Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem found in and around a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms—aquatic life—that are dependent on each other and on their environment. The two main types of aquatic ecosystems are marine ecosystems and freshwater ecosystems. [1]
Marine ecosystems can be divided into many zones depending upon water depth and shoreline features. The oceanic zone is the vast open part of the ocean where animals such as whales, sharks, and tuna live. The benthic zone consists of substrates below water where many
As with oceans, the benthic zone is the floor of the lake, composed of accumulated sunken organic matter. The littoral zone is the zone bordering the shore; light penetrates easily and aquatic plants thrive. The pelagic zone represents the broad mass of water, down as far as the depth to which no light penetrates. [9]
Altogether, the pelagic zone occupies 1,330 million km 3 (320 million mi 3) with a mean depth of 3.68 km (2.29 mi) and maximum depth of 11 km (6.8 mi). [2] [3] [4] Pelagic life decreases as depth increases. The pelagic zone contrasts with the benthic and demersal zones at the bottom of the sea. The benthic zone is the ecological region at the ...
These zones define various levels of productivity within an aquatic ecosystems such as a lake. For instance, the depth of the water column which sunlight is able to penetrate and where most plant life is able to grow is known as the photic or euphotic zone.
The following is a list of marine ecoregions, as defined by the WWF and The Nature Conservancy. The WWF/Nature Conservancy scheme groups the individual ecoregions into 12 marine realms, which represent the broad latitudinal divisions of polar, temperate, and tropical seas, with subdivisions based on ocean basins.
The limnetic zone is the most photosynthetically-active zone of a lake since it is the primary habitat for planktonic species. [5] Because phytoplankton populations are densest here, it is the zone most heavily responsible for oxygen production within the aquatic ecosystem .
This system has a strong biogeographic basis, but was designed to aid in conservation activities for marine ecosystems. Its subdivisions include both the seafloor and shelf pelagic biotas of each marine region. [1] The digital ecoregions layer is available for download as an ArcGIS Shapefile. [2]