Aquatic Biodiversity: Introduction
It’s clear that our bodies require water to survive, but did you know that aquatic ecosystems are also crucial for human survival? Living on a planet dominated by water means that maintaining healthy aquatic ecosystems is key to supporting sustainability of the human race and of the planet as a whole. In this chapter you’ll learn more about how aquatic ecosystems work and the impact that humans are having on aquatic biodiversity
Answer
Water dominates almost three-quarters of the earth’s surface! If ever there was a “waterworld? in our solar system, earth is it!
Answer
97.8% of the water on earth is salt water, while only 2.2% is fresh water! Over two-thirds of the fresh water is tied up in polar ice caps and glaciers. Freshwater lakes and rivers make up only 0.009% of water on Earth and groundwater makes up 0.28%.
Lesson 3 Objectives
After you have completed this lesson, you will be able to:
- Identify and describe biological, chemical, geological, and physical components of saltwater and freshwater life zones.
- Describe the ecological and economic importance of aquatic ecosystems.
- Analyze how human activities impact aquatic ecosystems.
Warm-up: Poverty and Environmental Degradation
The oceans cover almost 75% of the Earth’s surface, play a defining role in controlling Earth’s climate and weather, and are home to thousands of species. Yet more people have traveled into space than have traveled to the deep sea!
Alvin is a submersible laboratory operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. It can carry a crew of three people to depths of 4000 meters and is equipped with lights, cameras, computers, and maneuverable arms for collecting samples from deep-sea habitats. Alvin has been used to make discoveries all over the world from the elusive giant squid in the Pacific Ocean to the wreck of the HMS Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean.
What would you see if you were a passenger inside Alvin? As you descend to 4000 meters through the different layers of the ocean, what types of organisms would you see? What would the quality of water be like? How would it change as you descend?
You’ll soon find out! In this section, you’ll travel in a submarine with a marine biologist through the various life zones in the ocean, learning about the physical and chemical characteristics of each zone and the fascinating organisms that live in the least explored places on the planet.