LSM3254 Ecology of Aquatic Environments

Freshwater habitats

Darren Yeo
Dept of Biological Sciences

Objectives
To learn about:
Selected freshwater habitats and associated limnological
concepts
Freshwater habitats in Singapore
Scope
Watershed
Lentic habitat lakes, swamps
Lotic habitat streams
Freshwater habitats in Singapore
References:
Dodson, S. 2005.Introduction to Limnology. McGraw-Hill Chapters 2, 11

Watershed
Area of land that supplies water to a lake or stream
= Area of land drained by a lake or stream
Also known as catchment or drainage
Note: Surface watershed may
not necessarily correspond
with groundwater watershed

Lentic environments
Standing water bodies
Lake
Large body of water, depth
>3m, area >1-10 ha
Often shows thermal
stratification

Pond
Small body of water, area
<1-10 ha
Shallow enough (<3 m) to be
fully mixed by light wind (no
thermal stratification)

Lakes
The majority of freshwater resides in just a few large lakes
Can you name them?

~60% of the worlds fresh water in three areas

Lake parameters
Lake morphometrics
Shape, area, volume
Shore length (=perimeter)
Varies with shoreline development
E.g., for given area,
- More elongate, with rough, folded shoreline longer shore length
- More circular, with smooth, simple shoreline shorter shore length

Measured shore length of lake

Index of shoreline development of lake = -----------------------------------------------------------Shore length of a circular lake with same area
Minimum index value = 1
Higher index value ! increased shoreline development

Lake parameters
Water budget: lake inputs and outputs
Residence time: amount of time water spends in lake (yr)
= Lake volume/discharge rate
Discharge rate: rate of water output from lake (m3 yr-1)

Flushing rate: rate of lake volume output (yr-1)

= 1 / residence time

+18%

6%

12%

Lake position in landscape

Lake position (expressed as lake order)
determines water input/output of lake
! influences chemical and biological characteristics
of lake

Highest salinity,
nutrients,
productivity,
biodiversity

Lowest salinity,
nutrients,
productivity,
biodiversity

Seepage lakes: no surface inlets; ground water only ( 2, 1)

Drainage lakes: have surface outlets ( 1, 1, 2, 3)

Vertical temperature profile

Vertical stratification in lakes: Thermal, oxygen, light,
biological, primary production
Thermal stratification: vertical pattern of temperature differences
along a depth gradient
Water column divided into layers that resist mixing
above 4 deg C: warmer water floats on top of cooler water
below 4 deg C: cooler water floats on top of warmer water
at 4 deg C: max density water sinks to lake bottom

Mixing of the water column - breakdown of stratification

Wind-driven
Ecologically important
Oxygenation of bottom waters
Replenish nutrients in surface waters
Stratified lakes - oxygenation/temp regulation of upper layers

Vertical temperature profile

Graph of lake depth vs temperature
Depth plotted on y axis (vertical)
More diagrammatic representation

Fundamental to limnological
understanding
Thermal stratification gives rise to
other forms of stratification
(chemical, light, biological)

Vertical temperature profile

Summer stratification
Epilimnion
Warm, bright, less dense upper layer
Oxygen rich ! higher concentration of fauna
Wind-driven mixing (within the layer)

Metalimnion
Transition zone
Includes thermocline where temperature
changes most rapidly with depth

Hypolimnion
Cool, dark, denser lower layer
Oxygen-poor ! lower concentration of fauna

Vertical temperature profile

Winter stratification
Very weak stratifiction
Reverse of summer
Cooler epilimnion
Warmer hypolimnion
Mixing prevented by ice cover

Isothermal lake

Spring, autumn
No temperature change with depth
No layers
Mixed

Summer
-Epilimnion warms further, mixes
-Hypolimnion remains cool but is deeper,
i.e. thermocline descends

Annual pattern
on temperate
zone lake

Late spring
-Lake warms further
-Warmer epilimnion
floating on cooler
hypolimnion
!Stratified lake

