Aquatic Biomes Flashcards
what is included in freshwater biomes?
streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes
why are freshwater biomes vital resources?
they provide drinking water
what is included in marine biomes?
coral reefs, oceans, marshland, and estuaries
why are marine biomes important?
algae in marine biomes supply a large portion of the earth’s oxygen and take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
why does the global distribution of nonmineral marine natural resources vary?
some combination of salinity, depth, turbidity, nutrient availability, and temperature
what varies among marine biomes?
the global distribution of nonmineral marine natural resources such as different types of fish
what are the characteristics of aquatic biomes?
salinity, flow, depth, and temperature
what is salinity?
how much salt there is in a body of water
what does salinity determine in aquatic biomes?
which species can survive and the usability for drinking (fresh water vs estuary vs ocean)
what does depth influence in aquatic biomes?
how much sunlight can penetrate and reach plants below the surface for photosynthesis
what does flow determine in aquatic biomes?
which plants and organisms can survive and how much oxygen can dissolve into the water
what does temperature determine in aquatic biomes?
how many organisms can survive
warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen so it can support fewer aquatic organisms
why do rivers have high oxygen?
their flow mixes water and air
rivers have high levels of:
oxygen
what makes deltas and flood plains fertile soil?
rivers have high flow which carries nutrient rich sediments
what are lakes? why are they significant?
lakes are standing bodies of freshwater and a key drinking water source
what is the littoral zone of a body of water?
shallow water with emergent plants (taller than surroundings, grow out of water ex. reeds)
what is the limnetic zone of a body of water?
where light can reach, photosynthesis occurs
no rooted plants, only phytoplankton
what is the profundal zone of a body of water?
too deep for sunlight, so no photosynthesis
what is the benthic zone of a body of water?
murky bottom where inverts (aka invertebrates) like bugs live, nutrient-rich sediments
what is a wetland?
an area with soil submerged/saturated in water for at least part of the year, but shallow enough for emergent plants