Aquatic Ecosystems
What are the two types of aquatic ecosystems?
freshwater and marine
What are the mass of mostly microscopic organisms that float or drift freely in the water, and can be microscopic animals called zooplankton or microscopic plants called phytoplankton?
plankton
Humans intentionally create artificial ones by damming flowing rivers and streams to use them for power, irrigation, water storage, and recreation.
lakes
What are the two main types of freshwater wetlands?
marshes and swamps
What is a shallow zone in a freshwater habitat where light reaches the bottom and nurtures plants and aquatic life is diverse and abundant.
littoral zone
What determines the type of organisms is an aquatic ecosystem?
water's salinity
What are all organisms that swim actively in open water, independent of currents?
Nekton
What is a shallow zone in a freshwater habitat where light reaches the bottom and nurtures plants and aquatic life is diverse and abundant?
littoral zone
What is the largest freshwater wetlands are located in the United States?
Florida Everglades
In and near the headwater, mosses anchor themselves to rocks by using rootlike structures calledwhat?
rhizoids
What two factors determine how organisms are grouped in aquatic ecosystems?
location and their adaptation
What are bottom-dwelling organisms of the sea or ocean and are often attached to hard surfaces?
benthos
What is the region near the bottom of a pond, lake or ocean which is inhabited by decomposers, insect larvae, and clams.
benthic zone
Which type of wetland is dominated by woody plants?
swamps
What is the region near the bottom of a pond, lake or ocean which is inhabited by decomposers, insect larvae, and clams?
benthic zone
What are four factors that determine which organisms live in which area of the water?
temperature, sunlight, oxygen, and nutrients
What are the three groups of aquatic ecosystems?
plankton, nekton, and benthos
What are the two vertical zones in a lake?
littoral and benthic
What type of marshes have slightly salty water?
Brackish
What happens to the oxygen level of a river as it flows down a mountain?
it decreases
What are the five types of freshwater ecosystems?
ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, and wetlands
What is another type of organism found in aquatic ecosystems?
decomposers
What are three things that can accelerate eutrophication in a lake?
sewage, fertilizers, or animal wastes
Wetlands act like filters or sponges that absorb and remove what from the water?
pollutants
Humans intentionally create artificial lakes by damming flowing rivers and streams to use them for what four things?
power, irrigation, water storage, and recreation