Environmental

Studies

Assignment On,
Aquatic
Ecosystem
(Ponds & Lakes)
Made By,

Name : Shivam Chauhan

Class : F. Y. B. Com.
Division : B
Roll No. : 11
SAP No. : 40311190111
Subject : Environmental Studies
Semester : 1st
Year : 2019-2020
Contact : 7844985124

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Concept of Ecosystem

Lakes, ponds, wetlands, rivers, and streams are all important aquatic environments
in the lower Athabasca region

Ecology is the scientific study of how organisms interact with each other and
with their environment. This includes relationships between individuals of
the same species, between different species, and between organisms and their
physical and chemical environments. Aquatic ecology includes the study of
these relationships in all aquatic environments, including oceans, estuaries,
lakes, ponds, wetlands, rivers, and streams.

An ecosystem is a community of living organisms and their physical and

chemical environment, linked by flows of energy and nutrients. Ecosystems
function as a discrete ecological unit, and can be defined at a variety of
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scales. For example, the Athabasca River basin can be considered an
ecosystem, as can a small pond, a log, or the entire planet. The boundaries of
an aquatic ecosystem are somewhat arbitrary, but generally enclose a system
in which inflows and outflows can be estimated. Ecosystem ecologists study
how nutrients, energy, and water flow through an ecosystem.

The physical characteristics of aquatic habitats affect the types of organisms

found there. Living organisms in a particular environment are directly
affected by environmental characteristics such as nutrient concentrations,
temperature, water flow, and shelter. Only the organisms that are able to
survive in the conditions of a particular habitat and use the resources
available there will thrive. Interactions between living organisms also affect
the type of organisms found in an aquatic ecosystem, as competition for
resources (e.g., food, habitat) and predation affects species abundance and
diversity. In turn, the living organisms in an environment can influence some
aspects of their environment (e.g., beaver dams can change water flows).

Understanding the basic components of aquatic ecosystems and the

interaction among living organisms and their environment can lead to better
management of human impacts on these systems.

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Components of Aquatic Ecosystem

1. Producers: The Basis of Life

In all ecosystems, producers make up the bottom of the food chain. They use
abiotic factors, like sunlight, water and soil to create their own food by
photosynthesis. After creating simple sugars through this process, plants
often find themselves eaten by another designation of biotic factors:
consumers, particularly omnivores and herbivores.

On the land and in fresh bodies of water, plants play the role of primary
producer, but in the ocean, phytoplankton and other forms of algae fill this
role. Different species of aquatic plants, like lily pads, also provide food for
consumers in their respective ecosystems. Aside from making an ecosystem's
food, these producers also release oxygen into the water, an essential element
for life in within the water.

Aquatic Plants

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 2. Herbivores: Peaceful Consumers
Herbivores, a sect of consumers, eat producers, having evolved to eat and
digest plant and algae matter over the flesh of other animals. While some
fish, like sharks, hunt down and eat living creatures, others slowly graze, and
play an important part in keeping producer numbers in check. For instance,
fish in coral reef ecosystems consume macroalgae, species that, if left
unchecked, can outcompete and kill off coral species. Aside from fish,
insects, crustaceans, reptiles (like some species of turtles) and mammals
make up the ranks of aquatic consumers.

Turtle

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 3. Carnivores: Limiting Herbivore Populations
While herbivores ensure that producer populations do not grow rampant,
carnivores hunt and kill other creatures in the consumer designation: whether
they be herbivores, omnivores or other carnivores. Aquatic carnivores belong
to similar groupings as herbivores. Mammals like whales, seals and dolphins,
crustaceans including shrimp, crabs, and lobsters, fish such as sharks,
piranha, pike, bass, and tuna, and reptiles like crocodiles, alligators, aquatic
snakes and some species of turtles, all play violent counterparts to their
herbivorous kin.

Crocodile

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 4. Omnivores: Opportunistic Eaters
Omnivores, which eat both producers and other consumers, play the role of
both herbivores and carnivores. They moderate both producer and consumer
populations, and have evolved to have a broader diet due to environmental
factors like scarcity. Similar to other consumers, mammals, fish, insects,
reptiles and crustaceans, like the tadpole shrimp, can be omnivores. Some
scientists believe that true herbivores in aquatic ecosystems are rare, and that,
instead, the bulk of them are omnivores, as flora is relatively low in nutrients
compared to fauna.

Tadpole Shrimp

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 5. Decomposers: Breaking Things Down
In a sense, decomposers do the opposite of producers: they take complex, in
some cases formerly living, content in an ecosystem and break it down to
simple, usable nutrients for producers. Often, this means breaking down
waste from living creatures and their bodies when they die. While bacteria --
anaerobic bacteria in the case of deep seas -- perform the bulk of
decomposition, other species help out. Bottom-feeding scavengers like crabs
and shrimp help in the process, eating dead things and releasing a simpler
form of waste to be further broken down. In fresh water, fungi like water
moulds and mildews also perform this action.

Crab

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Case Study

1. Nuisance Aquatic Vegetation Controlled in Drinking Water

Reservoir
Foxborough, MA
314 Acres

Following a lengthy 2-year permitting process, this drinking water reservoir

was treated with Sonar AS (fluridone) in 2009. Prior to treatment, the
shallow reservoir supported dense, nearly 100 percent cover of non-native
fanwort and variable watermilfoil which resulted in almost a complete loss
of open-water habitat. Treatment was performed over the course of 4
applications between May and July of 2009.

The initial treatment was extremely successful achieving nearly complete

control of the target species for almost two years. Continued monitoring and
targeted annual/biennial spot-treatments with Sonar and Reward (diquat)
have maintained desirably low coverage of the target non-native species in
reservoir. The native plant composition has continued to recover with large
areas previously infested with fanwort and milfoil now supporting dense
growth of native plant species.

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 2. Access to Open Water Restored with Successful Hydrilla
Treatment
Alexandria, Virginia
1.5 Acre Treatment Area

This affluent condominium community is located on the waterfront on the

tidal freshwater Potomac River in Alexandria, Virginia. The Potomac is
severely infested with hydrilla, and no widespread attempts have been made
to control it. The residents wanted at least their waterfront area to be clear
of the plants. The topped out hydrilla was not only unsightly, but it caused a
lot of vegetation and debris to be trapped near their docks and bulkhead,
including duckweed, trash and dead animals. It also caused difficulty for
residents in accessing the river for kayaking and canoeing.

SOLitude performed an initial treatment for hydrilla on August 24, 2015. We

performed post-treatment monitoring on September 2, and observed that they
hydrilla was heavily injured and dropping off the surface, with no adverse
effects to non-target organisms. We performed a follow-up treatment on
September 11 and by the time of the post-treatment monitoring on September
17, there was little evidence of any hydrilla within the treatment area. The
profuse duckweed that was in the area was also controlled by the treatment.

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Bibliography

www.sciencing.com

www.ramp-alberta.org

www.encyclopedia.com

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