CHAPTER 3

Introduction to Freshwater Ecology

Definition of Terms:

Lowland - An area where the land is at, near, or below the level of the sea.
Biotic - Relating to or resulting from living things, especially in their ecological relations.
Abiotic - Physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms.
Lentic - Inhabiting or situated in still freshwater.

Objectives:
 Know what is aquatic ecology
 Understand freshwater ecosystem and its component
 Know different freshwater communities

Lowland

The generally more turbid, warm, slow-flowing waters and fine sediment beds of lowland rivers
encourage fish species with broad temperature tolerances and greater tolerances to low oxygen levels,
and life history and breeding strategies adapted to these and other traits of lowland rivers. These
characteristics also encourage invertebrate species with broad temperature tolerances and greater
tolerances to low oxygen levels and ecologies revolving around fine sediments or alternative habitats
such as submerged woody debris ("snags") or submergent macrophytes ("water weed").

There are four main constituents of the living environment that form the freshwater ecosystem,
they are as follows:
 1. Elements and Compounds of the ecosystem that are absorbed by organisms those are required
as a food source or for respiration. Many of these compounds are required by plants and passed
along the food chain.
2. Plants which are autotrophic by nature, meaning that they synthesize food by harnessing
energy from inorganic compounds (plants do so by photosynthesis and the sun); this is done via
photosynthesis. These plants (and some bacteria) are the primary producers, as they produce
(and introduce) new energy into the ecosystem.
3. Consumers are the organisms that feed on other organisms as a source of food. These may
be primary consumers who feed from the plant material or secondary consumers who feed on
the primary consumers.
4. Decomposers attain their energy by breaking down dead organic material (detritus), and
during this reaction, release critical elements and compounds which in turn are required by
plants.

Abiotic and Biotic Factors

Abiotic Factors

Abiotic factors are essentially non-living components that affect the living organisms of the
freshwater community.

When an ecosystem is barren and unoccupied, new organisms colonizing the environment
rely on favorable environmental conditions in the area to allow them to successfully live and
reproduce. These environmental factors are abiotic factors. When a variety of species are present in
such an ecosystem, the consequent actions of these species can affect the lives of fellow species in
the area; these factors are deemed biotic factors.

The light from the sun is a major constituent of a freshwater ecosystem, providing light for
the primary producers, plants. There are many factors which can affect the intensity and length of
time that the ecosystem is exposed to sunlight;

1. Aspect: The angle of incidence at which light strikes the surface of the water. During
the day when the sun is high in the sky, more light can be absorbed into the water due
to
the directness of the light. At sunset, light strikes the water surface more acutely, and
less
water is absorbed. The aspect of the sun during times of the day will vary depending on
the time of the year.
2. Cloud Cover: The cloud cover of an area will inevitably affect intensity and length of
time that light strikes the water of a freshwater ecosystem. Species of plants rely on a
critical period of time where they receive light for photosynthesis. Season - The 4
 seasons
in an ecosystem are very different, and this is because less light and heat is available
from
the sun in winter and vice versa for summer, therefore these varying conditions will
affect
which organisms are suited to them.
3. Location: The extreme latitudes receive 6 months of sunlight and 6 months of
darkness, while the equator receives roughly 12 hours of sunlight and darkness each
day.
This sort of variance greatly affects what type of organisms would occupy freshwater
ecosystems due to these differences.
4. Altitude: For every one thousand meters above sea level, average temperature
drops by one degree Celsius. Altitude will also affect the aspect of which sunlight hits
the
freshwater ecosystem, therefore playing a part on which organisms will occupy it.

Many abiotic factors can play a part in determining the end product, which organisms live
and succeed in the freshwater ecosystem. The sun provides light for photosynthesis, but also
provides heat giving a suitable temperature for organisms to thrive in. The temperature of a
freshwater environment can directly affect the environment as a whole and the organisms that
occupy it.

