H E D C e n E n v i r o n m e n t a l S c i e n c e W o r k b o o k G r a d e 6

I N T R O D U C T I O N T O A Q U A T I C B I O M E S

Guide questions:

1. What is an aquatic biome?

2. How are aquatic biomes different from terrestrial biomes?

3. What are the different major aquatic biomes?

Key concepts Biome Aquatic biomes Salinity Freshwater biomes Marine biomes Wetlands

Did you know?

The largest aquatic biomes are: Freshwater—the Great lakes in the northeastern part of the North American continent contains 22,810 km3 of freshwater. That’s 21% of the world’s fresh surface water! The area is also studded with 35,000 islands (the Philippines only has 7,150)!

Marine—the biggest ocean is the Pacific Ocean. It covers 33% of the Earth!

Wetland—the Pantanal Wetlands (straddling the borders of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay) is one of the largest in the world. It is home to over 658 species of birds, 190 mammals, 50 reptiles, 270 fish and 1,132 butterflies!

What is an aquatic biome? First, let us define a biome. A

biome is an extensive area where a community of organisms

live and interact with each other and with their environment. An

aquatic biome is an area where there is a lot of water and so

the organisms in there are adapted to living in or around water.

The presence of large amounts of water is what sets apart

aquatic biomes from terrestrial ones.

Aquatic biomes may be classified into three major categories

- freshwater biomes; marine biomes; and wetlands. Fresh-

water biomes have a salt content (or salinity) of less than 0.05%

while marine biomes have a salinity of 3.5% or greater. Wetland

biomes are areas in between terrestrial and aquatic biomes.

Image credits (from top left): aquatek-california.com; greglasley.net; hedcentrcp.wordpress.com; (from bottom left) 2.bp.blogspot.com;

geography4kids.com (the last two)

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F R E S H W A T E R B I O M E S

Freshwater biomes are classified according to the movement of its water. Biomes in

which the water is not flowing are classified as lentic freshwater biomes while those that

contain freely flowing water are known as lotic freshwater biomes.

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The word lentic comes from the Latin

lentus which means sluggish. Lentic fresh-

water biomes contain water that is standing

(not flowing). Examples of lentic freshwater

biomes are lakes and ponds. Taal Lake

(shown at left) is the Philippines’ largest

lake in terms of volume. It holds around

23km3 of water- that means that about 900

SM Megamalls can be submerged in it!

The word lotic, on the other hand, comes

from the Latin lotus which is used to refer to

water lillies– aquatic plants commonly found

in rivers. Lotic freshwater biomes contain wa-

ter that is moving or freely-flowing. Examples

of lotic freshwater biomes are rivers and

streams. At 505 km, the Cagayan River (also

known as Rio Grande de Cagayan, shown at

right) located in the Cagayan Valley in the

northeastern part of Luzon, is the largest river

system in the Philippines. It has an estimated

Top: islandparadisephilippines.com

Right: upload.wikimedia.org

discharge of 54 km3 of water in a year- that’s about 180,000,000 Grade 6

classrooms combined!

Do a Google Image search of a freshwater fish or plant. Make a pencil sketch of your

chosen image on the space provided below. Write at least 3 sentences as to why this

particular plant or animal caught your attention. (10 pts)

ART ATTACK!

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W E T L A N D S

A wetland is a biome that is permanently (or at least for most of the year) flooded with wa-

ter. There are many ways of categorizing wetlands– for our purposes, we will study the fol-

lowing major types:

Coastal wetlands- found in areas between land and open sea where there is no river. An

example of a coastal wetland are mangroves.

Bogs– contain water-saturated soils that are acidic and very poor in nutrients. This

means that it can support a wide variety of carnivorous plants such as pitcher plants and

venus fly traps.

Marshes– wetlands dominated by plants with floating leaves such as lilies and duckweed.

Swamps– similar to marshes except that the dominant vegetation are trees.

