Freshwater Ecosystems

(lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams)

Plants

Pond and Lake plants (float on top)1. Algae2. Water lilies3. Duck weed

Pond and Lake plants—grow on the shoreline

• Reeds• Cattails

Functions of Freshwater Plants

• provide oxygen through photosynthesis and food for animals in this ecosystem

• their leaves also capture small bits of organic matter which are dragged by the water current

• help filter the water regulating some harmful chemicals

• provide shelter to smaller fish• used as substrate to place eggs of an organism

Producers, consumers, or decomposers?

Freshwater Animals—Producers, consumers, or decomposers?

*Most common are extremely small animals such as cladoceran, otherwise known as water fleas—feed on blue green algae which is common in

freshwater ecosystems, other animals feed on the flea.*Amphibians such as salamanders thrive in freshwater*Otters

Saltwater Ecosystems

(include oceans, salt marsh and intertidal ecology, estuaries and lagoons, mangroves and coral reefs, the deep sea and the sea floor)

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea.

• Plants modify coastal ecosystems by trapping sediments, slowing down currents, producing food, and giving shelter to organisms.

*Eelgrass--This plant helps to stabilize the bottom with its roots, allowing organisms such as Crabs and Lobsters to move around on it. Accumulations of dead Eelgrass are often found along beaches, enriching other ecosystems.

In the early 1930s an epidemic destroyed close to 90 per cent of Eelgrass beds along the Atlantic coast, seriously affecting the organisms that were associated with them. Brant (a type of goose) rely on Eelgrass as food during migration, and were greatly reduced in numbers. Brant and Eelgrass are still recovering to this day.

Estuary Plants

Estuary Animals

• Catfish, sheepshead, silver perch and grouper

• Spiny lobsters

Ocean Plants--FYI

• Coral is NOT a plant.• Two types: rooted and drifting• Rooted plants only in shallow water• Most of the ocean is not capable of

supporting rooted plants (lack of sun)

Ocean Plants• most abundant plants in

the ocean are known as phytoplankton

• single-celled, minute floating plants that drift throughout the surface waters of the ocean

• To grow, phytoplankton need nutrients from the sea water and lots of sunlight

Ocean Animals—A Breakdown

The ocean food web:

Marine animals are divided into three groups: zooplankton (those that float), nekton (those that actively swim) and benthos (those that live on or in the ocean bottom).

Ocean Animals

• The jellyfish and the Portuguese man-of-war are examples of larger types of zooplankton which are unable to propel themselves effectively and are therefore at the mercy of either wind or current.

• Nekton are the free swimmers and probably the largest portion of familiar animals found in the ocean belong to this class. Common fishes, the octopus, whales, eels and squid are nekton.

• The third type of sea animal spends its entire life on or in the ocean bottom. This group of marine animals is called the benthos. It includes lobsters, starfish, various worms, snails, oysters and many more.

Pacific Northwest —Coastal Rain EcosystemPlants

***Moss-draped trees and forest floors are the essence of the coastal rain forest where rainfall often exceeds 140 inches annually. Here trees are of truly massive size. The world’s largest living spruce, the Queets Sitka Spruce is found in Washington’s coastal rain forest along with several other close contenders for the title.

***While everything seems draped and bedded in moss, big-leaf maples and vine maples are common hosts to a plethora of epiphytes (plants which grow on plants) including mosses, lichens, and even little ferns like the licorice fern.

Pacific Northwest-Animals• Grizzly bears• Salmon• Marbled Murrelet—nests

in the trees at night and feeds in the ocean during the day

Tropical Rainforest--Plants

• Strangler Fig:– One of the most important– Figs bear fruit several times a year

• S -In some forests up to 70% of its animal's diets depend on figs, and the number of fruit-eaters determines the number of predators predators of fruit-eaters.

Bougainvillea: very abundant/not at allendangered—since it is vine like, it canspread quickly, doesn’t have seeds, no insects, and thorns protect it.

Tropical Rainforest--Animals• Chimpanzee (endangered): For the most part, chimps forage on the

ground. While searching for food, troops will move around their territory, never staying long in one place. This allows the vegetation to recover before the chimps return to the area again. They do not compete for food with monkeys, who forage mostly in the canopy.

Jambu Fruit Dove (threatened)Golden Lion Tamarin (most

endangered mammal in the world)--their predators consist of poachers, snakes, ocelots, bamboo rats, wild dogs, and

owls—nest high in the canopy with their families.

Grasslands

North American Prairie--Plants

Big Bluestem Grass —also called Turkey Feet

(can get to be 12 inches long and 1/2 inch wide )

has very deep roots-- This kept the wind that constantly blows on the prairie from blowing away the dirt. When settlers plowed the big bluestem grass there was nothing to keep the dirt from blowing away. That is how the dust bowl disaster of the 1930s began.

Stinging Nettle--The stinging sensation is caused by formic acid which covers the tiny

hairs of the plant.

North American Prairie--Animals

•

The graceful pronghorn antelope is another staple resident of the North American prairie. Also well suited to prairie life, the pronghorn can run up to 60 mph thanks to their long legs, enlarged heart  and wide trachea. They also have powerful vision and can spot a predator from two miles away.

These mammoth herbivores are well suited to the cold winters of the prairie, with their large sizes and warm coat. They roam in large herds and protect their young by encircling them during threats.

Pronghorn Antelope Buffalo

Desert

• http://www.neok12.com/Deserts.htm

• http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/desert.htm

http://www.neok12.com/php/watch.php?v=zX0571505e0e7b725a057602&t=Deserts

Tundra/Arctic

• http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/tundra.htm