Aquatic Ecology
(Biol4329)
• Course Introduction
• Field Component
• What is Limnology? (lotic vs lentic)
• Why Care About Water?
• Hydrologic Cycle
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of how
organisms interact with each other and with
their environment.
This includes relationships between
individuals of the same species, between
different species, and between organisms and
their physical and chemical environments.
Aquatic ecology includes the study of these
relationships in all aquatic environments,
including oceans, estuaries, lakes, ponds,
wetlands, rivers, and streams.
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms
and their physical and chemical environment, linked
by flows of energy and nutrients.
Ecosystems function as a discrete ecological unit,
and can be defined at a variety of scales.
For example, the Athabasca River basin can be
considered an ecosystem, as can a small pond, a
log, or the entire planet.
The boundaries of an aquatic ecosystem are
somewhat arbitrary, but generally enclose a system
in which inflows and outflows can be estimated.
Ecosystem ecologists study how nutrients, energy,
and water flow through an ecosystem.
The physical characteristics of aquatic habitats affect
the types of organisms found there.
Living organisms in a particular environment are
directly affected by environmental characteristics
such as nutrient concentrations, temperature, water
flow, and shelter.
Only the organisms that are able to survive in the conditions
of a particular habitat and use the resources available there
will thrive.
Interactions between living organisms also affect the
type of organisms found in an aquatic ecosystem, as
competition for resources (e.g., food, habitat) and
predation affects species abundance and diversity.
In turn, the living organisms in an
environment can influence some aspects of
their environment (e.g., beaver dams can
change water flows).
Understanding the basic components of
aquatic ecosystems and the interaction
among living organisms and their
environment can lead to better
management of human impacts on these
systems.
Limnology: is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems.
The study of limnology includes aspects of the
biological, chemical, physical, and geological
characteristics and functions of inland waters
(running/Lotic and Lentic/standing)
A lotic system includes all flowing inland bodies
such as creeks, rivers, streams, and so on.
The ecology of flowing water is unique in many ways
and is often shaped by the nature and behavior of the
flowing water.
A river, for example, is a flowing water body, usually
unidirectional, with a source and an end) and standing/ lentic
ecosystem entails a body of standing water, ranging from
ditches, seeps, ponds, seasonal pools, basin marshes and
lakes)waters, fresh and saline, natural and man-made).
This includes the study of lakes, reservoirs, ponds,
rivers, springs, streams, wetlands, and groundwater.
A more recent sub-discipline of limnology, termed
landscape limnology, studies, manages, and seeks
to conserve these ecosystems using a landscape
perspective, by explicitly examining connections
between an aquatic ecosystem and its
drainage basin.
Recently, the need to understand global inland
waters as part of the Earth System created a sub-
discipline called global limnology.
This approach considers processes in inland waters
on a global scale, like the role of inland aquatic
ecosystems in global biogeochemical cycles.
Note: Limnology is closely related to
aquatic ecology and hydrobiology, which
study aquatic organisms and their interactions
with the abiotic (non-living) environment.
While limnology has substantial overlap with
freshwater-focused disciplines (e.g.,
freshwater biology), it also includes the study
of inland salt lakes.
What is Limnology?
• Is it aquatic ecology?
– Marine versus inland waters
– Inland waters versus freshwater
– Ecology versus biology
• Multi-disciplinary:
– Geography “Limnology is the study of the
– Geology structural and functional
interrelationships of organisms of
– Physics & Math inland waters as they are affected by
– Chemistry their dynamic physical, chemical, and
biotic environments.” (Wetzel, 2001)
– Biology
How Much Water? Where?
These volumes reside in their location (reservoir) for very different time
scales. Ice caps for 16,000 y. Oceans for 3100 y. Groundwater for 300 y.
Lakes from months to 100s y. Large rivers for 10-20 d. Atmosphere < 10 d.
(Dodds, 2002; Table 1.1)
What is our need for understanding “inland
aquatic ecology”
• Global Renewable Resource crises in developing nations is
increasing with freshwater as a primary
Supply of Freshwater concern. These populations are simply not
– 39,000 km3/y coping with increasing resource limitation.
– Humans use 54% (Wetzel, 2001; Fig 1-1)
• Demotechnic Growth
– Population.
– Technology.
• Ecosystem Impacts:
– Unsustainable
Development
– Climate Change
Global Distribution of
Per Capital Freshwater Consumption
Check out our luxury use compared to other countries with ample
water supplies, i.e. Switzerland. (American vanity?)
(Dodds, 2002; Table 1.2)
Our Situation:
• Not so much
individuals at the tap,
although that is
increasing.
• Our bigger indirect
consumption is for the
agriculture, industry
and energy we use.
• Per Capita
improvement since
1970s (Clean Water
Act; EPA).
• What creative
technologies are out
there to increase supply
of improve conservation
or reuse? (Dodds, 2002; Fig 1.3)
US water supply sources:
• Situation is has been sustainable managed, for now!
• Surface water (lakes & streams) withdraws are greater.
• Which should we be more concerned about becoming
polluted from a human resource perspective?
The Hydrologic Cycle
• Hydrodynamics is the variations in the movement of water and changes in its
distribution in time and space. Over large scales, water cycles between
oceans, atmosphere, and the terrestrial environment via the processes of
evaporation, precipitation, transpiration, and surface and subsurface flows.
The Hydrologic Cycle is driven largely by the energy from solar radiation, Earth’s gravity,
the rotation of the Earth (Coriolis Effect), Gravity of Moon and Sun (ocean tides).
Solar energy drives evapotranspiration
and winds.
Solar energy and winds drive water
movement, via thermal density
differences and wave propagation,
respectively.
Coliolis Effect influences the
direction of wind and ocean
circulation.
Earth’s gravity influences
precipitation and surface and
subsurface flow.
Water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia
Access to water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia is
amongst the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa and the
entire world.
While access has increased substantially with
funding from foreign aid, much still remains to be
done.
Some factors inhibiting the achievement of these
goals are the limited capacity of water bureaus in the
country's nine regions, two city administrations and
water desks in the 770 districts of Ethiopia (woredas);
insufficient cost recovery for proper operation and
maintenance; and different policies and procedures
used by various donors, notwithstanding the Paris
In 2001 the government adopted a water
and sanitation strategy that called for more
decentralized decision-making; promoting
the involvement of all stakeholders,
including the private sector; increasing
levels of cost recovery; as well as
integrating water supply, sanitation and
hygiene promotion activities.
Implementation of the policy apparently is
uneven.
