4/16/2021

Types of Aquatic Organisms

Dr. Muhammad Arshad

Outline
• Introduction

• The Species Concept

• Major Taxonomic Groups

• Classification of Organisms by Functional

Significance

• Organisms Found in Freshwater Systems

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Introduction
• Identification of freshwater organisms 
essential to understand ecology

• Ecological services  dependent upon

organisms

• Organisms as indicators of pollution

• Toxic algae  important for maintaining safe

water quality

The species concept

• A genetically distinctive group of populations

whose numbers are able to interbreed freely
under natural conditions and are reproductively
isolated from all members of other such groups.

• A group of organisms that more closely resemble

each other with respect to their physical
appearance, physiology, behavior and
reproductive patterns, than they resemble any
other organisms.

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Basics of Classification
Grouping on the basis of Characters:

▫ External morphology,
▫ Internal morphology (Anatomy),
▫ Physiology,
▫ Cell structure-no of chromosomes
/chemical composition,
▫ Embryology

Species: Intra-specific, Inter-specific

Taxon- Taxonomy

Objectives of Classification

• Determination of similarities and differences

• Grouping based on characters

• Identification on the basis of structure and

features

• Inter-relations of organisms

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Units of Classification
Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species

King Phillip Came Over From Greece Saturday

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The tree of life

Woese et al. 1990. PNAS

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• Freshwater Ecology – WK Dodds

A map of a 16s rRNA molecule from an oligotrophic planktonic marine

bacterium. Shaded characters indicate where the same nucleotides are in the
same position in Eukarya (From Freshwater Ecology WK Dodds).

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Eichhornia azurea with different morphology

of floating versus submersed leaves within
the same plant

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Classification of Organisms by Energy Source and Nutrient Requirements (Yanagita 1990)

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Terms Used to Classify Aquatic Organisms by Habitat (WK Dodds. Freshwater Ecology

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Classification of Interactions between Two Species 
(A and B)

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Organisms found in freshwater systems

(References for Identifying Aquatic organisms)

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Summary
• Several species definitions are available. The most utilitarian
approach is to define a species by criteria established by the
taxonomists of a particular group.

• Traditional taxonomic schemes have distinguished among

organisms using behavior, metabolic characteristics, and
morphology. Recently, molecular techniques have been used.

• Traditional taxonomic classifications at the broadest level

(e.g., kingdom and phylum) are probably not completely
natural, and more research is necessary to untangle these
evolutionary relationships.

• Bacteria and Archaea are two groups with the greatest amount
of metabolic diversity. Behavioral and morphological
diversity are greatest in the Eukarya.

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Summary
• Organisms can be classified by their mode of obtaining
nutrition and by the habitat they inhabit in addition to their
evolutionary relatedness.

• Organisms that use CO2 as their primary carbon source are

autotrophic; those that use organic carbon are
heterotrophic. Autotrophic organisms include those that
obtain energy from light (photoautotrophic) and chemicals
(chemoautotrophic). Heterotrophic organisms include
predators, detritivores, and organisms that live on dissolved
organic compounds.

• Organisms can be classified by their direct interactions

(competition, mutualism, exploitation, commensalism,
amensalism, and neutralism) with other organisms.
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