3. INTRODUCTION
An aquatic ecosystem is an
ecosystem located in a body of
water The two main types of
aquatic ecosystems are marine
ecosystems and freshwater
ecosystems.
4. MARINE ECOSYSTEM
• Marine ecosystems cover approximately 71% of the Earth's surface
and contain approximately 97% of the planet's water .
• They are distinguished from freshwater ecosystems by the presence
of dissolved SALTS, in the water .
• Approximately 85% of the dissolved materials in seawater are
sodium and chlorine .
• A Seawater an has average salinity of 35 parts per thousand (ppt) of
water.
• Actual salinity varies among different marine ecosystems.
5. • Marine ecosystems can be divided into the following
zones: oceanic (the relatively shallow part of the ocean
that lies over the continental shelf).
• profundal (bottom or deep water).
• Abenthic (bottom substrates).
• intertidal (the area between high and low tides)
Estuaries salt marshes; coral reefs.
• and A hydrothermal vents (where chemosynthetic sulfur
bacteria form the food base).
6. FRESH ECOSYSTEM
• Fresh water ecosystems cover 0.80% of the Earth's surface and
inhabit 0.009% of its total water.
• Freshwater ecosystems contain 41% of the world's known fish
species
• There are three basic types of freshwater ecosystems:Lentic:
slow-moving water, including pools, ponds, and lakes.
• A Lotic: rapidly-moving water, for example streams and rivers.
Wetlands: areas where the soil is saturated or inundated for at
least part of the time.
7. LAKE ECOSYSTEM
• can be divided into zones: pelagic (open offshore waters); profundal; littoral
(nearshore shallow waters);and riparian (the area of land bordering a body
of water)
• Two important subclasses of lakes are ponds, which typically are small lakes
that intergrade with wetlands, and water reservoirs.
• Many lakes, or bays within them, gradually become enriched by nutrients
and fill in with organic sediments, a process called eutrophication.
• Eutrophication is accelerated by human activity within the water catchment
area of the lake.
• Anadromous fish live in the ocean mostly, and breed in freshwater.
• Catadromous fish live in fresh water, and breed in the ocean .
• Amphidromous fish move between fresh and salt water duringtheir life
cycle, but not to breed .
8. PONDS
• Specific type of freshwater ecosystems that are largely based
on the autotroph algae which provide the base trophic level for
all life in the area. An autotroph, also called a producer, is an
organism that produces complex organic compounds from
simple inorganic molecules using energy from light (by
photosynthesis) or inorganic chemical reactions (
chemosynthesis).
• They are the producers in a food chain, such as plants on land
or algae in water.
9. ABIOTIC CHARACTERISTICS
An ecosystem is composed of biotic
communities and abiotic
environmental factors, which form a
self-regulating and self-sustaining
unit. Abiotic environmental factors of
aquatic ecosystems include
temperature, salinity, and flow
10. BIOTIC COMPONENTS
• Biotic components are the living things that
shape an ecosystem.
• A biotic factor is any living component that
affects another organism, including animals
that consume the organism in question,
and the living food that the organism
consumes.
• Biotic factors include human influence.
• Biotic components are contrasted to abiotic
components, which are non-living
components of an organism's environment,
such as temperature, light, moisture, air
11. BIOTIC COMPONENTS USUALLY INCLUDE
Producers, i.e. autotrophs: e.g. plants; they convert the
energy (from the sun, or other sources such as hydrothermal
vents) into food. Consumers, i.e. heterotrophs: e.g. animals;
they depend upon producers for food. Decomposers, i.e.
detritivores: e.g. fungi and bacteria; they break down
chemicals from producers and consumers into simpler form
which can be reused.
12. AUTOTROPH
An autotroph, also called a producer, is
an organism that produces complex
organic compounds (such as
carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) from
simple inorganic molecules using energy
from light (by photosynthesis) or
inorganic chemical reactions (
chemosynthesis).They are the producers
in a food chain, such as plants on land or
algae in water. They are able to make
their own food and can fix carbon
13. PHOTOTROPHS
Phototrophs are the organisms (usually plants)
that carry out photosynthesis to acquire energy.
They use the energy from sunlight to convert
carbon dioxide and water into organic materials
to be utilized in cellular functions such as
biosynthesis and respiration.
15. CONCLUSION
Marine ecosystems provide a range of essential benefits to
society, including food and other products, waste assimilation,
coastal protection and climate regulation as well as less tangible,
but no less important cultural and aesthetic benefits.
