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Freshwater biodiversity
Limnological biodiversity
Ecologically and economically important
water quality, energy, human and wildlife health, conservation and management
Prokaryotes
Kingdom Prokaryota Prokaryotic cell structure Include:
Extremophiles (halophiles, methanophiles) Cyanobacteria (=blue-green algae)
Photoautotrophic and heterotrophic Nitrogen fixers (form heterocysts) Produce gas vacuoles Toxic Filamentous or colonial
Often grouped in various artificial groupings, e.g., Based on habit, e.g., benthic vs planktonic vs pelagic Based on size, e.g., plankton Category Zooplankton Nannoplankton Picoplankton Femtoplankton Approx size 50-5000 m 10-50 m 0.5-10 m <0.5 m Representative organisms Protists, rotifers, cladocerans, copepods Protists: protozoa & algae Smaller protists & bacteria Bacteria & viruses
Prokaryotes
Feeding:
Heterotrophs Autotrophs:
Chemoautotrophs, photoautotrophs
Protists
Kingdom Protista:
catch-all grouping
Eukaryotic cell structure Unicellular, colonial, or multicellular Non-motile or motile cilia, flagella, pseudopodia Free-living or symbiotic
Green algae
Protists
Feeding:
Autotrophs, e.g., Chlorella Heterotrophs, e.g., Amoeba, Dinobryon Parasites, e.g., Cryptosporidium, Plasmodium, Giardia
Pseudopodia
Rotifers
Phylum Rotifera (wheel animals) Microscopic multicellular organisms
~2,000 species Includes Ascomorpha minima
Smallest metazoan --adult size 80um
Aufwuchs = Periphyton = community of microorganisms attached to surfaces (e.g., of leaves, woody debris, bottom substrate, etc.) in the water
Rotifers
Life cycle and diapause
Cell constancy Parthenogenesis Haploid males
Annelids
Phylum Annelida Oligochaetes (freshwater earthworms, tubifex worms)
Lack parapodia; few chaetae per segment Clitellum: secretion of resistant mucous cocoon for eggs Hermaphrodites
Habitats:
pelagic, littoral, benthic, interstitial (meiofauna), still water
Annelids
Hirudineans (leeches)
Lack parapodia and chaetae Possess clitellum Possess suckers at both ends Thirty-four segments but with secondary annulation
Arthropods
Phylum Arthropoda >1 million spp. ~80% of all known animals. Extant groups include:
Subphylum Chelicerata (spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, horseshoe crabs) Subphylum Crustacea (crabs, krill, barnacles, wood lice, brine shrimp)
Aquatic leeches
Two modes of movement Ectoparasites, scavengers, predators
Spiders
Subphylum Chelicerata (Arthropoda) Body divided into: cephalothorax (prosoma) + abdomen Lack antennae Lack mandibles Chelicerae pincer-like first pair of appendages
Cephalothorax Abdomen
Crustaceans
Subphylum Crustacea (Arthropoda) Body divided into: cephalothorax + abdomen Two pairs of antennae Mouthparts: one pair of mandibles, two pairs of maxillae Freshwater groups include:
Branchiopods Copepods Malacostracans (e.g., isopods, amphipods, decapods)
Branchiopods
Class Branchiopoda (Arthropoda: Crustacea)
Compound eyes Compressed, feather-like or leaf-like legs Carapace (covering cephalothorax)
Branchiopods
Freshwater species in 4 major groups:
Anostraca - fairy and brine shrimp
Carapace absent 11-19 pairs thoracic appendages Filter-feeders, grazers, predators
Branchiopods
Swarming behaviour (e.g., fairy shrimp, water fleas)
Individual responses (e.g., food, water quality cues) Group/social responses (e.g., predation avoidance, mating)
Branchiopods
Ecological importance in freshwater environments
Key position in aquatic food web Alternative to microbial loop
Escape behaviour
Rapid directional change Bosmina - dead man s response also in non-aquatic environments
Microbial loop
Microbial loop
Copepods
Simple eyes, carapace absent 3 major free-living freshwater orders:
First antenna
Egg mass
Alternative path
Nauplius larva
Calanoida (pelagic/planktonic) -First antenna ! posterior margin of urosome - Elongate -Urosome narrower than metasome - Eggs in a single mass
Greater no. of trophic levels Less energy reaching higher trophic levels Lower fish production in lake
