CHAPTER 24- AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS 24.

3 NATURE OF LIFE VARIES IN THE DIFFERENT ZONES

- Classification based on features of the physical environment - EMERGENTS: Cattails and sedges plants – roots are anchored in the bottom
- water salinity- influence adaptations of organisms mud, lower stems are immersed in water, and upper stems and leaves
- 2 Major CATEGORIES: Freshwater and salt water (marine) stand above water.
- Marine into two broad categories: COASTAL & OPEN-WATER SYSTEMS --- Organisms: Hydras, snails, protozoans, dragonflies, and diving insects,
- Freshwater ecosystem: based on Water depth and flow pickerel, sunfish (lepomis spp) herons (ardeidae) & blackbirds (Agelains spp)
 LOTIC- flowing water (ex: rivers and streams) - FLOATING PLANTS: Pondweed (potamogeton) & pond lily (nuphar spp.)
 LENTIC- Nonflowing water (Ex: ponds, lakes, and inland wetlands) - SUBMERGED PLANTS: species of pondweed w/ dissected leaves
- FW & SW: Linked as components of the hydrological cycle - POND FISH: have compressed bodies, permitting them to move easily
- GEOMORPHOLOGY: path determined by gravity & topography through the masses of aquatic plants.
1. Flowing water ecosystems begin as streams  LITTORAL ZONE- contributes large input of organic matter to the system.
2. Streams coalesce into rivers  LIMNETIC ZONE: zooplankton & phytoplankton (desmids, diatoms, and
3. collect in basin and floodplains to form standing-water ecosystems such filamentous algae  Primary Producers), nekton (fish- distribution
as ponds, lakes and inland wetlands influenced by food supply, oxygen and temperature)
4. Rivers flow to coast and form estuaries (transition from FW to marine) - Spring and fall turnovers:
- marine environment: 70% of Earth’s surface  plankton are carried downward
 nutrients released by decomposition on the bottom are carried upward
24.1 LAKES HAVE MANY ORIGINS  oxygen & temperature uniform
- Lakes & Ponds  warm-water and cold-water species occupy all levels
 Inland depressions containing standing water - Spring: warm water & stratification develops, plankton have access to
 Mostly have outlet streams both nutrients and light
 Formed through Nongeological activities - Summer- large predatory fish inhabit warmer epilimnion waters
Beavers- dam streams = ponds - Winter- predatory fish retreat to deeper water; lake trout require colder
 Humans- dam rivers & streams for power, irrigation, or water storage water temperatures
and construct smaller ponds and marshes for recreation, fishing and  PROFUNDAL ZONE: depends on supply of energy and nutrients from the
wildlife limnetic zone above, & temperature and availability of oxygen
Quarries and surface mines- form ponds - Abundant w/ life during spring & fall turnovers
- PONDS – small bodies of water so shallow that rooted plants can grow over - Easily decomposed substances partly mineralized while sinking, + organic
much of the bottom. debris  bottom sediments- habitat of benthic organisms
- LAKES – some are large that they mimic marine environments - Where Oxygen curves for lakes and ponds show a sharp drop
 Formed by glacial erosion and deposition, craters of some extinct - Dominant organisms- anaerobic bacteria
volcanoes, Landslides  Amt of organic matter reaching the bottom > can be used by bottom
 Tarns- carved glacier basins filled w/ water from rain & melting snow fauna = muck rich in hydrogen sulfide and methane
 Moraines – retreating valley glaciers; dammed up water behind them - Water becomes shallower = benthos changes
 Also formed when, silt, driftwood, & other debris deposited in beds of - PERIPHYTON OR AUFWUCHS: organisms of benthic community
slow moving streams dam up water behind them  Attached to or move on a submerged substrate but do not penetrate it
 Oxbow Lakes- dammed loops of streams that meander over flat valley  Colonize the leaves of submerged aquatic plants, sticks, rock, and debris
 Water-filled depressions – developed by shifts in Earth’s crust, uplifting  Periphyton (mostly algae and diatoms) are fast growing and lightly
mountains or displacing rock strata attached
 Aufwuchs on stones, wood & debris, form a more crustlike growth of
24.2 LAKES HAVE WELL-DEFINED PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS cyanobacteria, diatoms, water moss, and sponges.
