Standing-Water EcosystemsThere are two main categories of freshwater ecosystems

What is the main difference between these two ecosystems?

• Standing water v. flowing-water ecosystems• Standing water—staying still, not moving• Flowing-water ecosystems—MOVING water– Organisms living in flowing water ecosystems have

special adaptations. WHY? What are the challenges associated with living in a flowing water ecosystem?

• Classify the following as standing or flowing water ecosystems– Pond --stream– river --lake– Swamp

Types of standing-water ecosystems

• Lake—the deepest type, main producers are phytoplankton (floating algae)

• Pond—More Shallow (less deep) than lakes. Main producers are plants that grow on the bottom

• Marsh—VERY shallow, saturated (wet) soil, low oxygen in water, Plants that have roots on the bottom come out on the top (emergent). Mostly grasses.

• Swamp—Shallow like a marsh, with oxygen poor soil (anoxic) but dominant vegetation is trees

• Bog—Inland wetland with little movement of water in or out. Slow decomposition. Sphagnum moss is the dominant organism.

• Plankton is any organisms that drift in the water.

• Phytoplankton are like plants in that they carry out photosynthesis. (The prefix phyto means plant)

• Zooplankton are like animals in that they cannot carry out photosynthesis, and are heterotrophs. (The prefix zoo means animal.

What are the types of wetlands that we’ve talked about?

• Wetlands are ecosystems in which the roots of plants are submerged under water at least part of the year.

• Emergent plants—roots are under the water but tops are out of the water

Benefits of Wetlands

• Wetlands can have fresh or brackish water. What does that mean? They can have only standing water or some flowing water.

• Wetlands are an endangered ecosystem because people don’t typically see as much value in them. They aren’t traditional places of recreation.

• Sometimes they stink like methane, or are full of insects

• BUT, wetlands act as natural filters, and breeding and resting grounds for aquatic organisms and waterfowl