Cyclopoida (pelagic/planktonic) - First antenna ! posterior margin of cephalothorax - Teardrop shaped - Urosome narrower than metasome - Eggs in two lateral masses Harpacticoida (benthic) - First antenna short - Vermiform - Urosome similar width to metasome - Eggs in a single mass
Copepods
Feeding preferences and behavior Juveniles: bacteria & algae Adults: omnivores or predators Individual particle capture Ecological importance in freshwater environments Similar to branchiopods Key member of food chains especially in oligotrophic lakes
Malacostracans
Class Malacostraca (Arthropoda: Crustacea)
Includes most familiar crustaceans
Isopoda
Amphipoda
Mysidacea Decapoda
Decapods
Five pairs of thoracic walking legs
Insects
Body divided into: head + thorax + abdomen Thorax with:
Three pairs of walking legs One or two pairs of wings
One pair of antennae Mouthparts: one pair of mandibles and maxillae, e.g., piercing, sucking, biting, chewing Gas exchange by spiracles and tracheae
Crayfish (Parastacidae)
first pair three pairs of thoracic legs chelate, i.e. terminate in pincers (cf. prawns only first two pairs chelate)
Insects
MAJOR AQUATIC INSECT ORDERS Coleoptera (beetles)
Molluscs
Phylum Mollusca
Soft body Muscular ventral foot Calcareous shell secreted by mantle Mantle cavity
Aquatic phase may be larvae only or both larvae and adult Metamorphosis:
Complete (holometabolous): larvae very different from adult Incomplete (hemimetabolous): larvae smaller but similar to adult
*Important organisms for biotic monitoring - collectively known as EPT taxa most intolerant (i.e. sensitive) taxa
Molluscs
Habitat
Hard waters shell-building requirement Bivalves attached to surfaces (byssus threads) or buried in soft sediment
Fishes
Phylum Chordata: Subphylum Vertebrata Vertebrate characteristics in fish skeleton:
Cranium Vertebral column + 2 pairs of jointed limbs and limb girdles
Dorsal fins
Fishes
Fins stabilisation, braking, steering, generating lift, propulsion Unpaired fins (dorsal and anal fins) - counter yaw and roll Paired fins (pectoral and pelvic fins) - counter pitch Pectoral fins also used for braking and steering Tail (caudal fin and caudal peduncle) provides main propulsion
Fishes
Key adaptation: swim bladder
To achieve static lift (neutral buoyancy) Diverticulum of digestive tract Original respiratory function ! tetrapod lung
Highly folded internal walls of some spp.
bladder
Dorsal
Single or paired Physostomous: connected to pharynx by pneumatic duct Physoclistous: isolated from digestive tract associated with gas gland, oval window
Pelvic
Fishes
Feeding preferences and adaptations
Parasites lamprey (not a true bony fish)
Jawless Circular mouth (for suction action) armed with numerous teeth
Fishes
Predators
Vision Lateral line system Gape-limited prey can achieve size refuge Extensible jaws / protrusible mouth Expansion of buccal cavity and protrusion of jaws to form suction tube Tube formation evolved independently in different groups
Planktivores
Toothless/poorly developed teeth Gill rakers for filter feeding Electrical field sensors to detect zooplankton e.g., paddle fish
Fishes
Body shape
Large mouth, large size, well-developed sharp teeth
Ambush predators Specialist for acceleration Dorsal and large anal fin posterior (close to caudal fin) Truncate shaped caudal fin, thick peduncle
Higher vertebrates
Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, Mammals (Chordata: Vertebrata)
Vertebrate characteristics Two pairs of pentadactyl limbs
Class Amphibia
Thin, highly-vascularised skin for cutaneous gas exchange
unregulated exchange vulnerable to aquatic pollution
Higher vertebrates
Reptiles, Birds, Mammals
Predators, many are top predators Waterproof skin Dependent on aquatic environment for part or whole of lifehistory
Waterproof, amniotic or cleidoic eggs laid on land
Plants
Macrophytes large aquatic plants
Macroalgae Lower plants (e.g., mosses) Higher plants (e.g., ferns, flowering plants)
Euphotic zone
Floating macrophytes
Nitrogen Phosphorus