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Thefreshwaterbiome

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Onlineexhibits:Theworld'sbiomes

Thefreshwaterbiome
Freshwaterisdefinedashavingalowsalt
concentrationusuallylessthan1%.Plantsand
animalsinfreshwaterregionsareadjustedtothe
lowsaltcontentandwouldnotbeabletosurvivein
areasofhighsaltconcentration(i.e.,ocean).There
aredifferenttypesoffreshwaterregions:
Pondsandlakes
Streamsandrivers
Wetlands

Pondsandlakes

Theseregionsrangeinsizefromjustafewsquare
meterstothousandsofsquarekilometers.Scattered AlakeatAcadiaNationalPark,Maine.

throughouttheearth,severalareremnantsfromthe
Pleistoceneglaciation.Manypondsareseasonal,lastingjustacoupleofmonths(suchassessile
pools)whilelakesmayexistforhundredsofyearsormore.Pondsandlakesmayhavelimited
speciesdiversitysincetheyareoftenisolatedfromoneanotherandfromotherwatersourceslike
riversandoceans.Lakesandpondsaredividedintothreedifferentzoneswhichareusually
determinedbydepthanddistancefromtheshoreline.
Thetopmostzoneneartheshoreofalakeorpondisthelittoralzone.Thiszoneisthewarmest
sinceitisshallowandcanabsorbmoreoftheSun'sheat.Itsustainsafairlydiversecommunity,
whichcanincludeseveralspeciesofalgae(likediatoms),rootedandfloatingaquaticplants,
grazingsnails,clams,insects,crustaceans,fishes,andamphibians.Inthecaseoftheinsects,
suchasdragonfliesandmidges,onlytheeggandlarvaestagesarefoundinthiszone.The
vegetationandanimalslivinginthelittoralzonearefoodforothercreaturessuchasturtles,
snakes,andducks.

Fromleft:aviewacrossManzanitaLaketowardMt.Lassen,CaliforniaaforestpondnearDonnelly,IdahoaGreatBlue
HeronParanagatLake,southeasternNevada.

Thenearsurfaceopenwatersurroundedbythelittoralzoneisthelimneticzone.Thelimnetic
zoneiswelllighted(likethelittoralzone)andisdominatedbyplankton,bothphytoplanktonand
zooplankton.Planktonaresmallorganismsthatplayacrucialroleinthefoodchain.Without
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Thefreshwaterbiome

aquaticplankton,therewouldbefewlivingorganismsintheworld,andcertainlynohumans.A
varietyoffreshwaterfishalsooccupythiszone.
Planktonhaveshortlifespanswhentheydie,theyfallintothedeepwaterpartofthe
lake/pond,theprofundalzone.Thiszoneismuchcolderanddenserthantheothertwo.Littlelight
penetratesallthewaythroughthelimneticzoneintotheprofundalzone.Thefaunaare
heterotrophs,meaningthattheyeatdeadorganismsanduseoxygenforcellularrespiration.
Temperaturevariesinpondsandlakesseasonally.Duringthesummer,thetemperaturecanrange
from4Cnearthebottomto22Catthetop.Duringthewinter,thetemperatureatthebottom
canbe4Cwhilethetopis0C(ice).Inbetweenthetwolayers,thereisanarrowzonecalled
thethermoclinewherethetemperatureofthewaterchangesrapidly.Duringthespringandfall
seasons,thereisamixingofthetopandbottomlayers,usuallyduetowinds,whichresultsina
uniformwatertemperatureofaround4C.Thismixingalsocirculatesoxygenthroughoutthelake.
Ofcoursetherearemanylakesandpondsthatdonotfreezeduringthewinter,thusthetoplayer
wouldbealittlewarmer.

Streamsandrivers

Thesearebodiesofflowingwatermovinginonedirection.Streamsandriverscanbefound
everywheretheygettheirstartsatheadwaters,whichmaybesprings,snowmeltorevenlakes,
andthentravelallthewaytotheirmouths,usuallyanotherwaterchannelortheocean.The
characteristicsofariverorstreamchangeduringthejourneyfromthesourcetothemouth.The
temperatureiscooleratthesourcethanitisatthemouth.Thewaterisalsoclearer,hashigher
oxygenlevels,andfreshwaterfishsuchastroutandheterotrophscanbefoundthere.Towardsthe
middlepartofthestream/river,thewidthincreases,asdoesspeciesdiversitynumerousaquatic
greenplantsandalgaecanbefound.Towardthemouthoftheriver/stream,thewaterbecomes
murkyfromallthesedimentsthatithaspickedupupstream,decreasingtheamountoflightthat
canpenetratethroughthewater.Sincethereislesslight,thereislessdiversityofflora,and
becauseoftheloweroxygenlevels,fishthatrequirelessoxygen,suchascatfishandcarp,canbe
found.

Fromleft:McArthurBurneyFallsStatePark,CaliforniatroutGreenRiver,UtahBrooksRiver,Alaska.

Wetlands

Wetlandsareareasofstandingwaterthatsupportaquaticplants.Marshes,swamps,andbogsare
allconsideredwetlands.Plantspeciesadaptedtotheverymoistandhumidconditionsarecalled
hydrophytes.Theseincludepondlilies,cattails,sedges,tamarack,andblackspruce.Marshflora
alsoincludesuchspeciesascypressandgum.Wetlandshavethehighestspeciesdiversityofall
ecosystems.Manyspeciesofamphibians,reptiles,birds(suchasducksandwaders),and
furbearerscanbefoundinthewetlands.Wetlandsarenotconsideredfreshwaterecosystemsas
therearesome,suchassaltmarshes,thathavehighsaltconcentrationsthesesupportdifferent
speciesofanimals,suchasshrimp,shellfish,andvariousgrasses.

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Thefreshwaterbiome

Fromleft:PescaderoMarsh,CaliforniacoastalmarshatUmpquaDunes,OregontreesandbogsonEstherIsland,Alaska.

Visitourgalleryofwetlandsimages,whichillustratetheamazingdiversityofwetlandecosystems.

Freshwater

Marine

Desert

Forest

Grassland

Tundra

TopphotobyDavidK.Smith,UCMP.Ponds&lakesphotos,fromleft:GlennandMarthaVargas2004CaliforniaAcademyof
SciencesDavidK.Smith,UCMPGeraldandBuffCorsi2001CaliforniaAcademyofSciencesGlennandMarthaVargas2004
CaliforniaAcademyofSciences.Streams&riversphotos,fromleft:Dr.GDallasandMargaretHanna1999CaliforniaAcademyof
SciencesSusanMiddleton2003CaliforniaAcademyofSciencesLorraineElrod2000CaliforniaAcademyofSciencesDr.Robert
ThomasandMargaretOrr2004CaliforniaAcademyofSciences.Wetlandsphotos,fromleft:Dr.RobertThomasandMargaretOrr
1999CaliforniaAcademyofSciencesDavidK.Smith,UCMPGeraldandBuffCorsi2005CaliforniaAcademyofSciences.

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