Aquatic Biomes

Freshwater Ecosystem

Streams

• Streams are fast moving water that comes from mountains.
• Plants include: Flowers, grasses, pondweed, arrow arum
• Animals include: Fish, Amphibians, reptiles, mammals
• Adaptations for plants- Grow in between rocks
• Adaptations for Animals- Need to be able to swim upstream

Rivers

• Water flows rapidly
• Very few plants, animals rely on seeds
• Animals include Fish, mammals and reptiles
• Plants need to have strong roots
• Animals have suckers or hooks 

Lakes

• Standing or still bodies of fresh water
• algae floating at the top are main producers
• Sunfish and other fish feed on plants and insects

Ponds

• Standing or still  fresh water
• Usually smaller than lakes
• Sunlight usually can reach bottom allowing plants 
• To grow all throughout the pond
• Animals include frogs, sunfish and catfish.

Marine Ecosystem

Estuary

• Where fresh water meets salt water
• Algae and plants such as march grass provide food and shelter
• Crabs, clams, and fish use estuaries as breeding grounds

Intertidal Zone

• Organisms need to survive hard waves and sudden changes in water level
• Animals such as barnacles and sea start stick to rocks
• Others like crabs or clams burrow in sand.
• Change in temperature is common as well

Neretic Zone

• Sunlight passes through the water and allows photosynthesis to occur
• Many large schools of fish feed on algae
• Coral reefs provide shelter to a wide veriety of organisms 

Surface Zone

• Algae carry out photosynthesis in this region
• Tuna, swordfish and some whales depend on algae for food

Deep Zone

• Almost totally dark
• Most organisms feed on dead organisms
• Some animals glow in the dark
• No plants can live here because there is no sunlight