Download Oceans and Freshwater Ecosystems

Oceans and Freshwater
Ecosystems
The Aquatic Biome
● Water makes up the largest part of the biosphere,
covering about 75% of the Earth’s surface!
● The aquatic biome is broken down into 2 basic areas:
Freshwater and Marine
The Freshwater Biome
● Freshwater areas have very low salt
concentrations (less than 1%).
● There are different types of freshwater
regions including: ponds and lakes,
streams and rivers, and wetlands.
Freshwater zones
● Freshwater biomes have different “zones” that are
determined by the distance from the shore as well as
the depth (or how much sunlight the area is able to
get)
○ LITTORAL ZONE- closest to the shore and can
absorb the most sun
○ LIMNETIC ZONE- open water near the surface
○ PROFUNDAL ZONE- deep water
Marine Biomes
● The marine biome is the largest of all the
ecosystems and contains oceans, coral
reefs, and estuaries.
● Marine algae is extremely important as it
supplies much of the world’s oxygen and
takes in a large amount of atmospheric
carbon dioxide
Oceans
● The oceans are the largest of all the
ecosystems.
● They, like freshwater, are divided into separate
zones.
○ INTERTIDAL ZONE- where the ocean meets
the land
○ PELAGIC ZONE- open waters away from the
land
○ BENTHIC ZONE- below the top of the water,
but does not reach the deepest parts.
○ ABYSSAL ZONE- deepest part of the ocean
So why do we care?
● Each “zone” in the different biomes
contains different plants and animals
based on their needs.
● These biomes are also prone to dealing
with overuse, such as overfishing.
So what?
Why should we care about overfishing?
● The aquatic biomes are home to the vast
majority of our invertebrates.
○ Killing off invertebrates could seriously
affect the rest of the food chain in very
negative ways.
http://video.nationalgeographic.
com/video/why-ocean-matters