aquatic ecosystems
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Aquatic Ecosystems. Ch 7 & more Note: slides 1-27 apply to the Freshwater Unit 28-48 are for the Marine Unit. Aquatic Ecosystem Food Webs. plankton : tiny organisms that drift with the currents basis of all aquatic ecosystems Phytoplankton Autotrophs Algae Zooplankton - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Aquatic Ecosystems
Ch 7 & moreNote: slides 1-27 apply to the
Freshwater Unit28-48 are for the Marine Unit
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Aquatic Ecosystem Food Webs
• plankton: tiny organisms that drift with the currents
• basis of all aquatic ecosystems– Phytoplankton
• Autotrophs• Algae
– Zooplankton• Tiny animals or protozoa• Heterotrophs• Eat phytoplankton
http://www.lhup.edu/smarvel/Seminar/FALL_2000/Picking/Picking.htm
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Aquatic Ecosystem Food Webs• Nekton = Free-
swimming organisms– Fish, turtles, etc.
• Benthos = bottom-dwelling organisms– Mussels, worms,
barnacles, etc– Often are attached to
bottom surfaces
• Decomposers
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Freshwater vs. Saltwater
Salinity = the amount of salt in water•Salt water = marine ecosystems– Coastal ecosystems
• Estuaries• Salt marshes• Mangrove swamps• Barrier islands
– Coral reefs– Open ocean
•Freshwater = no salt – Ponds, lakes & rivers– Marshes and wetlands
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Ponds and lakes• No current• Levels are divided horizontally • by amount of light • and proximity to shore• LitLittoral zonetoral zone: (think light) – Lots of life– Near shore, rooted plants provide food– Off shore, phytoplankton are base
• BBenthic zoneenthic zone: Bottom– Decomposers (bacteria)– detrivores (eat small bits of organic matter on bottom)– Filter feeders
• Shrimp, clams, sponges, crabs etc.
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/photos/freshwater-plants-
animals/#/mexican-water-lilly_289_600x450.jpg
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Threats to Ponds and Lakes
Eutrophication (review)1. Excess nutrients enter
water2. Algae bloom,
overcrowd and die3. Bacteria decompose
algae, using up oxygen4. Other organisms die
for want of oxygen
http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/A-Bi/Algal-Blooms-in-Fresh-Water.html
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Prevention of Eutrophication (review)
Agricultural:• Buffer zones between farms and waterways• Control of runoff in areas of high manure
concentration• High tech fertilizer application (only as-needed)
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Eutrophication PreventionDomestic• Lawn-free landscaping
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Eutrophication Prevention
Domestic• Buy phosphate-free products
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Eutrophication Prevention
Domestic• Repair leaky sewer and septic systems
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Rivers
• Dissolved oxygen increases with current • Dissolved oxygen decreases with temperature
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Wastewater vs. StormwaterSources of wastewater:• Dishwasher• Washer• Sink• Shower• bathtub• Toilet• In short, anything that goes down the drainWastewater goes down sewer lines to a
wastewater treatment plant
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Wastewater vs. StormwaterStormwater• Water that collects outdoors and gets sent
into storm drains• Catch basins are design to collect this runoff
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RunoffCatch basins take much more than storm
water• Oils from cars• Industrial chemicals• Soil from construction sites• Nonpoint-source pollution – cannot be
traced back to any single source• Point source pollution: can be traced to
a specific source
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Stormwater runoff• Most stormwater goes directly to a
waterway
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Combined Sewer• Stormwater and wastewater use same system
of pipes and get run to water treatment plant
http://www.epa.ohio.gov/dsw/cso/csoindex.aspx
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Combined Sewer Overflow
• It works…until it rains hard• In heavy rains, the combined stormwater and
wastewater overflow and go directly to the waterways, polluting them
• CSO = combined sewer overflow
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Combined Sewer Overflow Treatment
• Extra waste water treatment plant at point where CSO runoff gets to waterway
• Stop-gapBetter solution:• Separate sewers and stormwater systems
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Permeability
• The ability to allow substances flow through• A permeable surface allows rain to percolate
(seep) into the ground.– Examples:• Grass or other plants• Gravel• Dirt• Ground cover like pine straw or wood chips
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Permeability
• Rain washes/flows over an impermeable (or impervious) surface and does not get absorbed into the ground.– Ex:• Rooftops, • roads, • parking lots
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Permeability
permeable impermeable
The more impermeable surfaces we have, the more runoff goes straight into the waterways and takes pollutants with it.
