e.g. lake Nevada Artificial lakes or impoundments: That are created due to construction of dams e.g. Govindsagar lake at Bhakra-nangal.

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Crater lake(Volcanic), Oregon

Yellow stone lake (volcanic), Wyoming

Streams

Streams
These are freshwater aquatic ecosystem where water current is a major controlling factor Oxygen and nutrient in the water is more uniform Land water exchange is more extensive Stream organisms have to face more extremes of temperature and action of currents as compared to pond or lake organism But they do not have to face oxygen deficiency under natural conditions. This is because the streams are shallow, have a large surface exposed to air and constant motion which churns the water and provides abundant oxygen
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Streams
Their dissolved oxygen level is higher than that of ponds even though the green plants are much less in number Stream animals usually have a narrow range of tolerance to oxygen Thats why they are very susceptible to any organic pollution which depletes dissolved oxygen in the water Thus streams are the worst victims of industrial development.
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River Ecosystem

River ecosystem
Rivers are large streams that flow downward from mountain highlands and flowing through the plains fall into the sea. The mountain highland part has cold, clear waters rushing down as water falls with large amounts of dissolved oxygen The plants are attached to rocks (periphytons) and fishes are cold-water, high oxygen requiring fish like trouts

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 In the second phase on the gentle slopes, the waters are warmer and support a luxuriant growth of plants and less oxygen requiring fishes In the third phase, the river waters are very rich in biotic diversity Moving down the hills, rivers shape the land They bring with them lots of slit rich in nutrients which is deposited in the plains and in the delta before reaching the ocean. Examples Nile, Egypt Yamuna , India Mississippi-Missouri, USA

Ocean ecosystem
These are gigantic reservoirs of water covering more than 70% of our earth surface Its important for survival of about 2,50,000 marine species Serves as food for humans and other organisms Gives huge variety of sea products and drugs They also provide iron, phosphorus, magnesium, oil, natural gas, sand and gravel They are major skins of carbon dioxide and play important role in Biogeochemical cycles and hydrological cycle. Thus regulating the earths climate
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 The ocean water column can be separated into 2 distinct zones: the surface zone and the deep zone
1. Surface zone o extends down to about 100- 300 meters o well mixed o known as the mixed layer o includes the photic zone 1. Deep zone o the rest of the water column o dark and cold with much less productivity o includes the aphotic zone the pycnocline forms a physical barrier between the surface and deep zones

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Ocean ecosystem
Oceans have 2 major life zones: Coastal zone: it has relatively warm, nutrient rich shallow water. Due to high nutrients and ample sunlight this is the zone of high primary productivity Open sea: it is the deeper part of ocean, away from the continental shelf (the submerged part of the continent).

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Ocean ecosystem
This is vertically divided into 3 regions Euphotic zone: Which receives abundant light and shows high photosynthetic activity. Bathyal zone: It receives dim light and is usually geologically active Abyssal zone: It is the dark zone, 2000 to 5000 meters deep. They have no primary source of energy i.e. solar energy It is the worlds largest ecological unit but it is an incomplete ecosystem.
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Euphotic zone

Aphotic zone

Seamount sessile fauna is dominated by suspension feeders

Suspension feeding invertebrates sponges, bryozoans, corals add structural complexity and offer a great variety of microhabitat for a diversity of species

Estuary

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Estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal area at the mouth of a river where fresh water and salty seawater meet. These are the transition zones which are strongly affected by tidal action Constant mixing of water stirs up the slit which makes the nutrients available for the primary producers There are wide variations in the stream flow and tidal currents at any given location diurnally, monthly and seasonally
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 Thus organisms present in estuaries show a wide range of tolerance to temperature and salinity. Such organisms are known as eurythermal and euryhaline Coastal bays, tidal marshes are examples of estuaries. Estuaries have rich biodiversity and many of the species are endemic Many migratory species of fishes like eels and salmons spends half of the life in fresh water and half in salty water For them estuaries are ideal place for resting during migration, and also get abundant food.
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Coastal Bay

Tidal Marsh

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salmons

Eel
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Estuary
Estuaries are highly productive ecosystem River flow & tidal action provide energy subsidies for estuary thereby enhancing its productivity They are of much use to human beings due to their high food potential Thus estuaries should be managed and protected from pollution.

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