Introduction to Aquatic Ecology

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Introduction to Aquatic Ecology

• Instructor Dave Werner
• MATES

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What is Aquatic Ecology?

• Ecologystudy of the relationships of organisms
  to their physical environment and to one another.
  The study of an individual organism or a single
  species is termed autecology the study of groups
  of organisms is called synecology.
• Add Aquatic to that definition

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Question???

• Why is aquatic ecology important to understand?
• Does it impact you?

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Ecosystems

• What is an ecosystem?
• Within the biospherethe total expanse of water,
  land, and atmosphere able to sustain lifethe
  basic ecological unit is the ecosystem. An
  ecosystem may be as small as a tidal pool or a
  rotting log or as large as an ocean or a
  continent-spanning forest. Each ecosystem
  consists of a community of plants and animals in
  an environment that supplies them with raw
  materials for life, i.e., chemical elements and
  water. The ecosystem is delimited by the climate,
  altitude, water and soil characteristics, and
  other physical conditions of the environment.

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Topics of Study

• Limnology
• The Structure of Aquatic Ecosystems
• Water Light
• Heat
• Water Movement
• Chemistry of Natural Waters
• O2 CO2
• Nitrogen Phosphorus
• Organisms In Lakes, Streams Estuaries
• Phytoplankton Zooplankton
• Fish Fisheries
• Food-Chain Dynamics
• Streams Rivers
• Wetlands
• Estuaries
• Origins of Lakes Estuaries, Eutrophication,
  Paleolimnology

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Limnology
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Light Temperature
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Chemical Cycles
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Eutrophication
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Watersheds

• What is a watershed?
• The land area that drains rain and snowmelt to a
  river is called a watershed.
• Every person on Earth lives in a watershed.
• What is your watershed?
• Can you name the major headwaters?
• How does the land use affect your area?

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Fish Fisheries
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Macroinvertebrates
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Whats Expected?

• Critical Thinking
• Patience
• Common Sense
• Teamwork
• Electronic Folder

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The Field

• Composition Book
• Detailed Field Notes
• Leave first 3 pages blank for Index
• Never write on backside of pages
• Responsible for all days
• Google Earth 3

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Field Research Sites

• Today we will devise a plan for the semester.
• We need to identify several local areas of study
• Manahawkin Lake?
• Jennings Rd. Lake?
• Barnegat Bay?
• Use Google Earth 3 to map locations.