Marine Regions

Marine regions cover three-fourths of the earth's surface and its algae provides much of the oxygen supply to this world.  The evaporation of the seawater provides rainwater for the land.

Oceans
This is the largest ecosystem in the world.  Much like ponds and lakes, the ocean is separated into zones; intertidal, pelagic, abyssal, and benthic.  The intertidal zone is where the water meets the land, whether it is submerged or exposed when waves or tides come in and out.  On rocky coast, this zone is vertical and only where highest of tides reach, there are algae and mollusks.  Further submerged in this zone there are a more diverse array of algae and small animals, for instance, herbivorous snails, crabs, sea stars, and small fish.

The pelagic is the zone that is further from the land, so basically the open ocean. This zone is generally cold, even though it is hard to get a temperature range it on because there is a thermal stratification with constant mixing of warm and cold tides.  This zone's flora species is surface seaweeds and the fauna include many species of fish and mammals.  For instance, clown fish, dolphins, and whales.  Many of these species feed on the plankton.

The benthic zone is directly below the pelagic zone, however this zone is not the deepest of the zones.  The benthic zone consist of sand, slit. or dead organism.  The temperature decreases the farther down the zone goes because light has trouble penetrating into deeper waters.  Flora is mainly represented by seaweed while the fauna includes a vast variety of bacteria, fungi, sponges, sea anemones, worms, sea stars, and fishes.

The abyssal is the deepest of all the zones.  The water in this region tends to stay around 3 degrees Celsius, has a high pressure, high in oxygen, but it usually is low in nutrients.  This zone is home to many invertebrates and fishes.

Coral Reefs
Coral reefs tend to be distributed along warm, shallow waters and can be found as barriers along continents, fringing islands, and atolls.  Naturally, the dominant organism is corals.  Reefs are usually lacking in nutrients, so corals obtain their nutrients from algae through photosynthesis or they reach out for plankton. 

Estuaries
This is an area where freshwater rivers or streams merge into an ocean.  The ecosystem is very different from most because there is a mixing of different types of water.  The fauna included in this ecosystem are algae, seaweed, marsh grass, and mangrove trees.  There is also a diverse fauna within here.  Such as, worms, oysters, and crabs.

Freshwater Regions

Freshwater regions are made up of less than one percent of salt.  Therefore, the plants and animals that have adjusted to this lifestyle would not be able to survive living in saltwater environments.

Lakes and Ponds
This region varies greatly in size, from either a few square meters to thousands of square meters.  Many ponds are seasonal and last for a few months, while lakes can last several hundred years or longer. Lakes and ponds often have limited species living in their regions, the reason is that these freshwater regions are usually cut off from rivers and other flowing regions.

Lakes and Ponds have three zones. The topmost zone littoral zone, the warmest zone. This zone has a pretty wide variety of species living.  There are algae, rooted and floating plants, snails, clams, insects, and a variety of fish, etc.  The middle layer is limnetic, this layer is well lighted and manly contains plankton as it's main species. The final layer is profundal zone. This zone is colder and denser than the other two zones and very little light gets through.


Streams and Rivers
These bodies of water flow in one directions. The usually start at a head of water, either a snow melt  springs, or lakes.  They then further travel all the way down to mouths, for instance channels or the ocean.  There is not a set characteristics to describe these regions. They are always changing from the journey to the mouths. The water is usually clearer, has higher oxygen levels, and freshwater fish can be found in here.

Wetlands
Wetlands are defined to be areas of water that are standing and support aquatic plants. Marshes, swamps, and bogs are considered wetlands. Many species of amphibians, reptiles, and birds live in these areas.  There are many plants living in this region, such as lilies, cattails, and black spruce.  Not all wetlands are freshwater because some marshes do contain salt water.

Water, the element that makes up over 75% of this planet. It is a very vital source for humans to survive. So, why ignore this biome? It's a biome that many people should take the time to review and research and learn about.  There are marine and freshwater regions within the world that each consist of smaller biomes within each group.  In the freshwater group, there are ponds and lakes, streams and rivers, and wetlands.  In the marine group, there are oceans, coral reefs, and estuaries.  Within in my blog, we will be reviewing each of the different types of of aquatic biomes there are.