Name: __________________________________ Period: ____________________ Date: _____________

APES Study Guide- Aquatic Ecosystems

Vocabulary
Understand and be able to apply each of these terms. 1. Salinity the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water or in soil 1. 2. Plankton any organisms that live in the water column and are incapable of swimming against a current. Provides a crucial source of food to many large aquatic organisms 1. 3. Nekton the aggregate of actively swimming aquatic organisms in a body of watery able to move independently of water currents. 1. 4. Benthos Community which organisms live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone. Lives in or near marine sedimentary environments 1. 5. Littoral Zone Part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. Coastal environments, the littoral zone extends from the high water mark to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. 1. 6. Benthic Zone The ecological region at lowest level of a body of water, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. Organisms living in this zone are benthos, and live in close relationship with substrate bottom 1. 7. Eutrophication the ecosystem response to the addition of artificial or natural substances, through fertilizers or sewage. 1. 8. River Source upriver refers to the direction leading to the source of the river, which is against the direction of flow. Downriver describes the direction towards the mouth of river which is current flows. 1. 9. River Course upriver refers to the direction leading to the source of the river, which is against the direction of flow. Downriver describes the direction towards the mouth of river which is current flows. 1. 10. River Mouth part of a stream where it flows into another body of water. The mouth of a river, delta, can form causing sediment pileup. 1. 11. Marsh A type of wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species. Can be formed at the edges of lakes and streams, where they form a transition between the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

1. 12. Swamp a type of wetland that is forested. Occurs along large rivers, where they are critically dependent upon natural water level fluctuations. 13. Bog A wetland that accumulates peat, a deposit of dead plant material. Gradual accumulation of decayed plant material in a bog functions as a carbon sink. Occurs where water at the ground surface is acidic and low in nutrients. 14. Lagoon- a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by barrier islands or reefs. Divided into coastal and atoll lagoons. 15. Estuary Forms a transition zone between river environments and ocean environments 16. 17. Abundance plentiful or oversufficient quantity/ supply Diversity having different elements

18. Watershed carries water shed from land after rainfalls and snow melts. Water is channeled into soils, groundwaters, etc. before making way to larger rivers and seas 19. Hydrophytes- plants that adapted to living in aquatic environments, requires special adaptions for living submerged in water, or at waters surface 20. Halophytes- a plant that grows in waters of high salinity, coming to contact with saline water

Critical Thinking
Read, analyze, and give complete answers to these questions. 1. What are the three important benefits (ecosystem service) provided by wetlands? The three important benefits are limiting damaging effects of waves, convey and store floodwaters, and trap sediments and reduce pollution.

2. What causes high and low tides? Explain. Tides are caused by the Moon and Suns gravity, and the rotation of the Earth. There are semi-diurnal tides, diurnal tide, and mixed tide. 3. Where would you find an estuary? What type of organisms would you expect to find there? You would find estuaries at the area where a river/stream meet the ocean. Organisms such as fish, plants, and birds are found at estuaries.

4. What is the definition of freshwater? Freshwater is water that has less than one percent salt concentration.

5. The mouth of a river can sometimes become murky because of all of the sediments that are washed downstream. Name 3 problems are caused by murkiness? Three problems caused by murkiness are more algae, less photosynthesis occurring, and less oxygen.

6. Name 2 types of fish that can live in low oxygen environments: Gouramis and Bettas.

7. Explain why reefs are so important to preserve. What are some of the dangers to coral reefs? Name 2. Reefs are important to preserve because they are a shelter for many marine life. Many humans depend on the fish from coral reefs and reefs help protect the shores from large waves. Two dangers to coral reefs are over fishing, and pollution.

8. There are different types of marine reef environments. Define the following: a. Fringing Reefs: a reef system that grows near the shore, with a shallow or no lagoon. b. Barrier Reefs: a reef system that is parallel to the shore. Seperated by a lagoon with some deep portions. c. Atolls: a circular oceanic reef system with a central lagoon d. Coral Reefs: systems made up of coral that are a habitat to many marine life 9. Draw a diagram of a marine environment and define the following: a. Intertidal: the region that is between high and low tide b. Pelagic: the open ocean or sea

c. Abyssal: the depths between 10000 and 20000 d. Benthic: the bottom of the body of water 10. What is winterkill in a lake? What happens? Winterkill in a lake is when a shallow lake does not have enough oxygen that passes through the cracks of ice above the lake. It kills the plants and animals.

11. Describe the differences in the types of food webs found in the two ocean light zones, euphotic and aphotic. Where does the initial energy input for each come from? Euphotic is the level of water where there is lots of sunlight. Aphotic zone is when there is not a lot of sunlight that is able to reach the low depth. The initial energy input is the sun.

12. Explain how lakes turn-over yearly and what this process causes. Name one positive and one negative aspect of turn-over. Turn-over is when the bottom layer moves to the top, and the top lay moves to the bottom. It is caused by the water cooling in the fall, making it more dense. This causes the top layer to sink, and the bottom to rise.

13. Draw a diagram of a lake and define the following: a. Littoral Zone: the part of the body of water that is closest to the shore b. Limnetic Zone: the zone of the body of water that is away from the shore c. Profundal Zone: the deep zone of body of water that us not well lit.

14.

Complete this summary table of aquatic ecosystems: Location Coral Reef Sandy Beach Mangrove Swamp Salt Marsh Mudflat Near equator Coastlines Subtropical and tropical areas Coastal, intertidal zone Near bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries Physical Characteristics Vary in size, made from corals, includes different marine life Lots of sand, warm to hot temperatures Halophytic (salt loving) trees, shrubs, saline tidal waters, Shrubs, herbs, grasses Bay mud, clay

Intertidal area, seacoasts Rocky Shore

Seaweed, algae, plankton

Climatograph
Use the data provided to construct a climatograph. Temperature should be displayed as a line graph and precipitation as a bar graph. Month January February March April May June July August September October November December Precipitation (cm) 10 3 2 5 13 9 2 2 2 8 18 7 Temperature (C) 35 37 39 40 42 44 45 44 42 40 37 35

What type of biome do you believe this is? Give specific observations from your graph to justify this answer.

This biome seems to be