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Water Biomes:
Recognized by characteristics such as depth,
movement, amounts of nutrients, oxygen and
salt.
Include: Marine and Freshwater Biomes
Marine Biome:
The oceans and seas make up the marine biome,
which covers over 70% of the Earth.
Very salty water – organisms must be adapted to
high amounts of salt
Contains many smaller ecosystems that support a
wide variety of organisms
Marine Ecosystems:
Coral Reefs: An example of a marine ecosystem.
Found in warm shallow marine water
Provide food and shelter for many organisms
Sometimes called the “rainforests” of the oceans as they are
the homes of many organisms
Intertidal Zone:
Most marine organisms can be found near the
shores or the surface of the oceans.
The area of the shore that the ocean covers at high tide and
leaves at low tide.
Organisms must be able to survive in the salty water, live both
underwater and in air, tolerate changes in temperature, and
withstand the force of the waves.
Examples: Worms and clams burrow under
the sand; mussels and barnacles attach
themselves to rocks.
Open Ocean:
As you move away from the intertidal zone, the
sea floor (called the Benthic zone) is always
under water.
However, there are different conditions at
different depths.
The amount of light, temperature, and pressure
changes as you go deeper into the ocean.
At, and near, the surface of the ocean, which
gets the most sunlight, organisms can use the
energy from the sun to carry out
photosynthesis. Called the Photic Zone.
Example: Tiny photosynthetic algae and other
organisms in water are know as plankton.
Plankton are the food source for tiny animals,
some types of fish and even whales
Open Ocean: Continued
Down deeper, there is little or no sunlight,
higher pressure and lower temperature.
Animal adaptations – some have the ability to glow.
It may use this to attract prey or a signal to mate.
Some organisms use chemicals to make their food
(chemosynthesis)
Open Ocean: Continued
Others feed on material that drifts down from
above or feed on other deep ocean organisms.
Freshwater Biome:
Little or no salt in the water
Example: Rivers and Streams Ecosystems
Freshwater Biome: Continued
Rivers and streams are formed by running
waters from precipitation or melting snow.
Other Examples:
Lakes and Ponds Ecosystems
Are still waters that collect in low areas
Organisms are adapted to living in water with
little or no salt and changing levels of nutrients
and oxygen.
There are different amounts of water
movement.
Estuary Ecosystem: the boundary between
freshwater and marine biomes.
Rivers and Streams Ecosystems:
Water can move very quickly
Organisms have to be adapted to prevent them
from being carried away by the moving water.
Ex. Mosses and tine shelled animals attach
themselves to rock or burrow into the soil.
Other organisms, like fish, swim and control
their movement through rivers and streams.
Rushing water tends to have more oxygen than
still water because of the swirling and splashing
of the rushing water mixing oxygen from the air
into the river or stream.
Nutrients are washed into the rivers and
streams from the land. They are carried
downstream.
Slower rivers and streams often have less
oxygen and more nutrients.
Lakes and Ponds Ecosystems
Rivers and streams can empty into a lake or pond.
Ponds are usually smaller and more shallow than
lakes.
Sunlight is often able to reach the bottom.
Photosynthetic organisms are able to grow providing
food for other organisms.
Lakes tend to be large and deeper bodies of water.
Plankton may be able to only get enough light to grow
near the surface of a lake.
Plants may be able to grow in the shallow water near
the shore.
Amounts of oxygen and nutrients vary in lakes.
Fish, frogs and many types of birds can be found in or
near lakes and ponds.
Estuary Ecosystem:
Where rivers and streams meet the ocean, there
is a mixing of salty water with fresh water.
The boundary between freshwater and marine
ecosystems.
Nutrients carried by rivers and streams empty
into the estuary.
Plants are able to grow providing food and
shelter for many organisms.
The young of many fish mature before heading
out into the ocean.
Many sea birds also build their nests and raise
their young here.