Freshwater Ecology Flashcards
Lentic System
An aquatic ecosystem that includes different forms of standing water.Examples: Lake, pond, bog, marsh, swamp, oxbow reservior, and playa lake.
Lotic system
An aquatic system that includes different forms of running water. Examples include rivers, streams and creeks
Lake
A large body of water where light penetration can be anywhere from several inches to many feet.Characteristics:
* Large and deep
* Water temperature causes layering during summer months
Texas;
* Texas only has ONE natural lake Caddo Lake
* The rest of the major lakes are reservoirs
Pond
A smaller, shallower body of water where light penetrates all the way to the bottom.Characteristics:
- Light penetrates to the bottom
- Shallower and smaller
- Tends to have uniform temperatures
BogPicture: Texas
A bog occurs when peat is formed in poorly drained areas. Small plants and moss characterize this habitat.
Marsh
A lentic system characterized by grasses and sedges.
Swamp
A lentic system that is characterized by trees such as cypress.Example: Caddo Lake
Oxbow Lake
These snake-like loops are cut off from the rest of the river and forms a long, narrow, crescent or U shaped lake.
Reservoir
A man-made lake used to store water. Most lakes in Texas are reservors. A reservoir is an artifical lake formed by the construction of a dam.Caddo Lake is Texas’s only natural lake.
Playa Lake
A desert lake that is periodically filled with water. Animals that live in the playa lake have adapted to the intermitent rain. Once the lake fills with water they must hatch, grow, mate and breed before the water evaporates.
Littoral Zone
The littoral zone is the vegetation area closest to the shore
Lemnitic Zone
The open water area of a lake or pond.
Profundal Zone
The profundal zone is the bottom area of lake. A place where light does not penetrate.
Succession
Succession is the natural aging of lakesand ponds. Overtime, sediment washes into a lake and starts to fill it up. As the lake becomes shallower, more plants grow around the edges of the lake. Given enough time the lake can fill in.Bogs, swamps and marshes can be considered the final stages of succession(climax communities) OR it can fill up completly and bcome a meadow.
Substrate
Rocks, logs, sediment are objects that other organims can attach themselves to, or sit upon
Sediment
Sediment is classified by the size of the particles. (smallest to largest)Examples: Silt, clay, pebbles, gravel, cobbles, bolders
Emergent Plants
Plants that are rooted witht he lower portion submerged and growing near the shore:Example: Bulrush
Free-floating plants
These plants float on the surface of the water and have “water” roots. The roots hang in the water and are not in the sediment.
Floating Plant
Floating plants have leaves and flowers on the surface and their roots are in the sediment.Example: Water Lily
Submerged Plants
Submerged plants are rooted plants with nearly all leaves below the surface.Example: Coontail
What is the euphotic zone?
The upper layer of the lake where light penetrates
What is productivity?
Productivity is related to the amount of plants, animals and nutrients in the waterLimiting factor: plant nutrients (nitrgen and phosphorus in a lake are important in limiting growth of planktonic algae and other vegetationThree major categories of lakes based on productivity:
- Oligotrophic
- Mesotrophic
- Eutrophic
What are the characteristics of an “oligotrophic” lake?
An oligotrophic lake is a body of water:
* low in mineral nutrients
* low plant and plankton populations
* little organic material in the sediments
* low chlorphyll a levels ( means low plants)
HINT: The “O” in oligotrophic reminds you this is LOW in nutrients.
What is a mesotrophic lake?
A mesotrophic lake is a body of water with MODERATE amounts of nutrients.It is a transition stage from Oligotrophic to EutrophicHINT: The “M” for mesotrophic stands for MODERATE
What is a eutrophic lake?
A eutrophic lake, pond, river or stream is one that is highly productive. That means it has a lot of plants animals and nutrients.Characteristics:
- High levels of plants
- Water color - green and turbid High levels of chlorphyll a
What is a thermocline?
A thermocline is an area where there is a rapid decrease in temperature- approximately on 1 degree Celcius per each meter of depthIt is found in the metalimnion areaFor test purposes we will describe it as the “interface between warm and cold water”Reminder:
* Warm water is much lighter than cold water .
* Cold water tends to sink to the bottom of the lake
* This causes layering of different water temperatures
What is hypolimnion?
Hypolimnion is the dark, cold, oxygen-poor layer of a lake or reservoir that extends from the thermocline to the bottom of the lake.
What is a fall overturn?
Fall overturn: When air temperatures start to cool in the fall, the water temperature also starts to fall. The water temperature on the surface cools to the point that it is closer to the lower lake temperatures. This means that the water is becoming more dense. Winds cause the mixing of the surface and bottom layers of the water.Surface layers sink to the bottom and bottom layer move to the surface. As water sinks from the surface it brings oxygen to the bottom layers. As water moves from the bottom up it brings nutrients to the upper layers.
What is monomictic?
One lake overturn (mono means 1)Texas has 1 overturn
What is dimictic?
Dimictic means 2 overturns (di - means 2)
What is a producer?
Producers make their own food. They are called plants or autotrophs.
What is a primary consumer?
A primary consumer eats plants.
What is a secondary consumer?
A secondary consumer uses other organisms.
What is a lotic system?
A lotic system is running water. It includes rivers, streams and creeks.
What is the erosional zone?
The erosional zone is found on the OUTER edge of a river. Water moves faster in the erosional zone. This is the area where sediment is eroded from the bank.
What is the depositional zone?
The depositional zone if found on the INNER banck of a river. The water moves slower here and sediment falls out of the water. This sediment is deposited on the river bed and sand bars are formed.
What is a riffle?
A riffle is a shallow portion of a river or stream extending across the stream bed. It is characterized by relatively fast moving turbulent water. As water moves over rocks on the stream bed, it causes more water to come in contact with the atmosphere. Waterin a riffle is highly oxygenated.
What is a bar?
A sand bar forms when water slows dow and drops its sediment load. This is found in the depositional zone.
What is a pool?
A pool is an area of stream or river that is relatively deep and wide with slow moving water. This calm area within a stream is characterized by finesediment on the bottom.
One lake overturn is?
monomictic
An area of fast running water that is highly oxygenated
Riffle
A lake that is low in plants, animals and nutrients.Eutrophic, Mesotrophic or Oligotrophic?
Oligotrophic
Two lake overturns?
Dimictic
An area of the water where light penetrates
Euphotic
Water striders or other organisms that skate across the surface of the water,
NeustonHelp: It is a nuisanceon the surface
Organims that can swim against the current
NektonHint: Fish
Organisms that attach themselves to a substrate
PeriphytonHelp: Fights to hang on
A large body of water where light does not usually penetrate to the bottom
Lake
Running water
Lotic system
Standing water
Lentic