- LENTIC ECOSYSTEMS
 depends on light 24.4 CHARACTER OF A LAKE REFLECTS ITS SURROUNDING LANDSCAPE
 amt. of light penetrating the water is influenced by: - Water that falls on land flows through the soil to enter springs, streams,
- natural attenuation and lakes  water transports with it slit and nutrients in solution
- slit and other material carried into the lake - Human activities add: Nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter
- the growth of phytoplankton. - EUTROPHICATION “eutrophy” - condition of being rich in nutrients
 Temperatures vary seasonally and with depth  EUTROPHIC:
 oxygen can be limiting - High surface to-volume ratio: surface area is large relative to depth
- Ponds & Lakes divided based on penetration of light and photosynthetic - Surrounded by nutrient-rich deciduous forest and farmland
activity: - abundance of nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus = heavy
a. VERTICAL STRATA- influenced by depth of light penetration growth of algae & plants
b. HORIZONTAL STRATA- obvious to the eye - ↑ photosynthesis = ↑recycling of nutrients and organic compounds =
 LITTORAL ZONE/SHALLOW-WATER ZONE: further growth
- surrounding most lakes and ponds and engulfing some ponds completely - Phytoplankton- in warm upper layer = murky green cast
- light reaches the bottom, stimulating the growth of rooted plants - Algae – inflowing organic debris and sediment, and remains of rooted
 LIMNETIC ZONE/ OPEN WATER: plants drift to the bottom
- extends to the depth of light penetration - Bacteria – feed on this dead organic matter
- inahbitants: microscopic phytoplankton (autotrophs) and zooplankton  OLIGOTROPHIC: Oligotrophy – condition of being poor in nutrients
(heterotrophs) & Nekton- free swimming organisms - Low surface to volume ratio
 PROFUNDAL ZONE - water is clear and appears blue to blue-green
- Beyond depth of effective light penetration - Nutrient content of the water is low; N abundant ; P limited
- beginning is marked by the compensation depth of light - low input of nutrients from surrounding terrestrial ecosystems and other
- pt. where respiration balances photosynthesis external sources is mostly responsible for this condition
- Depends on a rain of organic material from the limnetic zone for energy - ↓availability of nutrients = ↓production of organic matter
 BENTHIC ZONE/ BOTTOM REGION: - Oxygen concentration remains high in the hypolimnion
- Common to littoral & profundal zones - bottom sediments are largely inorganic
- primary place of decomposition  DYSTROPHIC- “ill nourished”
- receive large amounts of organic matter from surrounding land,
particularly in the form of humic material that stain the water brown
- peaty substrates or Heathlands that are usually highly acidic
- have highly productive littoral zones = dominate lake metabolism =
source of dissolved & particulate organic matter
24.5 FLOWING WATER ECOSYSTEMS VARY IN STRUCTURE & TYPES OF 24.7 FLOWING-WATER ECOSYSTEM
HABITATS - Continuum of changing environmental conditions
- River emerge fully formed from glaciers - Headwater streams – swift, cold, shaded forested regions; primary
- stream drains away from its source  flows on lay of the land and the productivity is low; depend on input of detritus from terrestrial streamside
underlying rock formations  join new stream & other small streams, vegetation (90% of organic input)
spring seeps and surface water -organic matter produced enters detrital food chain
- Below source: stream is small, straight, and swift, with waterfalls and rapids - Dominant organisms:
- Flood Times: stream drops its load of sediment on surrounding level land -shredders: processing large-sized litter & feeding on CPOM
- Delta- formed when river deposits its load of sediment in a fan-shaped area -collectors: processors of FPOM
about its mouth  Several channels  becomes an area of small lakes, - Minimal grazers  reflecting small amount of autotrophic production
swamps, and marshy islands - Predators: mostly small fish (sculpins, darters, trout)
- Stream Classification Accdg to Order: - Headwater streams – are accumulators, processors, transporters of
1. First Order Stream- Small headwater stream with no tributaries particulate organic matter of terrestrial origin
2. Higher Order- Two streams of the same order join - Streams increase in width (order 4-6), riparian vegetation & detrital input
3. Second Order- Two first-order streams unite decrease
4. Third Order- two second order streams unite - More surface water exposed to sun, water temp increases*
 order can increase only when a stream of the same order joins it - Elevation gradient declines, current slows*
