Aquatic ecosystems

All life is dependent on WATER.

Salt- and fresh- water ecosystems have
important differences because the
concentration of solutes in organisms is
between pure water and seawater.

Exam 3 lecture 1

Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

READING ASSIGNMENT
z Chapter

50.2
z A review of the Water lecture, x1 05, may
help to understand this lecture.
z I have included more local information and
more on the impact of sewage on aquatic
ecosystems than your text.

Exam 3 lecture 1

Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
z Freshwater
Lakes and Ponds too deep for emergent plants
Wetlands ephemeral or with emergent plants
Streams and Rivers flowing water

z Saltwater
Estuaries
Oceans - huge, importance of tides
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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

Water Cycle
z Rain

drops condense out of air when water

vapor is saturated as temperature cools.
z Ice and Groundwater are big fractions of the
earths freshwater.
z Rivers transport materials, including ions, to
the ocean (more rain over land than ocean).
z Energy from sun evaporates water.
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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

Freshwater versus Saltwater

z
z
z
z

Rain has dissolved gases, i.e., CO2, that make it

acidic, but no mineral cations (except from dust).
Saltwater is about 3% salt and has many cations.
Cells of organisms have a concentration of cations
less than saltwater, but greater than freshwater.
Organisms in freshwater have to pump water out
of their cells, while organisms in saltwater have to
do work to keep water inside their cells.

Exam 3 lecture 1

Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

Life evolved in Saltwater

z Among

the reasons life is thought of have

evolved in saltwater is:
Most water on earth is in the oceans
Many phyla of animals live in saltwater and

fewer live in freshwater

Exam 3 lecture 1

Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

Water density and lake turnover

z Water

is most dense at 4 C, e.g., ice floats.

z In temperate areas, the cold surface waters
reach the same density as the bottom water
in the spring and the water is mixed by wind.
z In fall the surface waters (with O2) sink to
the bottom of a lake as they reach 4 C,
bringing dissolved oxygen to the bottom.
Exam 3 lecture 1

Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

Thermoclines and Lake

Turnover

Abrupt change of temperature with depth is known as thermocline.

Exam 3 lecture 1

Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

Lake Michigan
z 6th

largest freshwater lake in the world

z 3rd largest of the Great Lakes
z Ave depth = 85 m, Max = 282 m = 925 feet
z Volume = 4,920 km3, retention time 99 years
z Total drainage basin = 118,000 km2
IL drainage basin = 300 km2

Exam 3 lecture 1

Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

Lake Michigan

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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Water Crib
Where Chicago Water Comes From

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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Fish of Lake Michigan

z Lake

trout, Whitefish and Perch are the

native fish of Lake Michigan
z The fauna has been dramatically altered by
invasions and deliberate introductions.
Invaders
z Sea Lamprey, Alewife, Round Gobi
Introductions
z Smelt, Coho Salmon, Chinook Salmon
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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Wetlands
z Kankakee

Marsh in IN and Lake Calumet

were huge wetlands of Chicagoland. The
marshes have largely been drained or filled.
z Wetlands have high levels of biological
activity because of the availability of water.
z An ephemeral wetland is one that is both
wet and dry in same year.
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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Streams and Rivers

z Streams

and rivers have a channel.

z Greater drop in elevation per unit length
make the water flow faster.
z Rivers naturally meander, especially when
elevation loss is slow.
z Many flowing water organisms stay in one
place and let the current bring food to them.
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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Transportation by Rivers
z People

have used rivers to get themselves to

new places for a long time.
z People have also used flowing water to get
rid of waste.
z Sanitary sewers bring water from toilets to a
processing place where growth of
organisms removes nutrients from the
water before it leaves the facility.
Exam 3 lecture 1

Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Estuary
z Rivers

eventually flow into oceans.

z Frequently, sediments from the river
accumulate to form shallow areas near the
mouth of the river known as estuaries.
z Emergent plants and the mixing of nutrients
from the river and the ocean make estuaries
very productive.
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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Dead Zones
z
z

Nutrients from the river are not always used up in

the estuary.
Nitrogen from the Mississippi River has resulted in
increased algal growth ( productivity) in the Gulf
of Mexico. Old algae sink to the bottom and their
decomposition depletes the oxygen near the bottom.
Fish flee the water without oxygen and from the
fishermans point of view it is a dead zone.

Exam 3 lecture 1

Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Oceans
z Oceans

cover almost 3/4ths of the earths

surface. Most of the water on earth is
saltwater.
z At 10 m under the water surface the pressure
is equal to 1 atmosphere.
z Sunlight penetrates ocean to only 40 m and
deep areas are dependent on currents for the
very limited amount of oxygen available.
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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Tides
z The

gravitational attraction of the moon

creates tides in the ocean.
z There are two high tides and two low tides
per 25 hour period.
z The intertidal zone is the area between the
high tide and low tide. Wave action keeps
plants from growing on sand beaches.
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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Shallow Ocean
z Most

continents are surrounded by a shelf

of rock that means the ocean is relatively
shallow (less than 200 m) near the shore.
z Continental shelf waters have higher
productivity because of nutrients from rivers.
z Continental shelfs are where almost all the
ocean fishing occurs.

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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Overfishing
z There

have been many examples of

overfishing.

Sardine fishery of Monterey CA

Lake trout in Lake Michigan
Herring in the North Sea
Cod off MA and Canada

z Some

overfished populations recover after

fishing stops, but most have not recovered.

Exam 3 lecture 1

Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Oxygen in Water
z Oxygen

is not very soluble in water, 16 mg/l.

z If the water contains organic compounds
metabolism can quickly use all the oxygen in
the water, creating anaerobic conditions.
z BOD, biological oxygen demand, measures
how much oxygen would be used in
respiration of organics in water.
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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Energy Flow in Aquatic Systems

z Streams

and small ponds typically get

considerable inputs from the surrounding
terrestrial environment, e.g., leaf litter.
z Phosphorus is usually the nutrient limiting
growth of algae. Input from humans has
resulted in blooms of algae. Increased growth
of organisms ( productivity) is called
eutrophication.
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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Eutrophication
z Clear

water implies that the density of fine

particles, including small organisms, is not
high. Such lakes, including Lake Michigan,
are called oligotrophic.
z Lakes with an abundance of by small
organisms ( productivity and resulting high
turbidity) are called eutrophic.

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Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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Vocabulary
z
z
z
z
z

Freshwater
Saltwater
Eutrophication
Algal bloom
Biological Oxygen
Demand, BOD

Exam 3 lecture 1

z
z
z
z
z

Dead zone
Overfishing
Estuary
Turnover
Oligotrophic

Nyberg BioS 101 UIC

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