Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 33 views

    Pond and Lake Ecosystems: Littoral Macrophytes Euphotic Zone Photosynthesizers Epilimnion

    Uploaded by

    Siddharth Ramkumar
    Pond and lake ecosystems contain distinct zones of biological communities linked to physical structure. The littoral zone near the shore supports aquatic plants and provides habitat. The euphotic zone where sunlight penetrates supports photosynthesis. The limnetic open water zone lacks sunlight penetration to the bottom. The benthic bottom sediment zone contains invertebrates and depends on organic content and physical structure for productivity.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Pond and Lake Ecosystems: Littoral Macrophytes Euphotic Zone Photosynthesizers Epilimnion

    Uploaded by

    Siddharth Ramkumar
    33 views2 pages
    Pond and lake ecosystems contain distinct zones of biological communities linked to physical structure. The littoral zone near the shore supports aquatic plants and provides habitat. The euphotic zone where sunlight penetrates supports photosynthesis. The limnetic open water zone lacks sunlight penetration to the bottom. The benthic bottom sediment zone contains invertebrates and depends on organic content and physical structure for productivity.

    Original Description:

    vg

    Original Title

    h

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Pond and lake ecosystems contain distinct zones of biological communities linked to physical structure. The littoral zone near the shore supports aquatic plants and provides habitat. The euphotic zone where sunlight penetrates supports photosynthesis. The limnetic open water zone lacks sunlight penetration to the bottom. The benthic bottom sediment zone contains invertebrates and depends on organic content and physical structure for productivity.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    33 views2 pages

    Pond and Lake Ecosystems: Littoral Macrophytes Euphotic Zone Photosynthesizers Epilimnion

    Uploaded by

    Siddharth Ramkumar
    Pond and lake ecosystems contain distinct zones of biological communities linked to physical structure. The littoral zone near the shore supports aquatic plants and provides habitat. The euphotic zone where sunlight penetrates supports photosynthesis. The limnetic open water zone lacks sunlight penetration to the bottom. The benthic bottom sediment zone contains invertebrates and depends on organic content and physical structure for productivity.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 2

    Pond and Lake Ecosystems

    A pond or lake ecosystem includes biotic (living) plants, animals and micro-organisms, as well as abiotic
    (nonliving) physical and chemical interactions. Pond and lake ecosystems are a prime example of lentic
    ecosystems. Lentic refers to stationary or relatively still water, from the Latin lentus, which means
    sluggish.

    A typical lake has distinct zones of biological communities linked to the physical structure of the lake.
    (Figure below) The littoral zone is the near shore area where sunlight penetrates all the way to the
    sediment and allows aquatic plants (macrophytes) to grow. Light levels of about 1% or less of surface
    values usually define this depth. The 1% light level also defines the euphotic zone of the lake, which is
    the layer from the surface down to the depth where light levels become too low for photosynthesizers.
    In most lakes, the sunlit euphotic zone occurs within the epilimnion.

    However, in unusually transparent lakes, photosynthesis may occur well below the thermocline into the
    perennially cold hypolimnion. For example, in western Lake Superior near Duluth, MN, summertime
    algal photosynthesis and growth can persist to depths of at least 25 meters, while the mixed layer, or
    epilimnion, only extends down to about 10 meters. Ultra-oligotrophic Lake Tahoe, CA/NV, is so
    transparent that algal growth historically extended to over 100 meters, though its mixed layer only
    extends to about 10 meters in summer. Unfortunately, inadequate management of the Lake Tahoe
    basin since about 1960 has led to a significant loss of transparency due to increased algal growth and
    increased sediment inputs from stream and shoreline erosion.

    The higher plants in the littoral zone, in addition to being a food source and a substrate for algae and
    invertebrates, provide a habitat for fish and other organisms that is very different from the open water
    environment.
    Pond and Lake Ecosystems

    The limnetic zone is the open water area where


    light does not generally penetrate all the way
    to the bottom.

    The bottom sediment, known as the benthic


    zone, has a surface layer abundant with
    organisms. This upper layer of sediments may
    be mixed by the activity of the benthic
    organisms that live there, often to a depth of 2-
    5 cm (several inches) in rich organic sediments.
    Most of the organisms in the benthic zone are
    invertebrates, such as Dipteran insect larvae
    (midges, mosquitoes, black flies, etc.) or small
    crustaceans.

    The productivity of this zone largely depends upon the organic content of the sediment, the amount of
    physical structure, and in some cases upon the rate of fish predation. Sandy substrates contain relatively
    little organic matter (food) for organisms and poor protection from predatory fish. Higher plant growth
    is typically sparse in sandy sediment, because the sand is unstable and nutrient deficient. A rocky
    bottom has a high diversity of potential habitats offering protection (refuge) from predators, substrate
    for attached algae (periphyton on rocks), and pockets of organic "ooze" (food). A flat mucky bottom
    offers abundant food for benthic organisms but is less protected and may have a lower diversity of
    structural habitats, unless it is colonized by higher plants.

    Lake Organisms

    THOSE THAT GO WHERE THEY CHOOSE


    FISH AMPHIBIANS LARGER
    TURTLES ZOOPLANKTON AND
    INSECTS
    THOSE THAT GO WHERE THE WATER TAKES THEM
    LIVING THINGS = PLANKTON DEAD STUFF = DETRITUS
    animals - zooplankton internal - produced within lake
    algae - phytoplankton external - washed in from watershed
    bacteria – bacterio-plankton
    THOSE THAT LIVE ON THE LAKE BOTTOM
    BENTHOS = ANIMALS PLANTS BACTERIA & FUNGI
    aquatic insects, mollusks - higher plants - sewage sludge
    clams, snails other macrophytes, attached aufwuchs – mixture of
    invertebrates -worms, algae - periphyton algae, fungi and
    crayfish etc. bacteria

    You might also like