Early spring
-Ice melts
-Lake warms slightly
-Lake mixes
!Isothermal lake

Autumn
-Epilimnion cools
-Cool water sinks
-Lake mixes
-Breakdown of
stratification
!Isothermal lake

Winter
- Ice cover
-Reverse of summer stratification
-Cooler epilimnion floating on warmer hypolimnion
-Stratified lake

Vertical temperature profile

Factors affecting thermal stratification
Time of year, location: affect annual/daily variation in
environmental temperature
Lake depth: shallow vs deep lakes
Fetch:
Uninterrupted distance travelled by wind across lake ! mixing of lake
But correlated with depth ! stratification intact ! deeper mixing of
epilimnion only (rather than whole lake) ! pushes hypolimnion

deeper

Topography: geographic features shielding lake from wind

Solutes: increased density ! resist mixing

Vertical temperature profile

Lake classification based on stratification/mixing patterns
Dimictic: biannual mixing (spring, autumn) and stratification (summer, winter)
Monomictic: annual mixing (autumn to spring) and stratification (summer only)
Amictic: no mixing
Polymictic: frequent, sometimes daily, mixing (afternoon through night) from
storms and strong winds and stratification (mornings as sun rises) seen in
many shallow tropical lakes
Meromictic chemically stratified due to high solute concentration
Monimolimnion (dense, deep, non-mixing layer of salts)
Demarcated by pycnocline, depth with greatest density change (associated with
chemocline - depth with most rapid [solute] change)

May still be thermally stratified above monimolimnion

Vertical oxygen profile

Vertical oxygen profile affected by
Thermal stratification
Biological activity
Lake classification based on patterns of oxygen
concentration:
Orthograde
Spring, low production lakes, lower biological activity
Epilimnion (warmer, lower O2 solubility) lower [O2]
Hypolimnion (cooler, higher O2 solubility) higher [O2]

Clinograde
Summer, productive lakes, higher biological activity
Epilimnion (warmer, light, photosynthesis) higher [O2]
Hypolimnion (cooler, dark, decomposition) lower [O2]

Vertical oxygen profile

Heterograde
Just below thermocline ! peak [O2] (oxygen anomaly)
Low production lakes ! deep light penetration
Growth of hypolimnion algae (Algal plate)

Vertical light profile

Euphotic zone
Upper layer with sufficient light for net primary production by
algae
From surface (100% light penetration) to 1% surface light
penetration depth

Compensation zone
Just enough light for photosynthesis to support algae only
Net primary production = 0

Aphotic zone
Insufficient light for photosynthesis to support growth

Vertical light profile

Light penetration
Estimated using Secchi disk
Affected by:
Suspended particles (e.g.,
phytoplankton, sediment)
Dissolved pigments (e.g.,
tannins)
Depth/differential
absorbance of colours
(wavelengths) by water
Most strongly absorbed: IR,
red, UV
Least absorbed: blue,
green (most reflected)

Log

Biological vertical profiles

Examples
Algae (phytoplankton) affected by light penetration
Bacteria and zoobenthos (bottom-dwelling
invertebrates) vertical profiles in the sediment
affected by [O2]
Zooplankton and fishes affected by physical (e.g.,
[O2]) and biological factors (e.g., predation)

Biological vertical profiles

Diel Vertical Migration (DVM)
Daily pattern observed in zooplankton (small pelagic
animals)
Diurnal migration to deeper waters avoid predation from
visual predators
Depth limited by [O2]

Nocturnal migration to shallow waters faster growth and

reproduction

Also observed in larval fishes

Primary production vertical profiles

Net primary production (NPP): Energy in lake
ecosystem (from photosynthesis) excluding
metabolic requirements (for respiration) of algae
and plants
Highest NPP surface waters (epilimnion) in
agricultural and urban watersheds
Higher temperature
High light
High inorganic nutrients

