Aquatic biomes Flashcards
How much ocean of Earth’s surface?
75%
How much of the Earth’s surface do freshwater ecosystems cover?
Less than 1%
Roughly how many species of fish?
33,000
Half in ocean and half in freshwater
Lakes and seas are divided into zones according to what?
- Light penetration
- Proximity to shore
- Bottom vs water column
Why is photosynthesis limited ti top layer of water?
And what is that layer called?
- Light doesn’t penetrate through water well
- Photic zone
What is below the photic zone?
Aphotic zone
What is the name of the zone in lakes and the sea that contains everything living along the bottom?
Benthic zone
Lakes that are near shore zone are called?
Literal Zone
Deeper area = limnetic zone
Sea shore zone are called?
Neritic zone
deeper area = Oceanic zone
Freshwater biomes
Lakes/wetlands/swamps/rivers/streams
- Associated with all terrestrial biomes
- Vegetation sticking out = wetland/swamps
- No vegetation = lakes
- Flowing/current = river/stream
Estuaries
- Transition between river and sea
- Influenced by tide
- Variation in temp, depth
- Important breeding/nursery habitat for marine species
Intertidal zones
- periodically exposed and submerged twice a day
- organisms dry or wet
- zonation from upper to lower shore
- amount of exposure from air and sea that determine these donations
Ocean pelagic zone
- largest aquatic biome
- Phytoplankton (algae) makes up 50% of global photosynthesis
- Oceanic deserts = low productivity due to lack of iron etc
- Algal blooms from iron fertilisation from weathered rocks in oceans
Coral reefs
- Tropical forests of oceans
- High biodiversity
- Photic zones of tropical marine environments (near islands)
- clear water and good light penetration
- Sensitive to climate change - bleaching
- Corals = colonial animals
Where does a coral’s colour come from?
Symbiotic algae that live in their tissue and photosynthesise
provides coral with nutrition