 1 to 3 (Head water streams), 4 to 6 (medium sized), > 6 (rivers)  these changes bring abt a shift from dependence on terrestrial input of
- Velocity of a current- molds the character and structure of a stream particulate organic matter to primary production by algae & rooted
- High water increases the velocity = cuts new banks & channels aquatic plants
- Gradient ↓ and the width, depth, and volume of water ↑ slit and decaying - Gross primary production exceeds community respiration
organic matter accumulate on the bottom = fast water to slow - Lack of CPOM  shredders disappear
- FLOWING-WATER ECOSYSTEM: turbulent rifle and the quiet pool - Collectors (feeding on FPOM transported downstream) & grazers (feeding
 processes occurring in the rapids above influence the water of the pool on autotrophic production) – become dominant consumers
 waters of the rapids are influenced by events in the pool upstream - Little increase In biomass of predators
- RIFFLES – sites of primary/ organic production in the stream - Shift from cold-water species to warm-water species
 periphyton (diatoms, Cyanobacteria, and water moss) or aufwuch - Order increase from 610: riverine conditions develop
assume dominance - Channel is wider & deeper
- POOLS- Above and below the riffles; envi. Differs in Chemistry, intensity of - Flow of volume increases & current becomes slower
current and depth; sites of decomposition - Sediments accumulate on bottom
 major sites of carbon dioxide production during the summer and fall - Riparian & autotrophic production decrease
 necessary for maintaining a constant supply of bicarbonate in solution - FPOM – basic energy source used by bottom-dwelling collectors that are
now dominant consumers
24.8 LIFE IS HIGHLY ADAPTED TO FLOWING WATER - Slow, deep water & DOM (dissolved organic matter) – support minimal
 Streamlined formed animas- offers less resistance to fast water current phytoplankton & zooplankton population
 flattened bodies and broad, flat limbs- larval forms, enable them to cling
to the undersurfaces of stones 24.8 RIVERS FLOW INTO SEA FORMING ESTUARIES
 protective cases of sand or small pebbles - Caddisflies (trichoptera)- - Estuary – place where freshwater joins saltwater
cement them to the bottom of stones - Semiclosed parts of coastal oceans where seawater is diluted & partially
 Sticky undersurfaces – snails and planarians cling tightly and move about mixed with freshwater coming from land
on stones and rubble in the current - One-way flow of freshwater streams & rivers into an estuary meets
 heavily branched, filamentous algae- Water moss (fontinalis) – cling to inflowing & outflowing saltwater tides
rocks by strong holdfasts - Counterflow – created when water of diff salinities are mixed; as nutrient
 cushionlike colonies or form sheets, covered w/ slippery, gelatinous trap
coating – algae - Nutrients & oxygen – carried into estuary by the tides
 Animals of Fast water streams – require high near-saturation -vertical mixing: not swept back out to sea but circulate up & down
concentrations of oxygen and moving water to keep their absorbing and - 2 problems organisms inhabiting estuary face:
respiratory surfaces in continuous contact with oxygenated water 1) maintaining their position
 Slow flowing streams – streamlined forms of fish give way to fish species 2) adjusting to changing salinity
such as small mouth bass, compressed bodies enable them to move - Most organisms are benthic  attach to bottom & bury themselves in mud
through beds of aquatic vegetation or occupy crevices & crannies
 Invertebrate inhabitants four major groups: - Mobile inhabitants: crustaceans & fish  spawn off shore in high-salinity
1. SHREDDERS – caddisflies (trichoptera) and stoneflies (plecoptera); feed water
on bacteria & fungi of Coarse Particulate Organic Matter (CPOM) -Size of plankton population – determined by:
2. FILTERING/ GATHERING COLLECTORS -seaward movement of streamflow
- Pick up drifting downstream and settling FPOM (Fine particulate -ebb tide transport plankton out of the sea
organic matter) – broken CPOM + feces -rate of water movement
- larvae of black flies (simuliidae) with filtering fans and the net spinning - Salinity – dictates distribution of life in estuary
caddisflies (1 & 2- detrital feeders) - Mostly marine inhabitants able to withstand full sea water
3. GRAZERS - Optimum salinity range – in sessile & slightly motile organisms
- feeds on the algal coating of stones and rubble - Anadromous fish – live most of their lives in saltwater & return to
- Beetle larvae, water penny (psephenus pp) and a number of mobile freshwater to spawn