Primary production vertical profiles

Lake classification based on primary production
Eutrophic lake: High 1 production

Nutrient-rich
Abundant phytoplankton
Poor light penetration ! turbid water due to phytoplankton
Photic zone ! upper epilimnion
Oxygen depleted (anoxic) hypolimnion

Oligotrophic lake: Low 1 production

Nutrient-poor
Low in phytoplankton
Good light penetration ! clear water
Photic zone ! epilimnion to hypolimnion
Well oxygenated hypolimnion

Primary production vertical profiles

Lake classification based on primary production
Mesotrophic lake: Intermediate 1 production
Intermediate nutrient availability - between oligotrophic to eutrophic
conditions

Dystrophic lake: Very low 1 production

Nutrient-poor abundant predacious plants

Low in phytoplankton
Low light penetration ! dark water dissolved organic pigments
Oxygen depleted ! anoxic hypolimnion

Lake types and origins

Glacial lakes
Glaciation - a major process
at higher latitudes
Deposited sediments
(glacial till) ! moraines,
alluvial dams
Deposited icebergs !
kettle ponds
Depressions/basins
plunge basins, glacial
scouring, proglacial lakes

Lake types and origins

Non-glacial lakes
Oxbow lakes (billabongs, bayous)
erosion/sedimentation along stream
meanders
Sinkholes dissolved limestone in karst
areas
Frost polygons thawed permafrost
Beaver ponds biological activity

Lake types and origins

Lake Pinatubo

Lake Toba

Crater lakes volcanic

activity
Rift lakes tectonic
activity along fault lines

Lake Baikal

Lake Poso

Lakes types and origins

Inland, shallow wetlands
Coastal wetlands - part brackish

Lake Songkhla

Tonle Sap
Chilka Lake

African Rift Lakes

Inle Lake (Myanmar)

Lake Pinatubo (Luzon)
Tonle Sap (Cambodia)

Natural lakes in
tropical SE Asia
Lake Songkhla (Thailand)
Lake Toba (Sumatra)

- Inland, shallow wetlands

- Coastal wetlands: part brackish
- Volcanic and tectonic lakes

Tasik Bera (Malaysia)

Lake Poso (Sulawesi)

Lake development
Lakes have finite life spans
Gradually become shallower
Lakes ! wetlands
Key process: sedimentation
particles dropped by
moving water
Inorganic sediment (e.g., clay,
silt, sand, etc.) in drainage lakes
Basins often deeper than
water depth
Lake Baikal: 1741m water +
>3000m of sediment
Organic sediment (e.g., peat
compressed, very slowly
decomposing plant material)

Artificial Lakes
Reservoirs
Artificial pond or lake
Created by construction of
a dam or barrage across a
Valley
Depression
River mouth
River basin
Morphology and hydrology
distinct from natural ponds
or lakes

Artificial Lakes
Reservoirs
Often characterised by
dendritic shorelines
Different from natural lakes

Tasik
Temenggor

Swamps

Okeefenokee

Wetland
Soil saturated with
water
Shallow standing water
(up to 1m depth)
Extensively vegetated
Grasses marsh or bog
Trees - swamp

Tasik Chini

Swamps
Lentic environment
Low-lying area relative to surrounding topography
Water table at or close to the surface; prone to flooding
Substratum includes spongy, slowly rotting vegetation
Extensive root mats and macrophytes
Regulates water flow and quality - functions like a giant,
landscape level sponge
Absorbs and holds excess water during rainy periods flood control
Slow release of trapped water during dry period maintain water flow
Natural filter for polluted runoff traps/absorbs pollutants and nutrients

Important habitat
E.g., Singapores Nee Soon Swamp Forest

Lotic environments
Running or flowing waters
(cf. lentic - standing waters)
Rivers
Streams (creek, crick, branch,
rivulet, trace, brook )
Springs
Estuary

