Name: Jef Michael L.

Dahuyla Subject: Environmental Science

Course/Year: BSEM – 3 Instructor: Engr. Nathaniel D. Tiu
ACTIVITY 8

Aquatic Ecosystem
1. List and define the six main abiotic factors that influence life in aquatic ecosystems.
a. Water temperature - a physical property expressing how hot or cold water is.

b. Salinity – the amount of salt water

c. Availability of Sunlight - As we go deep in the water the sunlight decreases.

d. Oxygen Gas - which is dissolved in areas of turbulent water (Waves and rapids).

e. Turbidity - cloudiness of the water, is caused by soil erodes from land.

f. Plant Nutrients - such as nitrates and phosphates.

2. Define each of these types of living organisms in aquatic ecosystems.

a. Plankton – Free-floating or weakly swimming.

i. Phytoplankton – Plant-like; include algae.

ii. Zooplankton – Animal-like, organisms like single-celled protozoa or

jellyfish.

b. Nekton - are free swimming organisms, such as fish, turtles, and whales.

c. Benthos - bottom dwellers that either anchor themselves to bottom structures or

walk along the sea floor.

d. Decomposers - break down dead organisms and wastes into nutrients that can be re-
used.

Freshwater Lakes
3. What do all lakes and ponds have in common?
- Lakes and ponds both have Fresh water and
 a. Define emergent vegetation – These are plants that have their roots deep in the
ground but nonetheless manage to grow above ground. above the top of the water's
surface.

4. Describe each of these zones of freshwater lakes:

a. Littoral zone – Emergent plants can be found in this zone, it is near the shore and
contains shallow, sunlit, waters.

b. Limnetic zone – a photic open water area where rooted plants cannot survive.

c. Profundal zone – directly below the limnetic zone, is aphotic.

d. Benthic zone – The bottom of the lake or pond.

1. Food webs in benthic and profundal zones are based on detritus. What is it?
- Detritus it is a dead matter and waste that falls down from above.

2. Label the littoral, limnetic, profundal, and benthic zone in this diagram.

3. Lake can be classified based on their Nutrient levels and biological Productivity.

a. Define oligotrophic lakes – In this lake, the nutrients are very low limiting plankton
populations and leaving the water very clear.

b. Define eutrophic lakes – The lakes have a much greater concentrations of nutrients
resulting in heavy growth of phytoplankton.
Rivers and Streams
4. Define stream – it carries small amounts of water because of its narrow channel.

5. How do rivers form?

- Rivers are formed when runoff water travels from higher terrain to lower ground owing
to gravity, which results in the formation of rivers.

6. Describe the temperature, oxygen level, and nutrient level of water in the source of a river:
- The temperature is cool in a river's headwaters, which also have a high oxygen content
and low nutrient levels respectively.

7. Describe the temperature, oxygen level, and nutrient level of water in the transition zone of
a river:
- The temperature rises in the section of a river known as the transition zone, which also
experiences a drop in oxygen levels and an increase in nutrient concentrations.

a. What happens in the floodplains?

- The constant movement of water will eventually cause flooding, which will deposit
material coming from upstream, so elevating the soil and adding to its overall richness.

8. What kind of water is found near the mouth of a river?

- The water that is found close to the mouth of a river is called brackish, and it is a
mixture of freshwater and saltwater.

Freshwater Inlands Wetlands

9. What is a freshwater wetland?
- This region has water that is consistently found at or very close to the surface of the
soil.

10. Define each of these wetlands:

a. Marsh – Low-lying wetlands that are not conducive to the development of trees
because of their wetness.

b. Swamp – Wetlands that support trees and dense shrubs.

 c. Bog – Be covered in sphagnum moss and have a floating mass of plant materials as
its primary component.

i. What effect does the acidic water in a bog have on the rest of the ecosystem?
- Because acidic water considerably slows down the decomposition process, it has an
impact on the decomposition that occurs in the environment.

Marine Wetlands

15. Where are marine ecosystems found?

- Marine habitats are exclusively made up of salt water and may be found either in or
close proximity to oceans.