caddisfly larvae -endure changes in salinity
4. GOUGERS- associated w/ woody debris -estuary served as nursery & feeding ground
- invertebrates that burrow into waterlogged limbs and trunks of fallen - Oyster bed & oyster reef – outstanding communities of estuary
trees - Oysters may be attached to hard objects in intertidal zone
- Predaceous insect larvae and fish such as the sculpin (cotus) and trout- - Oyster reefs - usually lie at right angles to tidal currents, which bring
Feed on the detrial feeders and grazers planktonic food, carry away wastes & sweep oysters clean of sediment &
- Mean rate of drift can serve as an index of a stream’s production rate debris
- Associated w oysters are encrusting organisms: sponges, barnacles,
bryozoans wc depend on oyster or algae for food
- Rooted aquatics – provide a nursery ground for shrimp and bay scallops
24.9 OCEANS EXHIBIT ZONATION & STRATIFICATION - Mesopelagic zone – bioluminescence reaches its greatest devt
- Marine environment – 70% of earth’s surface -adaptations: darkly pigmented & weak body; luminescent lures; mimicry
- Small volume of sunlit water & dilute solution of nutrients – limit primary of prey; extensible jaws; expandable abdomens
production -luminous organs & lighted lures (in fish) – enables them to bait prey
- Seas – interconnected by currents, influenced by wave actions & -search-light structures (in euphausiids and squid) – with lens * iris &
characterized by salinity discharge luminous clouds to escape from predators
1) Pelagic zone – whole body of water
•neritic province – water that overlies the continental shelf 24.11 BENTHOS – plant and animals that live there
•oceanic province - Benthic – floor of the sea
-divided into layers: - Darkness = heterotrophic
a) epipelagic / photic zone – sharp gradients in illumination, temp, and - Polychaete worms & pericarid crustaceans– in shallow benthic regions
salinity - Bacteria of the sediments – important organisms in benthic food chain
b) mesopelagic zone – little light penetrates & temp gradient is more even -found where large quantities of organic matters are present
& gradual -synthesize protein from dissolved nutrients & in turn become a source of
-contains oxygen-minimum layer protein, fat, and oils for other organisms
-max conc of nutrients (nitrate & phosphate) - Vents – form when cold seawater flows down through fissures & cracks in
c) bathypelagic zone – complete darkness except for bioluminescent orgs basaltic lava floor deep into underlying crust
-temp is low; water pressure is great -waters react chemically with hot basalt, giving up some minerals
d) abyssopelagic zone – “no bottom” -water heated emerges through mineralized chimneys
e) hadalpelagic zone – areas found in deep-sea trenches & canyons -white-smoker chimneys: rich in zinc sulphides issue a milky fluid with a
2) Benthic zone – bottom region temperature
-black-smoker – rich in copper sulphides
24.10 PELAGIC COMMUNITIES VARY AMONG VERTICAL ZONES -chemosynthetic bacteria – primary producers assoc w vents; oxidize
- Lack supporting structures & framework of large dominant plant life rediced sulfur producers
- Zooplankton – major herbivores -primary consumers: giant clams, mussels, polychaete worms that filter
Phytoplanktons – dominant autotrophs water and graze from bacterial film on rocks
- directly absorb nutrients from water
- Smaller organism, greater surface-to-volume ratio 24.12 CORAL REEFS
-more SA is exposed for absorption - Complex ecosystems built by colonies of coral animals
- Autotrophs – restricted to upper surface waters where light penetration - Rich colourful oases w/in nutrient-poor seas
varies - Unique accumulation of dead skeletal material built up by carbonate-
-algae – dominant autotrophs in shallow coastal waters secreting organisms (coral, coralline, red algae etc)
-brown algae (Phaeophyceae) – most abundant assoc w rocky shoreline - Reef-building corals – symbiotic relationship with algal cells
-includes large kelps forming dense subtidal forests in tropical rgns -distribution is limited to depths where sufficient solar radiation is
-red algae (Rhodophyceae) – most widely distributed; tropical oceans available to support photosynthesis
- Precipitation of calcium –from water; to form coral skeleton
- Littoral & neritic waters and regions of upwelling – richer in plankton -occurs when temp & salinity are high & CO2 conc are low
- Dinoflagellates (region of downwelling) – w 2 whiplike flagella - 3 types:
-concentrate near surface in areas of low turbulence •Fringing reefs – grow seaward from rocky shores
-attain abundance in warmer waters •Barrier reefs – shorelines of continents & islands; separated from land by
