際際滷

際際滷Share a Scribd company logo

Freshwater Ecosystems

Download as PPT, PDF
Edelyn Cagas
Edelyn Cagas

Freshwater ecosystems include rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, and wetlands. They make up a small fraction of the Earth's total water but support a diversity of habitats and species. Rivers and streams flow with cold, oxygen-rich water and can broaden and slow downstream. Lakes and ponds differ in size, with ponds being smaller and sometimes seasonal. Wetlands, including marshes and swamps, act as filters to clean water and protect shorelines from erosion. Freshwater ecosystems face threats from pollution and development.

1 of 19
Downloaded 654 times
Freshwater Ecosystems Kinds Characteristics Threats
A fresh water ecosystem is an aquatic system that contains drinkable water or water of almost no salty content. It has habitats classified by different factors, including temperature, light penetration, and vegetation. Its resources include lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, reservoirs, wetlands as well as groundwater.
Kinds of freshwater habitats Rivers, streams Flowing freshwater Source: where it starts Mouth: where it ends Lakes, ponds Wetlands
All freshwater ecosystems Just a fraction of the Earths water .01% = one one-hundredth of one percent Occupy surface less than 1 percent of the Earths
Rivers and streams More than 3.5 million miles of rivers and streams - Just the U.S.! More than 140 times around the Earth. www.noaa.gov/str-plan/images/river.gif
Rivers A river is usually cold and full of oxygen and runs swiftly through a shallow riverbed. As a river flows down a mountain, a river may broaden, become warmer, wider, and slower, and decrease in oxygen.
Rivers Narrow headwaters Wide channels downstream
Lakes and ponds Whats the difference? Ponds typically smaller May be seasonalthat is, dry up part of the year Lakes exist hundreds or thousands of years But, even lakes can fill in or dry up
Parts of a lake
Parts of a lake Littoral zone: near shore Nutrient rich, lots of plant and animal life Warm Limnetic zone: near surface, open water Lots of light Lots of plankton Profundal zone: deeper, little light Benthic zone: the bottom, little light, low oxygen
Wetlands
Wetlands Are those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas."
Wetlands May be fresh or brackish Freshwater types include: Marsh Swamp Bog Fen
What good are wetlands? Help clean water by acting like a filter The plants and slow water flow in a wetland help remove pollutants, leaving water cleaner downstream in a lake or river. Too much pollution can leave a wetland toxic to visiting animals, such as many birds.
What good are wetlands? Protect shorelines from erosion Erosion in this case came from grazing animals
Marsh Most common freshwater wetland in U.S. Occur along streams or in depressions Characterized by organic, wet soils and non-woody (i.e., no trees) vegetation.
Marsh
Swamp Wetland dominated by woody plants Swamps occur on flat, poorly drained land often near streams.
Swamp

More Related Content

Freshwater Ecosystems

  • 2. A fresh water ecosystem is an aquatic system that contains drinkable water or water of almost no salty content. It has habitats classified by different factors, including temperature, light penetration, and vegetation. Its resources include lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, reservoirs, wetlands as well as groundwater.
  • 3. Kinds of freshwater habitats Rivers, streams Flowing freshwater Source: where it starts Mouth: where it ends Lakes, ponds Wetlands
  • 4. All freshwater ecosystems Just a fraction of the Earths water .01% = one one-hundredth of one percent Occupy surface less than 1 percent of the Earths
  • 5. Rivers and streams More than 3.5 million miles of rivers and streams - Just the U.S.! More than 140 times around the Earth. www.noaa.gov/str-plan/images/river.gif
  • 6. Rivers A river is usually cold and full of oxygen and runs swiftly through a shallow riverbed. As a river flows down a mountain, a river may broaden, become warmer, wider, and slower, and decrease in oxygen.
  • 8. Lakes and ponds Whats the difference? Ponds typically smaller May be seasonalthat is, dry up part of the year Lakes exist hundreds or thousands of years But, even lakes can fill in or dry up
  • 9. Parts of a lake
  • 10. Parts of a lake Littoral zone: near shore Nutrient rich, lots of plant and animal life Warm Limnetic zone: near surface, open water Lots of light Lots of plankton Profundal zone: deeper, little light Benthic zone: the bottom, little light, low oxygen
  • 12. Wetlands Are those areas that are inundated or saturated by surface or ground water at a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, a prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions. Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas."
  • 13. Wetlands May be fresh or brackish Freshwater types include: Marsh Swamp Bog Fen
  • 14. What good are wetlands? Help clean water by acting like a filter The plants and slow water flow in a wetland help remove pollutants, leaving water cleaner downstream in a lake or river. Too much pollution can leave a wetland toxic to visiting animals, such as many birds.
  • 15. What good are wetlands? Protect shorelines from erosion Erosion in this case came from grazing animals
  • 16. Marsh Most common freshwater wetland in U.S. Occur along streams or in depressions Characterized by organic, wet soils and non-woody (i.e., no trees) vegetation.
  • 17. Marsh
  • 18. Swamp Wetland dominated by woody plants Swamps occur on flat, poorly drained land often near streams.
  • 19. Swamp

Editor's Notes

  • #6: The miles of rivers and streams in the United States is equivalent to more than 140 times the circumference of the earth 140 trips around the equator. Identify some of the regional rivers and streams known by the students.