1. AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
Temperature & Light are major abiotic factors that influence life
BENTHOS…bottom dwellers
NEKTON…free swimmers
PLANKTON…floaters (mostly microscopic)
PELAGIC…open water

2. FRESHWATER ECOSYTEM Ponds, lakes, rivers, streams
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE LIFE:
Moving vs. still
Photic vs. aphotic
Amount of oxygen, nutrirents
Temperature variations
COMMON ORGANISMS
Cattails, algae
Fish, turtles, crayfish, aquatic insects

3. WETLANDS Swamps, marshes, estuaries,
(and any area that has water on it as some time of year!) 
Considered wastelands;
HOWEVER….highly productive and important
*home to many species & migratory stops
(including many endangered)
*game fish/seafood industry
*trap carbon dioxide (photosynthesis)
*control flooding
*commercially important products
(blueberries, peat moss)
Mangrove trees, reeds, grasses
Insects, birds, amphibians, reptiles

4. ESTUARY Where salt water and fresh water mix Highly productive
Relatively shallow
Nursery grounds
feeding & hunting grounds
Lots of grasses, algae
Fish, dolphins, seals, sharks, oysters, barnacles, birds, insects

5. MARINE ECOSYSTEMS Oceans, salt lakes
Major abiotic factor that influences life here: SALINITY
Also, light, temp, oxygen, nutrients
Algae (phytoplankton)
Fish, sharks, shellfish, whales, octopus, crabs, shrimp