Stream parameters
Stream morphometrics
Velocity: rate of downstream
movement
Gradient: decrease in elevation
over fixed distance
Cross-sectional area
~0.5 x (greatest depth x width)

Discharge: volume of water

carried per unit time
Velocity x Cross-sectional area
High discharge:
Spates: Small pulses
Floods: major peaks

Stream order
Streams classified based on position in landscape
Assignment of stream order based on joining of two
streams of previous order
First Order:
permanent stream
originating from
ground water; no
other streams joining

Third Order: Joining

of two second order
streams

Second Order:
Joining of two first
order streams

Joining of a lower order

stream does not raise
the order of the stream

River Continuum Hypothesis

Predicting downstream characteristics of temperate
streams
Low order streams
Heavily shaded; allochthonous input
coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM)
e.g., falling leaves
Shredders (that break up CPOM) dominate

High order streams

Open; allochthonous input
FPOM (photosynthesis
inhibited by turbid water)
Filter feeders/collectors
dominate

Intermediate order streams

More open; autochthonous inputaquatic algae and
plantsand allochthonous inputfine particulate organic
matter (FPOM) from upstream
Scrapers/grazers and filter feeders/collectors dominate

References Singapore freshwater habitats

Corner EJH, 1978. The Freshwater Swamp-forest of South Johore and Singapore. Botanic
Gardens, Parks and Recreation Department, Singapore. 266 pp.
Johnson DS, 1973. Freshwater life. p. 103-127. In: Chuang, S. H. (ed.). Animal Life and Nature in
Singapore. Singapore University Press. xiv + 302 pp.
Lim KKP, Ng PKL, 1990. A Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Singapore. Singapore Science
Centre, Singapore. 160 pp.
Ng PKL, 1991. A Guide to the Freshwater Life in Singapore. Singapore Science Centre,
Singapore. 162 pp.
Ng PKL, Lim KKP, 1999. The diversity and conservation status of fishes in the nature reserves of
Singapore. Proceedings of the Nature Reserves Survey Seminar (1997). Gardens Bulletin,
Singapore, 49: 245265.
Tan HTW, Chou LM, Yeo DCJ, Ng PKL, 2010. The Natural Heritage of Singapore, 3rd Edition.
Pearson Prentice Hall. 323 pp.
Turner IM, Boo CM, Wong YK, Chew PT, Ibrahim A, 1996. Freshwater swamp forest in
Singapore, with particular reference to that found around the Nee Soon firing ranges. Gardens
Bulletin, Singapore, 48: 129157.
Yeo DCJ, Wang LK, Lim KKP (eds.), 2010. Private Lives: An Expos of Singapores Freshwaters.
Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. 258 pp.
Ng PKL, Corlett RT, Tan HTW (eds.), 2011. Singapore Biodiversity: An Encyclopedia of the
Natural Environment and Sustainable Development. Editions Didier Millet.

Freshwater habitats in Singapore

Up to two-thirds or more of Singapores land area is
water catchment
Much of Singapores original freshwater habitats lost or
modified
High biodiversity - including rare and endangered
species
Singapores freshwater habitats can be broadly classified
into three categories:
Natural
Urban (artificial or modified)
Ephemeral

Classification of habitats in Singapore

Natural habitats
Tend to be refuges for native aquatic
species
Tree-country forest streams (primary,
secondary forest)
Freshwater swamp

Urban habitats (artificial of modified)

Artificial or modified ecosystems
Tend to have more exotic species

Open-country rural streams

Concrete canals, drains
Reservoirs (inland, coastal)
Park/garden/landscape ponds

Ephemeral habitats
In natural areas, e.g., pools, temporary
streams in forests
In artificial areas, e.g., marshland?

