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Name ______TEACHER COPY______Period ______Date ______
Chapter 7 NOTES – AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
Freshwater Aquatic Ecosystems - Use the classroom or online notes to fill in the empty spaces.
Georgia Standard:
SEV2. Students will demonstrate an understanding that the Earth is one interconnected system.
c.) Characterize the components that define a Biome. Abiotic Factors – to include precipitation, temperature and soils. Biotic Factors – plant and animal adaptations that create success in that biome.
d.) Characterize the components that define fresh-water and marine systems. Abiotic Factors – to include light, dissolved oxygen, phosphorus, nitrogen, pH and substrate. Biotic Factors – plant and animal adaptations characteristic to that system.
FRESHWATER AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
Ecosystem / Freshwater (F) orSaltwater (S) / Characteristics / Plants and Some of Their Adaptations / Animals and Some of Their Adaptations / Threats
Lakes and Ponds / Mainly F
Some S / In Littoral Zone: shallow shore and upper layer in deeper water both are nutrient rich with full sunlight and diverse plants and animals
In Benthic Zone: bottom has dead and decaying organisms / Phytoplankton, cattail reeds, pond lilies / Zooplankton; water beetles use hairs to trap surface air for underwater dives; catfish whiskers can sense food on bottom from vibrations; amphibians burrow into Littoral mud when temperatures are freezing / Eutrophication accelerated by runoff containing sewage, fertilizers, and animal wastes; Recreational users leave garbage and oil products
Marsh Wetlands / Mainly F
Some S / Land covered with water part of the year; Brackish marshes have slightly saline water; Function as habitat, feeding and spawning sites for fish; flood control; and purifies waste water / Non woody plants: reeds, rushes, cattails rooted in rich bottom sediments with leaves above water
Plants adapt to changes in water salinity / Waterfowl: grebes and ducks adapt to eat marsh plants with flat bills; nesting birds like blackbirds and herons feed on frogs and fish; animals adapt to changes in water salinity / Drained for urban development, farms, residential building, or commercial factories
Swamp Wetlands / Mainly F
Some S / On flat, poorly drained land, have little water movement, often near streams; Breeding grounds for many insects needed for larger animals to live / Woody plants or shrubs; water-tolerant trees like red maple, cedar, oak, cypress / Amphibians such as green frogs and salamanders; Reptiles such as alligators and crocodiles; Birds such as wood ducks / Drained for urban development, farms, residential building, or commercial factories
Rivers, Creeks, and Streams / Mainly F
Few S / Usually starts in mountains from rain and melted snow; runs down into oceans; usually cold at head of river and warm where it spreads out and slows down before flowing into oceans; constantly moving / Mosses and plants that can adapt to the cold water at the head; Water plants that can survive the currents such as mosses that use rhizoids to anchor themselves to rocks / Fish such as trout, catfish, and carp live in calmer waters / Industries dump wastes from manufacturing and mining; Businesses use water in making products; People use rivers to dispose of wastes such as sewage and garbage - All these dump toxin which filter through the food chain and stay in the bottom sediments
Name ______TEACHER COPY______Period ______Date ______
Chapter 7 NOTES – AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS - Use the classroom or online notes to fill in the empty spaces.
