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Aquatic EnvironmentMarineFresh water

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Estuaries

A coastal body of water surrounded by land with access to the open ocean

Also referred to as a “Salt water marsh”

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Estuaries

Fed by fresh water rivers and streams.

What is included in the mouth of our rivers and

streams?

Salinity changes based on precipitation

and tides.

When the fresh water leaves the land and mixes with the

marine environment the water is not as salty … it is

known as Brackish water

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Estuaries

Among the most fertile in the world!

➢Tidal action keeps nutrients mixed and removes

waste

➢Wash of nutrients from land empty here

➢Shallow water allows for abundance of light to

the bottom

➢Roots of plants trap detritus matter

AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

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Estuaries

Nursery for Oceanic food web

Zydeco Iris Garden

✓Presence of many plants

✓Many fin fishes, shell fish and crustacean spend

their larval stages here

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Estuaries

Why would some consider an estuary Ecologically sensitive!

Dang alligator got my fish – I was not about to let him have my stringer!

Sabine Reserve, Louisiana

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Estuaries

Mangrovetropical equivalent to estuaries

Lagoon on Kauai, Hawaii

30th anniversary trip

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Estuaries

70% of coast line

Root systems assist in:

➢Preventing erosion

➢Provide a barrier against storms

National Ocean Service

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Open Ocean

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Hydrosphere

Divided into➢Intertidal

➢Benthic

➢Pelagic:✓Neritic Province

✓Oceanic Province

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Benthic Environment

Consists of sand and mud

Shallow waters consist of:

Kelp forest

Seaweed beds

Coral reefs

Marine Studies

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Coral reefs

are often nutrient poor!

Considered to be the most diverse of all marine

environments

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Neritic Province

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Neritic Province

shallow marine environment extending from mean low water down to

200-metre (660-foot) depths, generally corresponding to

the continental shelf

(Encyclopedia Britannica)

Also known as the Photic Zone

Explore.org

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Oceanic Province

Maui photographer guide

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Oceanic ProvincePart of the ocean that covers the deep ocean basin

Largest marine environment

75% of Earth’s water is in this zone

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Oceanic Province

Characterized by

Cold temps

High hydrostatic pressure

Aphotic

Humpback

All of these conditions are constant throughout the year

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Oceanic Province

Occupied by filter feeders, scavengers and predators

Some invertebrates reach great size:

Giant squid reaches up to 43 feet (13 meters)

Location of thermal vents and ecosystems

supported by high pressure, high temps, and

acidic water

Under water thermal vent

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The Abyssal

• Area of the ocean where the temp is cold

• And the pressure is extreme

The average depth of the ocean is 12,080.7 feet (3,682.2 meters)

The deepest part of the ocean is 35,838 feet (10,928 meters)

Paleo

2020

Inland WatersFresh water environment

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Fresh water environment

➢Characterized by three Zones

➢Littoral

➢Limnetic

➢Profundal

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Title 3

Littoral zone:

Shallow water areas along shore line this is the most productive zone of the lake

Limnetic zone:

Open water away from the littoral zone.

Depth is as far as the light will penetrate

Profundal zone

Non photo layer

No algae or other plants

Decomposition area

Mineral rich and oxygen deficient

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Thermal StratificationMarked layering of temperatures at different depths

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Thermal Stratification

• In summer cool water stays at bottom.

• In fall – as temps cool mixing occurs, causing the water at the bottom to rise in the water column bringing the nutrients with it.

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Thermal Stratification

In Spring:

as ice melts the water reaches 40C.

Surface water sinks to the bottom and bottom water rises to the surface

again.

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Thermal Stratification

• This will cause the water to have a “smell” and a different “taste” to it.

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References

Reese, J., Campbell, N.A. (2005). Biology (7th edition).

San Francisco, CA: Pearson Benjamin Cummings

DeSalle, R., Heithaus, M.R. (2008).

Orlando, FL: Holt Reinhart and Winston

Postlethwait, J. H., Hopson,J.L. (2006). Modern Biology.

Orlando, FL: Holt Reinhart and Winston

Cosmos magazine: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1954189/posts

Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/science/neritic-zone

Explore.org: chrome-extension://bbjllphbppobebmjpjcijfbakobcheof/false

Fact Zoo: https://www.factzoo.com/mammals/cetacea-marine-mammals.html

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References

Marine Studies: http://www.rain.org/campinternet/channelhistory/kelp/

Maui photographer guide: http://www.mauiphotographerguide.com/Gallery/douglashoffman_uw/pages/manta%201_BW.htm

National Ocean Service: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/mangroves.html

Ocean: https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/giant-squid

Paleo: http://paleo.cc/ce/wbrown.htm

Zydeco Iris Garden: http://www.zydecoirises.com/Species/Giganticaerulea/WildGCs.htm