16. Define each of these coastal wetlands:

a. Delta – he sediment carried by the river will be deposited and form a landmass.
Formed when river loses energy as it flows in to an area of slow-moving water.

b. Estuary – The bodies of water where saltwater and freshwater meet, known as deltas,
are partially confined inside their own boundaries.

c. Salt marsh – This coastal wetland is always flooded by tides, and dominated by
herbs, grasses, and shrubs.

d. Sea grass bed – This are wetlands that have submerged plants that have long, narrow
leaves that resemble grasslands.

e. Mangrove forest – This are trees with complex root system they can filter and
withstand flooding and wave action.

17. Describe each of the three ecosystem services provided by wetlands.

a. Biodiversity – This wetland supports every variety of life on Earth, like a wide
variety of animals, plants, fungi, and protists

b. Flood Control – wetlands absorbed and retain excess water in order to protect against
flooding.

c. Pollution Control – Trap pollutants, resulting in cleaner water that flows out of them.
Marine Aquatic Zones
18. Label each of the marine aquatic zones in this diagram.
Intertidal zone

Neritic zone Oceanic zone

Photic zone

Continental shell Pelagic zone

Benthic zone Aphotic zone

Abyssal zone

19. Where is the coastal zone found?

- It is found near the coast.

a. Why is life so plentiful in this zone compared to others in the ocean?

- Because the sunlight and nutrients in this area are abundant.

20. Where are rocky shores found?

- Rocky shores are found where the sea meets the land. They support a diverse mix of
plants and animals which have adapted to survive this habitat's unique conditions
21. Where are sandy shores found?
- It is located in places that have less intense wave activity or that are protected from the
waves.
22. Give the material present in each type of sandy shore.
a. Black sand – This are made from eroded volcanic rock.
b. Brown sand – This are made from eroded granite.
c. White sand – This sand is made from eroded coral.

23. What is the intertidal zone?

- Submerged during high tide and exposed during low tide.
a. What causes the tides?
- the cause is the gravitational pull of the moon and sun.
b. What is tidal range?
- The vertical difference between high and low tide.
24. What are shallow seas?
- The term "shallow seas" refers to the area of the coastal zone that is between the
intertidal zone and the continental shelf.
25. What are coral reefs?

- It is made from the skeletons of small animals called coral polyps that live in the warm
coastal waters of the tropics and subtropics. They are the Shallow sea ecosystems.
26. What is the open ocean?
- This is the most extensive section of the ocean. The part of the ocean that is illuminated
by the sun and is beyond the continental shelves.
27. Describe each zone of the open ocean:
a. Photic/sunlight zone – Contains sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis.
b. Dysphotic/twilight zone – Contains sunlight, but not enough for photosynthesis.
c. Aphotic/midnight zone – No light just pure darkness.

28. What does it mean to be bioluminescent?

- The capacity that endows creatures with the ability to generate and discharge light.
 a. How is this a helpful adaptation for some species?
- Adaptations are traits that may be passed down from generation to generation that
improve an organism's chances of surviving and reproducing in a given environment.
Adaptations can assist an organism in locating food and water, defending itself against
predators, or surviving in harsh settings. Adaptations are the changes in structure or
behaviour of an organism that will allow the organism to survive in that habitat.
29. What is the abyssal plain?
- The abyssal plains are the greatest ecosystem on earth, reaching depths of over 3,000
meters (10,000 feet), and encompassing 70 percent of the ocean bottom. These deep,
gloomy ecosystems are less productive than those that are located near the continental
shelf because sunlight is unable to reach to the sea bottom. Abyssal plain is also
known as the Sea Floor.
a. What are food webs in this part of the ocean based on?
- There is no photosynthesis in this part of the ocean instead Scavenging and
Decomposition.
b. What is marine snow?
- A shower of organic material that falls from the open water into the abyssal plain.
30. What are hydrothermal vents?
- A hydrothermal vent is a fissure on the seabed from which geothermally heated water
discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where
tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hotspots.