Aquatic Ecosystems

Freshwater
Ponds &
Lakes
Streams &
Rivers
Wetlands

Marine
Oceans
Coral Reefs
Estuaries
Freshwater
Ponds & Lakes
Streams & Rivers
Wetlands
Freshwater
Freshwater is defined as having
a low salt concentration - usually
less than 1%
Plants and animals in freshwater
regions are adjusted to the low
salt content and would not be
able to survive in areas of high
salt concentration (i.e, ocean)
Pond - is the reservoir of rain
water found in many regions
with adequate rainfall
- Small and shallow

Lake - natural source of water
among hills - Larger and
deeper than a pond
Ponds and Lakes
range in size from just a few square meters
to thousands of square kilometers
ponds may be seasonal, lasting just a
couple of months (such as sessile pools)
lakes may exist for hundreds of years or
more
may have limited species diversity since
they are often isolated from one another
and from other water sources like rivers
and oceans
Ponds and Lakes
divided into three different zones
determined by depth and
distance from the shoreline
littoral zone
limnetic zone
profundal zone
A pond is a shallow hole where water collects.
Plants generally grow around the edges of the
pond, and often right across the whole pond.
The temperature of the water is similar at the
surface and at the bottom of the pond.
The bottom is generally covered with mud.
There are usually no waves.

In places where winters are very cold, the whole
pond can freeze solid. Some ponds are seasonal,
and only fill at certain times of the year when
there is rain.
A lake is bigger than a pond, sometimes
thousands of square metres. Plants can only grow
along the shoreline because the water is too deep
away from the edges. Some lakes are so big that
there are waves.


In summer, the temperature of the water
in a lake is not the same: the top part of
the water gets more of the sun's heat and
is warm (about 19-25C), the middle layer
is cooler because it gets less of the
sunlight (aobut 8-19C) , and the bottom
layer, which does not get any sunlight, is
quite cold (about 4-8C).