Enzymes operate best at an optimum temperature, and any deviation from this
temperature 'norm' will result in below optimum respiration in the organism. All aquatic lives are
ectotherms, meaning their body temperature varies directly with its environments.

Temperature affects the density of substances, and changes in the density of water means
more or less resistance for animals who are travelling in the freshwater environment.

Abiotic Factors - Water Conditions

Evidently, the light and heat from the sun play an important role in providing suitable
conditions. However, the water conditions also inevitably have an effect on life in the ecosystem. A
still body of water will inevitably be disturbed by various factors, which will affect the distribution of
organisms in the water. Wind is considered to be the prime factor responsible for disturbing water,
though changes in temperature can create convection currents where temperature is evened out
across the body of water via this movement.

Naturally, a river will have water movement as water succumbs to gravity and moves
downstream. These are relatively constant factors that affect water movement though, for example,
human intervention can also cause water movement. The surface tension of the water will al so
affect the organisms that occupy the area, depending on the cohesion of water at the surface; it can
affect the amount of oxygen that reaches organisms living below the water surface.

These factors all affect the way of life for organisms occupying such a freshwater ecosystem.
On a more molecular level, the chemical compositions of the water, soil and surrounding air also
play a part in determining the face of the ecosystem.

The oxygen concentration of the water and the surrounding air will have great bearing on
which organisms can survive in a particular environment. Oxygen is required for aerobic respiration
in animals, and the concentration of oxygen in an area is determined by many factors, including
temperature and abundance of organisms for example.

Many chemical reactions and cellular processes rely on the availability of oxygen; therefore
the concentration of oxygen in the ecosystem will inevitably alter the ecosystem itself. The same
applies to carbon dioxide concentration. CO2 is required for photosynthesis, and can also affect the
pH of the water for example.
 The study of ecology in freshwater is usually divided into 2 categories, lentic (still) and lotic
(running) water. These two bodies of water also have a bearing on which organisms are likely to
occupy the area.

Biotic Factors

The living parts of an ecosystem are called biotic factors. Plants, animals, fungi, protists, and
monerans are biotic factors. The biotic components comprise of:

 Autotrophs (auto=self-nourishing) or Producers: They convert the sun‘s energy into

Freshwater Communities and Lentic Waters

Lentic (still water) communities can vary greatly in appearance; anything from a small temporary
puddle to a large lake is capable of supporting life to some extent.

The creation of many of today's long standing freshwater lentic environments are a result of
geological changes over a long period of time, notably glacial movement, erosion, volcanic activity, and
to an extent, human intervention.

The consequence of these actions results in troughs in the landscape where water can
accumulate
and be sustained over time. The size and depth of a still body of water are major factors in determining
the characteristics of that ecosystem, and will continually be altered by some of the causes mentioned
above over a long period of time.

One of the important elements of a still water environment is the overall effect that
temperature
has on it. The heat from the sun takes longer to heat up a body of water as opposed to heating up dry
land. This means that temperature changes in the water are more gradual, particularly so i n more vast
areas of water. When this freshwater ecosystem is habitable, many factors will come into play
determining the overall makeup of the environment which organisms will have to adapt to.

As with osmosis, temperature will even out across a particular substance over time, and this
applies to a still body of water. Sunlight striking the water will heat up the surface, and over time will
create a temperature difference between the surface and basin in the body of water. This temperature
difference will vary depending on the overall surface area of the water and its depth.

Over time, two distinctly different layers of water become established, separated by a large
temperature difference and providing unique ecological niches for organisms. This process is called
stratification, where the difference in temperature between surface and water bed are so different they
can easily be distinguished apart. The surface area is deemed the epilimnion, which is warmed water as
a result of direct contact with sunlight. The lower layer is deemed the hypolimnion, found below the
water surface, and due to increased depth, receives less heat from the sun and therefore results in the
colder water underneath.

