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Aquatic Ecosystem Article
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An Aquatic Ecosystem is one where aquatic environments are involved.
from:An aquatic ecosystem is where there is more salt water than fresh water involved in the balance of the landscape. Other aquatic ecosystems are fresh water lakes, rivers and estuaries. The aquatic ecosystem includes all life forms and land forms that might occur in each location.
Aquatic ecosystem topography can include tidal zones, coral reefs, river mouths, estuaries and reefs where salt water is predominant. The life forms that live in the aquatic ecosystem will be adapted to life in a salty environment.
Even tropical aquatic ecosystems will have similar conditions as underlying criteria for classification. The levels of salt water will effect the life forms able to exist in the symbiotic relationships needed between aquatic ecosystem and sustainable life.
In studies of an aquatic ecosystem, the predatory nature of some forms of life will mark the food chain of the particular area. In the aquatic ecosystem the food chain begins with the largest predatory mammals and fish and will continue down through the strata of life forms to the smallest poly and coral life. Seals, whales and dolphins exist in an aquatic ecosystem. They make the top of the food chain with fish such as sharks and large predators like turtles and sting rays.
Further down the food chain in an aquatic ecosystem are the smaller fish and crustaceans. It is the way that these creatures exist among the plant life and coral formations that make up the unique relationships in the aquatic ecosystem. Without plant life or plankton the larger species could not exist. Without the tides, the currents and the sand bars or rock reefs the plants could not exist. Without the movement of schools of fish, jelly fish, rays, eels and turtles, the levels of life would not remain in balance.
The impact of human activity on an aquatic ecosystem may not at first be discernable, but study would give an idea of how man has changed the balance of life in any aquatic ecosystem. Not only through the act of fishing, does human activity impact on the aquatic ecosystem, but activities such as fertilization of crops can affect the delicate balance in the aquatic environment. Toxins washing into the tidal zones, plastics floating through an aquatic ecosystem, long lines, waste material and oil spills can all damage a fragile aquatic ecosystem.
Taking care of an aquatic ecosystem, whether it is in tropical waters or in the Arctic or Antarctic oceans will mean the survival of thousands of individual species. There is no aquatic ecosystem that exists without being impacted by what happens in other parts of the globe. The aquatic ecosystem is vital to the health and welfare of all life forms that pass through it.
Aquatic Ecosystem Specific links
Aquatic Ecosystem News
The Battle Against Aquatic Invasive Species Intensifies
The battle against aquatic invasive species continues in Montana, where wildlife officials are constantly trying to prevent milfoil, mussels and other nonnative species from contaminating local lakes and rivers. These species are transported mainly on recreational watercraft that are not properly cleaned. History has shown aquatic invasive species are a major threat to waterways and can ...
Read more...Boats Undergo Inspection Before Whitefish Lake Dredging
The US Environmental Protection Agency and Burlington Northern Santa Fe contractors expect to start Whitefish Lake dredging work in the near future, but their first concern is inspecting all water bound vessels for aquatic invasive species.
Read more...Tuckasegee River revival: Demolition of Dillsboro dam restores aquatic life
In the two years since the Dillsboro Dam was torn down, the Tuckasegee River has become home to a growing number of aquatic species, from mussels to insects to fish, as natural river habitat has been restored.
Read more...Fireballs in the Arctic as methane seeps uncovered
Cows are a red herring. The most dangerous potential source for methane release lies underneath thinning permafrost and glaciers in the Arctic. Ecologists have just mapped the seeps where methane is bubbling up, and they found more than 150,000 of them.
Read more...Thousands of students turn Rouge River into living classroom next week
DEARBORN — During the week of May 2 over 3,000 students from local southeast Michigan schools will be conducting chemical tests, examining aquatic life, and surveying the Rouge River.
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