MARINE AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS – PART I
Ecosystem / Freshwater (F) orSaltwater (S) / Characteristics / Plants and Some of Their Adaptations / Animals and Some of Their Adaptations / Threats
COASTAL WETLAND:
Estuary / F and S mixed / Absorbs excess rain which protects against flooding; filters out pollutants and sediments; provides shelter for small animals; very productive ecosystem with a large diversity of plants and animals / Marsh grasses, plankton, sea rush, saltwort / Crabs, migrating shorebirds like sandpipers, egrets, plovers, fish, dolphins, manatees, otters, oysters, barnacles, clams, fish / Because they provide protected harbors, access to oceans, and connections to rivers, 6 out of 10 of the largest urban areas in the world were built on estuaries: Tokyo, New York, Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, & Bombay; used as solid waste landfills; dumps for sewage from residential areas; used by factories to dump industrial waste; agricultural runoff; agricultural runoff
COASTAL WETLAND:
Salt Marsh / S / Acts as nurseries for many species of clams, crabs, and fishes; absorbs pollutants; protects inland areas / Cord grass, salt hay, reeds / Birds such as terns, cormorants, osprey; fish, insects, crustaceans, shellfish, marsh rabbits, raccoons / Severed connections to oceans or seas by human development; Pollution from residential and commercial dumping
COASTAL WETLAND:
Mangrove Swamp / S / Help protect the coastline from erosion; reduces coastline damage from storms / Black, red, and white mangrove trees, sea oats / Herons, manatees, sea turtles, alligator, crocodiles, snails, barnacles / Clear-cutting trees to build residential and commercial sites; overharvesting; river changes due to building of dams and irrigation for agriculture; overfishing; destruction of coral reefs which protect mangrove swamps from strong currents and waves
COASTAL WETLAND:
Rocky and Sandy
Shores / S / Rocky Shores have more plant and animal species;
Sandy shores have abundant life in shallow water and beach / Rocky shore: seaweeds, lichens
Sandy shore: algae / Zooplankton, fish, rays, sandsharks, mullet, gulls, sandpipers, terns, turtles / Pollution, bait harvesting, traffic and development harm sandy beaches. Pollution includes oil slicks, chemical effluent, sewage and litter (from ships at sea, rivers and beach users). Most large burrowing sand animals, e.g. mole crabs, mussels and ghost crabs are used as food or bait. Vehicles on beaches kill beach creatures, compact the sand, destroy burrows and, at high tide, drivers trying to avoid the incoming tide damage the dunes. Popular bathing beaches may be so disturbed that no sign of animal or plant life remains.
Name ______TEACHER COPY______Period ______Date ______
Chapter 7 NOTES – AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS - Use the classroom or online notes to fill in the empty spaces.
MARINE AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS – PART II
Ecosystem / Freshwater (F) orSaltwater (S) / Characteristics / Plants and Some of Their Adaptations / Animals and Some of Their Adaptations / Threats
Coral Reefs / S / Warm, clear, shallow ocean habitats limestone ridges built by tiny coral animals called coral polyps and the algae that live in them; coral polyps secrete limestone or calcium carbonate which slowly accumulates over time and form coral reefs; thousands of species of plants and animals live in the cracks; most diverse ecosystem on Earth / Mangroves and sea grasses or angiosperms which grow near coral reefs and provide food for the diverse population that lives in the coral reef and protection from larger predators / Sponges, nudibranchs, fish (like Blacktip Reef Sharks, groupers, clown fish, eels, parrotfish, snapper, and scorpion fish), jellyfish, anemones, sea stars; crustaceans (like crabs, shrimp, and lobsters), turtles, sea snakes, snails; mollusks (like octopuses, nautilus, and clams). Birds also feast on coral reef animals.
Types of Corals: There are two types of coral, hard coral and soft coral. Hard corals (like brain coral and elkhorn coral) have hard, limestone skeletons which form the basis of coral reefs. Soft corals (like sea fingers and sea whips) do not build reefs. / Fragile ecosystems that are sensitive to temperature change, muddy waters, pollution; coral bleaching is when corals turn white causing most of the animals to leave or die; global warming, oil spills, and polluting runoff from human activities
Over 75% of coral reefs are threatened
Oceans / S / Shallow oceans provide rich nutrients for ocean organisms; ocean surfaces are home for many organisms such as plankton which is the primary producer in the ocean; deep ocean waters have no light so most organisms that live down there depend on food that drifts down / Shallow oceans: Seaweed, algae, anemone; ocean surface: plankton; deep ocean waters: none
Open ocean waters have the fewest organisms of all aquatic ecosystems. / The ocean supports a host of animals in and around its shores. This includes fish, shrimps, lobsters, crabs, barnacles, jelly fish, corals, sea anemones, octopus, squids, cuttle fish, nautilus, clams, oysters, scallops, mussels, snails, slugs, sponges, star fish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, eels, puffers, blow fish, porcupine fish, seahorses, pipe fish, sea dragons, sea turtles, sharks, rays, dolphins, whales, manatees, dugongs, penguins, puffins, walrus, seals, sea lions, and sea otters. / Pollution from human activities on land include runoff from fertilized fields, waste from cities and industries, fertilizers, sewage runoff, overfishing, accidental trapping of mammals that breathe air caught in fishing nets, and global warming