Natural freshwater ecosystems

Rivers and streams

Absence of large rivers
Original large natural freshwater ecosystems - small rivers
e.g., Sungei Kranji, Sungei Seletar, Sungei Kallang, Singapore River
But now almost all drowned or heavily modified

Absence of native large river species

Natural freshwater ecosystems

Forest streams
Primary/secondary rain-forests
Bukit Timah and Central Catchment Nature
Reserves
Mostly flowing into inland reservoirs
Few, if any, torrent streams

Natural/unmodified environmental
conditions
Shallow (<1 m), slow-flowing, soft, mildly acidic
(pH 5.56.0) waters
Well-shaded by the forest canopy and riparian
vegetation ! relatively cool waters ~25-28 deg C
Combinations of sand, clay, or mud substrata
often with leaf litter and woody debris
Macrophytes
Dominated by native aquatic species adapted to
forest stream conditions (few/no exotic species so
far)

Natural freshwater ecosystems

Nee Soon Swamp Forest

In the Central Catchment Nature
Reserve
Small (<1 km2) but important
remnant of original freshwater
swamp habitat in Singapore
Last substantial patch
Former areas include: Jurong,
Mandai and Pulau Tekong

Protected by the National Parks

Board
Important role of Ministry of
Defence - military firing ranges

Natural freshwater ecosystems

Nee Soon Swamp Forest (contd)
Natural/unmodified environmental conditions
Slow-flowing streams draining into shallow, often
flooded, valleys
Saturated, waterlogged soils - unstable and anaerobic
substratum
Plants with some similar adaptations to mangrove plants
stilt or prop roots
breathing roots (pneumatophores)

Clear, stained (by tannins from decaying vegetation),

soft, acidic (typically <pH 5.5) waters
High conservation value - highest proportion of
Singapores native freshwater aquatic fauna including:
48% of the primary freshwater fishes and 71% of the
amphibian fauna

Artificial/modified freshwater ecosystems

Rural streams
Shallow (<1 m), slow-flowing, relatively
soft, slightly acidic to neutral (>pH 6.5)
waters

Open, poorly or not shaded relatively

warm waters ! >28 deg C

Little any leaf litter or woody debris

Algae and macrophytes

Different environmental conditions (cf.

forest streams)
Open, deeper, less acidic waters
Few robust, adaptable native aquatic
species
More exotic species better adapted to
modified conditions. E.g.,
Small species
Species associated with higher pH and
temperature waters

Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

Name that reservoir

Bedok
Lower Seletar
Jurong Lake
MacRitchie
Kranji
Marina
Lower Peirce
Murai

Pandan
Poyan
Punggol
Sarimbun

Serangoon Upper Seletar

Tekong
Tengeh
Upper Peirce

Artificial/modified freshwater ecosystems

Reservoirs
17 reservoirs for domestic/industrial use
Artificial equivalents of natural lentic habitats (i.e. lakes),
which are absent
Damming natural river drainages or river basins
Protected and Urban/Unprotected catchments
Inland reservoirs and coastal (estuarine) reservoirs
Inland reservoirs dams at headwaters/upper reaches
Coastal (estuarine) reservoirs barrages at river mouth or across
common basin
Take years to flush out salt water

Artificial/modified freshwater ecosystems

Different environmental conditions (cf. forest
streams)
Open, deeper, less acidic, sluggish to standing waters
Few robust, adaptable native aquatic species
More exotic species better adapted to modified conditions.
E.g.,
Large river/lentic species
Species associated with higher pH and temperature waters

Artificial/modified freshwater
ecosystems

Ponds
Small, mostly isolated in parks, golf courses and
disused granite quarries

Canals
Heavily modified rivers/streams, especially those
flowing through urban areas
Canalisation - straightening, deepening, widening,
and cementing of the banks and substrates
Canalised for:
Flood control
Mosquito control

Exposed to urban runoff and pollution

Harsh, exposed environmental conditions

Warm, hard, often polluted, shallow waters

Bare concrete substratum
Frequent and severe flash flooding
Few robust, adaptable natives
More exotic species. E.g.,
Species associated with hard, high pH and temperature
waters