Estuaries– these are areas where rivers meet oceans. Estuaries contain brackish water

which is a mixture of saltwater and freshwater. Key concepts

Lentic freshwater biomes Lotic freshwater biomes Lakes; Ponds; Rivers; Streams; Coastal wetlands; Bogs; Marshes; Swamps; Estuaries; Brackish water

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Almost the same size as Metro Manila,

the Agusan Marsh (shown at right), is not

only the largest wetland in the Philippines,

it is also one of the country’s most impor-

tant ecosystems. It contains nearly 15%

of the nation’s freshwater resources and

is home to countless fishes, turtles, croco-

diles and other freshwater wildlife. The

marsh also plays a significant role globally

since it serves as a temporary home for nearly 200 species of migratory ducks, herons and other water birds.

Some of these birds come from as far away as Russia!

Malhiao Mangroves in Cebu– the roots of man-grove trees help retain soils and provide a rich feed-ing and breeding ground for fishes and shellfishes.

seacology.org

Write the freshwater biome which

the given word BEST describes in

the blank provided. (2 pts)

Standing : __________________

Flowing : ___________________

Let’s get critical!

The marine biomes are divided into

two major zones– oceans and coral reefs.

Oceans are very large bodies of water that

dominate the Earth’s surface. Ecologists

say that even though it contains fewer spe-

cies than terrestrial biomes, the oceans

have the richest diversity of species.

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M A R I N E B I O M E S

Key concepts

Oceans; Coral reefs; Zooxanthellae; Coral polyp

Whales have been hunted nearly to extinction. We’ve been killing whales since

6000BC (that’s nearly 8000 years of whale hunting!). Research at least five products

we get from whales and how we use these products in our lives. Limit your answer to

the space provided after each product. Be sure to list your references. (10 pts)

Go further!

Coral reefs are marine biomes found

in the warm shallow waters of the tropics.

Corals are actually a symbiotic partnership

between zooxanthellae (a photosynthetic

algae) and the coral polyp. The

zooxanthellae produces food via photosyn-

thesis while the coral polyp provides a

home for the algae.

windows2universe.org

Tubbataha Reef, Sulu Sea, Palawan– the reef is home to over 300 species of coral and almost 500 species of fish.

Tubastraea faulkneri (Orange sun coral)– come of the coral polyps are shown here out of their homes and feeding. Coral polyps use their tentacles to filter microorganisms from the water.

Megaptera novaeangliae (Humpback whale)– There are 88 extant (not extinct) species of whales in the ocean. They are divided into two major suborders– Odontoceti (toothed whales) and Mysticeti (baleen whales).

Product 1: _________________ ; Used in/for:

Product 2: _________________; Used in/for:

Product 3: _________________; Used in/for:

Product 4: _________________; Used in/for:

Product 5: _________________; Used in/for:

References:

See if you can complete the crossword puzzle below which includes all the

key concepts for this lesson on Aquatic Biomes. The space between words

is included in the box count. We recommend that you make several copies

of this page before answering. If on the first round you find yourself

needing to review the lessons, then that’s OK. But try to do the puzzle

again and again until you’ve mastered the key concepts without reviewing.

The clues are at the next page (21 pts).

HOW MUCH HAVE YOU LEARNED?

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EclipseCrossword.com

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2. The animal that provides a home for the zooxanthellae. 6. Marine biomes found in the warm shallow waters of the tropics. 10. Aquatic biomes with a salinity of 3.5% or greater. 14. Wetland found in areas where rivers meet oceans. 15. Wetland dominated with trees. 19. An extensive area where a community of organisms live and interact with each other and with their environ-

ment. 20. Example of a coastal wetland in which tree roots provide a rich feeding and breeding ground for fishes and

shellfishes. 21. Type of wetland found in areas between land and open sea where there is no river.

1. Mixture of salt and freshwater. 3. An example of a lentic freshwater biome. 4. Wetland dominated by plants with floating leaves. 5. Aquatic biomes with a salinity less than 0.05%. 7. A freshwater biome containing flowing water. 8. Also known as salt content. 9. An example of a lotic freshwater biome. 11. A biome where there is a large amount of water. 12. A marine biome consisting of a very large body of water dominating the Earth's surface. 13. Photosynthetic algae found in corals. 16. Biomes in between terrestrial and aquatic biomes. 17. A freshwater biome that contains standing water. 18. Wetland with nutrient-poor, acidic soils.

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