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WetlandsAreas of nearly constant moisture that contain great biodiversity
http://bio1152.nicerweb.com/Locked/media/ch52/aquatic-estuary.html
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Freshwater Wetlandstwo main types
Marshes• Mostly non-woody plants
such as grasses, reeds and cattails
Swamps• Dominated by trees and
shrubs
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Benefits of Wetlands
1. Filter pollutants2. Control flooding– Act as giant sponge, absorbing and slowing water as it
flows through
3. Buffer shorelines against erosion (absorb impact)4. Spawning grounds, migration stop and habitat
for:– commercially important shellfish and fish– Native species (some rare, endangered)
5. Recreation
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Wetlands: Human Impact • Less than ½ of original US wetlands remain• Causes of destruction include– Ports (remember, wetlands are usually in estuaries)– Development (NYC, Miami, Shanghai, New Orleans…etc)
– Dams, levees, canals, channels– Pollution from runoff and wastewater– Non-native plants and animals– Sanitary landfills– Mosquito control (drainage, channelization, poisoning)
• Channelization: digging channels/canals to drain land
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Wetlands: Human Impact
• Draining wetlands results in:– Loss of benefits stated earlier– Subsidence: ground sinks due to drying out– Salt water intrusion: as wetlands are drained,
saltwater seeps in from ocean• This is also a cause of further destruction (positive
feedback loop)
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Wetland Loss Solutions
• Mitigation program:– Creating wetlands in new areas to replace their
destruction for development (1983)– Mitigation bank: sells newly created wetlands to
developers who have to mitigate
• Disallow wetland destruction for agriculture (1985)
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Wetlands: Estuaries
• Wetlands are often found in estuaries: “where rivers meet the sea”– Large mostly flat areas – Salinity changes with tides• As tide comes in (gets higher),
salinity ↑• As tide goes out (gets lower),
salinity ↓
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Estuaries
• Nutrient mixing with tides• Salt water is ______ than fresh water• Heavier/denser• Due to tides and salt/fresh water mixing, nutrients
get “trapped” in estuaries.
http://www.wwu.edu/salishsea/estuary.shtml
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swamps
Saltwater swamps are mangroves Freshwater swamp
Trees have “knees” or buttresses, probably for support in mushy ground
http://inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/marine/mangrove/mangrove.htm
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Estuaries in Georgia
•
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Estuaries in Gulf of Mexico
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Barrier Islands
• Protect mainland and coastal wetlands
http://geology.rockbandit.net/2008/09/15/how-barrier-islands-such-as-galveston-work/
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Barrier islands take the brunt of storms
Tuesday, October 30, 2012Superstorm Sandy: TuesdayA Portion of Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island, New Jersey is underwater Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, a day after Hurricane Sandy blew across the New Jersey barrier islands.http://seattletimes.com/html/photogalleries/nationworld2019559529/
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Coral• Corals are invertebrate animals– Heterotrophs– Polyp = body of coral– Stinging cells take in tiny organisms as they drift by– Symbiotic relationship with algae called zooxanthellae
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Corals and Energy
“autotroph” by day• with help of zooxanthellae
Heterotroph by night
Because the corals rely on photosynthesis, they must live in clear shallow waters
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Corals – two types
• Soft Corals– NOT reef building– Include Sea fans and
feathers
• Hard Corals– Reef building– Add about ½ inch/year– Uses calcium carbonate
from water
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Coral Reefs• Coral reefs are the limestone (Calcium Carbonate)
structures hard corals build• Over thousands of years, each little animal’s
structure is added to the one below it
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Coral Reefs: Locations
Concentrated in the tropical latitudes
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Coral Reefs: Benefits
• On video– Support wide biodiversity (40% of marine species)• “tropical rain forest of the seas”
– Tourism & recreation– Medicines and cancer drugs – still being explored
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Coral Reefs: Threats• On video– Hurricanes (made worse by – Boats– Snorkelers/scuba divers touching corals– Tropical fish pets– Litter– Water quality decreasing
• Pollution (bacteria, viruses, fungi causing diseases)• Extra nutrients in water causing extra algae to grow,
blocking sunlight to zooxanthellae
– Changes in temperature due to global warming– Ocean levels rising, blocking sunlight
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Coral Bleaching
• Zooxanthellae provide the color in corals• When the zooxanthellae get ejected from
corals, they are left colorless, “bleached”
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Coral Reefs: Solutions• On video– Moorings for boats so that they don’t drop anchor on reefs– Education
• Instruct snorkelers and scuba divers on how NOT to disturb reefs• General Public awareness
– Beach cleanups– Decrease burning fossil fuels– Decrease use of fertilizers– Decrease pollutants (litter & other)– Repair and improve wastewater treatment
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Ocean Acidification- cause and effects• ↑ CO2 in atmosphere
• ↑ CO2 diffuses into water
• ↑ water acidity• ↓ available carbonate ions• ↓ reef building and health of pteropods and
other shell-building organisms• PS This happens in large lakes too.
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/story/What+is+Ocean+Acidification%3F
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Ocean Acidification – bottom line
• Reefs are directly affected by increased CO2 in atmosphere
• Entire ocean food web also in jeopardy due to increased CO2
http://theoceanproject.blogspot.com/2012/03/ocean-acidification-osteoporosis-of.html
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Biological Pump
– Algae use CO2 in photosynthesis
– This ↓ CO2 in the water
– That ↑ amount of CO2 diffusing into the water from the atmosphere
– Which ↓ the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere
– Win-win!
• CO2
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Solubility Pump• Which holds more CO2?
warm or cold Coke?
• S.P. = The idea that warm water holds less dissolved gas than cold water
• As ocean currents carry warm water to colder regions, the water absorbs more CO2 from the atmosphere
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Other Threats to Oceans
• Overfishing• eutrophication
• Garbage http://www.schooltube.com/video/c412e0e5292291dbd194/The-Great-Pacific-Garbage-Patch-Good-Morning-America