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RIVER ECOSYSTEM

N.Jessy Monica S.R.Kalaiarasi V.Karthiga A.Krithika

WHAT IS A RIVER
- A river is any body of water flowing from gravity from an upland source to a large lake or to the sea

-A river has distinct characteristics which includes a variety of creatures and plant life which have symbiotic relationships.
-it originates at a point called its source and enters a sea or lake at its mouth

-the directional and rapid flow of water in a river produces different biomes.

Unifying Characteristics
Flow is unidirectional. There is a state of continuous physical change. There is a high degree of spatial and temporal heterogeneity at all scales (microhabitats). Variability between lotic systems is quite high. The biota is specialized to live with flow conditions.

River Ecology
The plants and animals that live along the riverbank are all considered part of the river environment

Food Chain
Scavengers

Cray fish
2nd order consumers Bullfrogs, Bass 1st order consumers Tadpoles

Producers
Algae, Moss, Plankton

Primary producers
Algae, consisting of phytoplankton and periphyton, are the most significant sources of primary production in most streams and rivers Phytoplankton float freely in the water column and thus are unable to maintain populations in fast flowing streams In places where flow rates are negligible or absent, periphyton may form a gelatinous, unanchored floating mat.[4] Periphyton

Living in flowing water can be beneficial to plants and algae because the current is usually well aerated and it provides a continuous supply of nutrients These organisms are limited by flow, light, water chemistry, substrate, and grazing pressure Algae and plants are important to lotic systems as sources of energy, for forming microhabitats that shelter other fauna from predators and the current, and as a food resource .

Consumers
Fishes are the best-known inhabitants of lotic systems. Some species have adapted to living only on the system bottom, never venturing into the open water flow. Examples:salmon,bullfrogs,cray fish.

Understanding river systems both physically and ecologically, involves four conceptual models: The River continuum concept (RCC): was an attempt to construct a single framework to describe the function of temperate lotic ecosystems from the source to the end and relate it to changes in the biotic community The River Flood-Pulse Concept:This concept stresses the importance of the lateral flow of materials in response to the river flood cycle, and in particular it identifies the importance of floodplains in the Mekong and other large tropical rivers

Nutrient Spiralling Concept: This concept is also referred to as resource spiralling describes how organic matter in a river system moves and is processed. Serial Discontinuity Concept:This concept provides a model based upon consideration of how disrupting the natural structure of the river, by separating its naturally occurring parts, influences river functions.

Yamuna River:A case study


It Originats from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height 6,387 metres, on the south western slopes of Banderpooch peaks, in theLower Himalayas in Uttarakhand. It travels a total length of 1,376 kilometers . It crosses several states, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, passing by Himachal Pradesh and later Delhi, and meets several of its tributaries on the way.

Problems Faced At Yamuna River


STPs plants built but not used Where there is sewage, theres no STPs Where theres STPs, theres no sewage! Treated mixed with untreated effluent (legal waste of rich mixed with illegal waste of poor) All effluent (treated & untreated) discharged into drain. Leads to river. No improvement in water quality No longer can the river dilute waste (no assimilative capacity)

Polluted Yamuna River

Generates 10-30 mld waste (40 to 135 lpcd water supply); 0.3 to 0.9 per cent of Delhis waste

Nile Basin Population


Ten Riparian States
Egypt Sudan Ethiopia Uganda Rwanda Tanzania Kenya D.R. Congo Eritrea Burundi
Congo 16% Kenya 9% Sudan 11% Eritea 1% Burundi 2% Egypt 22%

Tanzania 10% Rwanda 2%

Uganda 7%

Ethiopia 20%

Nile Basin Initiative


Goal:
Achieve sustainable socioeconomic development through the equitable utilization of, and benefit from the common resources

Objectives:
Develop water resources in a sustainable and equitable way to ensure prosperity, security and peace for all its people Ensure efficient water management and optimal use Ensure cooperation and joint action between states Target poverty eradication and promote economic integration Ensure the program results in a move from planning to action

There are 36 industries that discharge their pollution sources directly into the Nile, and 41 into irrigation canals. These types of industries are: chemical, electrical, engineering, fertilizers, food, metal, mining, oil and soap, pulp and paper, refractory, textile and wood. There are over 90 agricultural drains that discharge into the Nile that also include industrial wastewater.

Problems caused due to river pollution are:

Scarcity of drinking water. Scarcity of aquatic organisms- fishes, crabs, crocodiles, snakes and other species which are on extinct. Scarcity of useful aquatic vegetation- which help in reducing pollution by absorbing harmful gases. Spreading of various diseases- Jaundice, cholera, dengue, some of which cause because of mosquitoes taking birth from rivers.

Toxic products like paints, automobile oil, polishes, and cleaning products should be stored and disposed off properly. Refrain from throwing litter into streams, lakes, rivers, or seas. Try using natural fertilizers and pesticides as far as possible, or if not, do not overuse them or over-water gardens and lawns. educate and inform the population of the world to what pollution is and how to control and contain any and all spills.

Conclusion

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