Some factors can affect the amount of light received by autotrophic organisms (organisms that
perform photosynthesis) can affect their level of photosynthesis and respiration, hence affect their
abundance and therefore and subsequent species that rely on them.

Organic material and sediment can enter the still water environment via dead organisms in the
area, and water flowing into the area from hills and streams. Buoyant material will also block out light
required by the primary producers of the ecosystem.

When water moves, the friction caused by the moving water, against the water bed. And its
banks
will result in disturbing loose sediment. Depending on the weight of this sediment, heavier particles will
slowly sink back to the bottom of the body of water while lighter materials will remain suspended in the
water. The lightest material will rise to the surface, resulting in less light available to organisms
underneath the surface.

Naturally, the consequences of the above will result in less light for organisms that rely on
photosynthesis as a means of food, and subsequently means that organisms that feed on these
autotrophic organisms will soon find that their food source is less freely available.

Another major factor affecting still water communities is the oxygen concentration of the
surrounding area. Oxygen concentration is primarily affected by three factors
 The surface area which the body of water is exposed to the open air environment the circulation
of water, chiefly due to temperature differentiations in different areas of the water body (convection
currents) Oxygen created as a result of respiration, consumption, and the oxygen consumed by animals
and bacteria.

Temperature can also affect the concentration of oxygen available, which in turn, means that
the
depth of the water will therefore also have an effect. In turn, carbon dioxide levels, which are closely
related to the oxygen levels available, will be required by organisms undergoing photosynthesis. The
availability of these will affect the organisms in the ecosystem. Their relationships with temperature will
also affect their availability. Evidently, some of these factors vary through different conditions, and
changes in one of the factors usually results in changes with the others. This is also the case of pH, for
example, as an increase in carbon dioxide results in a drop of pH.

Still Water Animals

Through millions of years of evolution, animals living in an aquatic environment have diversified
to occupy the ecological niches available in the ecosystem. When studying the habitats of these
particular
organisms, three main areas of the freshwater environment can be distinctly classified.

1. The Littoral Region: This region forms the banks or boundary of the water. There is usually
warmer and shallow water, with lots of plants such as reeds and cattails. Many of the plants are
rooted in the muddy floor and their leaves form a good hideout for insects and fish. There is a
lot of fish, frogs, reptiles, and insects in this zone.
2. Limnetic region: This is the region after the littoral region, extending a few meters into the
water body. Fish swim freely here, with some plants floating on the water. There is enough
sunlight here, and algae and plankton usually thrive here.
3. The Profundal Region: An area of still water that receives no sunlight therefore lacks
autotrophic creatures. The animals in this zone rely on organic material as a means of food,
which is sourced from the more energy rich areas above the profundal region.
4. The Benthic Region: The benthic region incorporates the entire freshwater environment in
contact with land, barring the shallow shore areas. The benthic region is capable of hosting a
large volume of organisms, as nutrient and mineral rich sediments are available as a food source
while part of the benthic region can occupy the euphotic zone, the area of water where light is
available. This will allow an ecological niche for autotrophic organism s which in turn can be a
food source for herbivores.
 Another distinctive niche for the animal community is that above (epineuston) and below
(hyponeuston) the water surface. Epineustic animals receive food from the surrounding hydrosere
vegetation, where small animals fall into the water from vegetation and are preyed upon by these
epineustic animals.

Below these surface dwelling animals are a collective of animals called the nekton, which live in the
pelagic and profundal regions, though rise to the pelagic regions to feed upon these epineustic animals.
Fish are included in this nekton community, which play a vital cog in these freshwater communities.
Some of these fish are only temporary members of the community, as they move between fresh and salt
water. Anadromous fish spawn in freshwater, but live much of their lives in salt water. Catadromous fish
are the opposite of this, and spend much of their lives in the freshwater community. Each way, the fish
present in the environment at any time form the link between the upper and lower layers of the
freshwater community.