World Biomes

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World Biomes

• Fresh water

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Wetlands

• Bogs, swamps, and marshes are wetlands. All
  wetlands have waterlogged soil. Bogs and swamps
  are flooded, but a marsh is wet only part of the
  year. Some wetlands are flooded with salty ocean
  water others are covered with fresh water from
  rivers and lakes.

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marsh
swamp
bog
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Wetland distribution

• Wetland biomes are found all over the world. They
  are often near lakes and rivers, but they also
  develop in sunken areas of grassy plains.

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Wetland climate

• Unlike some other biomes, wetlands do not have a
  characteristic climate. They exist in polar,
  temperate, and tropical zones, although usually
  not in deserts. However, they are very sensitive
  to changes in climate, such as a decrease in
  precipitation (rain, sleet, or snow). The amount
  of precipitation and changes in temperature
  affect the growth rate of wetland plants. Some
  wetlands are seasonal, which means that they are
  dry for one or more seasons of the year.

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Wetland soil

• Wetland soils are known for their wetness but
  they should also be known for their high organic
  content. Most wetland soils have a higher amount
  of organic material than terrestrial soils.

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Wetland plants

• More than 5,000 species of plants live in or near
  wetlands. Wetlands have high biological
  productivity (the rate at which life forms grow
  in a certain period of time).
• The kinds of plants that may be found in a
  wetland are determined by several factors,
  especially the type of soil and the quantity of
  water.
• Some plants grow only in water or extremely wet
  soil. Other plants need moist but not saturated
  soil. When a wetland dries up, the area fills
  with plants adapted to life in dry habitats and
  can survive where other wetland plants would
  wilt.

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Pond Lily
Cattail
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Marsh Purslane
Cypress swamp
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Animals

• Wetlands have been called "biological
  supermarkets." Besides animals that live there
  permanently, many nonwetland animals visit for
  food and water.
• Wetland conditions make it necessary for the
  animals that live there permanently to adapt in
  special ways.

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Lungfish
Dragonfly
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Bittern
Boat-billed Heron
Snipe
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Leopard Frog
Swamp Tortoise
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Rivers

• These are bodies of flowing water moving in one
  direction. Streams and rivers can be found
  everywherethey get their starts at headwaters,
  which may be springs, snowmelt or even lakes, and
  then travel all the way to their mouths, usually
  another water channel or the ocean. The
  characteristics of a river or stream change
  during the journey from the source to the mouth.

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Distribution of Rivers
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Conditions in Rivers

• The temperature is cooler at the source than it
  is at the mouth. The water is also clearer, has
  higher oxygen levels.
• Towards the middle part of the stream/river, the
  width increases, as does species
  diversitynumerous aquatic green plants and algae
  can be found.
• Toward the mouth of the river/stream, the water
  becomes murky from all the sediments that it has
  picked up upstream, decreasing the amount of
  light that can penetrate through the water. Since
  there is less light, there is less diversity of
  flora, and because of the lower oxygen levels,
  fish that require less oxygen.

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River plants

• In fast streams and rivers many plants have
  special structures that keep them from being
  carried away by the water. Some aquatic plants
  have strong roots that keep them anchored
  securely, while others have stems that bend
  easily with the movement of the water. Certain
  mosses are able to cling to rocks.

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River plants
Algae from Mississippi
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River animals

• In fast moving waters animals that have to hold
  onto rocks and the bottom may have suction-cup
  like structures on their bodies.

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Anaconda and Cayman
Black River Turtle
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Red-Bellied Piranha
Gavial
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Lakes

• These regions range in size from just a few
  square meters to thousands of square kilometres.
  Scattered throughout the Earth. Many ponds are
  seasonal, lasting just a couple of months while
  lakes may exist for hundreds of years or more.
  Ponds and lakes may have limited species
  diversity since they are often isolated from one
  another and from other water sources like rivers
  and oceans.

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Distribution of Lakes
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Conditions in Lakes

• The zone, which is closet to the shore is host to
  a wide variety of species due to its warm,
  shallow environment.  Various species of
  invertebrates, crustaceans, plants and amphibians
  thrive in this environment, and in turn provide
  food for predators such as birds, reptiles and
  other creatures inhabiting the shoreline.
• The open water near the surface of a lake or
  pond, is home to a variety of phytoplankton, and
  zooplankton, which play an important role in the
  food chain. Several species of freshwater fish
  such as bass and lake trout can also be found
  this area, mainly feeding on insects and
  plankton.  
• The deeper region of a lake is shrouded in
  darkness, and serves as a repository for dead
  plankton, and is inhabited by creatures which
  feed mostly on decaying organisms. 

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Lake plants

• Underwater plants need to stay close to the
  water's surface so sunlight can reach them. Some
  freshwater plants, such as water lilies, grow
  flowers and leaves that float on the water's
  surface.

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Victoria
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Lake animals

• Many types of animals live in ponds because they
  are not in danger of being swept away by a
  current. Insects, birds, turtles, frogs, and fish
  are some of the animals you can find in ponds and
  lakes.
• In regions with colder climate some animals have
  to hibernate during winter.

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Common Carp
White Pelican
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Anodonta
Great Pond Snail
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People I

• Without freshwater biomes we would not be alive.
  Freshwater ecosystems are important because they
  provide us water for drinking energy and
  transportation.
• Dams may provide pollution-free energy, and
  create lakes for people to enjoy, but they can
  also damage the environment. Salmon are a species
  that use rivers to spawn, and are often hurt by
  dams.
• Wetlands are also an important type of freshwater
  ecosystem. They may be soggy and stinky, but they
  provide critical habitat for tons of plants and
  animals, help clean our water, control floods,
  and provide food for humans.
• By fertilizing the lawn with chemicals and
  allowing our cars to drip nasty oils and fluids
  we are polluting freshwater biomes. The rain
  carries these pollutants into rivers, streams,
  lakes and ponds.

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People II
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River dam