1. Aquatic Ecosystems Determining factors:
Depth (limits amount of sunlight and distance to nutrients)
Flow (affects floating organisms and moves nutrients
Chemical composition (salinity)
Latitude (affects the temperature and density of the water)

2. Freshwater Ecosystems
Flowing water Ecosystem
Rivers, Streams & Creeks
High concentration of oxygen with little plant life

3. Freshwater Ecosystems
Standing water ecosystem
Lakes and ponds
Recharge and discharge from streams, creeks, and rain brings nutrients
Wind circulates nutrients
Phytoplankton and algae form the base for the food chain

4. Freshwater Ecosystems
Wetland
Bogs, swamps, and marshes
Seasonal, shallow breeding grounds for insects, fishes, and migratory birds
Water is fresh, salt, or brackish (mixture)

5. Estuaries Estuaries occur where rivers meet the sea.
Salt marsh… temperate zone estuary
Mangrove swamp… widespread through tropical regions (HI & Florida)
Water is a mix
Contain an very large amount of detritus nutrients
Is able to support a very large biomass

6. Marine Ecosystem
Separated into the photic and aphotic zones

7. Marine Ecosystem
Divisions based on depth

8. Intertidal Zone
Submerged part of the day and exposed to air part of the day
Many of the permanent population attach to and live in rocks

9. Coastal Ocean
Neritic Zone…Extends from the low-tide mark to the continental shelf (includes the coral reefs)
Lies mostly in the photic zone
Supports a great amount of sea life
Location of the kelp forests

10. Open Ocean Zones Pelagic (surface) and Benthic (deeper)
Largest marine zone (~90% of surface water)
Depth 500m to ~11000m
Most of the photosynthesis on Earth occurs here but primary productivity is low
Deeper areas are cold, dark, and under extreme pressures (~30ft = 1atm of pressure)