-may concentrate in summer appearing red or brown  red tide shallow lagoons
- Diatoms – phytoplantokns in regions of upwelling •Atolls – rings of coral reefs & islands surrounding a lagoon
-enclosed in silica case; in arctic waters -formed when a volcanic mountain subsides beneath the surface
- Nanoplankton – smaller than diatom; make up largest biomass in - Build up to sea level
temperate & tropical waters - Corals – modular animals, anemone-like cylindrical polyps, with prey-
-most abundant are tiny cyanobacteria capturing tentacles surrounding the opening/mouth
- Haptocytes – unicellular photosynthetic algae distributed in all waters -form sessile colonies
expcept polar seas -Gastrodermal layer: lives Zooxanthellae
-most impt members are coccolithophores – major source of primary -symbiotic, photosynthetically active, endozoic dinoflagellate algae that
production in oceans coral depend on for most efficient growth
-Calcareous skeleton: lives Algae
Zooplankton – converts primary production into animal tissue -encrusting red & green coralline species & filamentous species
-copepods – most important; most abundant including turf algae
- Euphausiids or krill – dominant herbivores in Antarctic; feed on by baleen - Act as nutrient trap, so offshore coral reefs are oases of productivity w/in
whales & penguins relatively nutrient-poor, lower productivity seas
- Carnivorous zooplankton – feeds on herbivorous zooplankton - Corallivores – feed on coral polyps; such as puffers & filefish

Smaller organisms 24.13 PRODCUTIVITY OF OCEANS GOVERNED BY LIGHT & NUTRIENTS

- Bacteria & protists – heterotrophic & photosynthetic; make ½ of biomass of - Vertical attenuation of light in water – limits productivity to shallow waters
the sea & responsible for energy flow in pelagic systems of photic zone
- Nanoflagellates & cyanobacteria – large photosynthesis in the sea - Thermocline – limits movement of nutrients from the deeper to sthe
- Heterotrophic nanoflagellates – consume heterotrophic bacteria surface waters where light is adequate to support photosynthesis
-this interaction introduces a microbial loop (feeding loop) & adds several - Rate at which nutrients are returned to surface & productivity controlled
trophic levels to plankton food chain by:
- Zooplankton - some species migrate vertically 1) seasonal breakdown of thermocline & turnover
-darkness falls: rise to feed on phytoplankton 2) upwelling of deeper nutrient-rich waters to the surface
-dawn: move back down - Coastal region – highest primary productovoty
- Nekton – feeds on zooplankton & pass energy to higher trophic levels -shallow waters allow turbulence to increase vertical mixing
- Photic Zone – predatory fish (tuna) are restricted -coastal upwelling – bring nutrient-rich water to surface
- Baleen whales (larger nekton) – feed on small prey, euphausiids or krill - Open waters – low productivity because of permanent thermocline wc
- Sperm whale – attacks very large preys such as giant squid slows the diffusion of nutrients
-phytoplanktons – controlled by cycling of nutrients w/in photic zones
- Arctic – productivity is low bec of high limitations
-light energy is lost through reflection die to low sun angle
- Waters of Antarctic - high productivity as a result of continuous upwelling
of nutrient-rich water around the continent
- Temperate oceans – primary productivity is related o seasonal variation in
nutrient supply driven by seasonal dynamics of thermocline

ECOLOGICAL ISSUES: DAMS: regulating flow of river ecosystems

DAMS
- interrupt nutrient spiraling & river continuum and regulate natural flow of
water
- purpose: flood control (minimum pool), water storage (maximum pool),
hydroelectric power, irrigation water, & recreation
- Positive effects of removing dams:
 Eliminating barriers to upstream movement of fish
 Restore spawning areas
 Shift macroinvertebrates from lentic to lotic species upstream
- Negative effects:
 Short-term increases of sediment loads w/ contaminants downstream
 Upstream movement of invasive species
 Loss of any backward wetland habitat

QUANTIFYIING ECOLOGY: Streamflow

Streamflow- water discharge occurring w/in natural streambed or channel
- Rate at w/c water flows through stream channel influences water temp.,
oxygen content, rate of nutrient spiraling, physical structure of benthic envi.
& types of organisms inhabiting the stream
- FLOW- volume of water moving past a given pt. in the stream per unit time
Q = vA
Where,
Q= stream flow (m3/s)
V= velocity (m/s)  using “current” or “flow” meter (rotating cups)
A= cross-sectional area (depth x width)