Knowra Aquatic ecosystem Aquatic ecosystem An aquatic ecosystem is a community of organisms interacting with one another and their physical environment in a body of water or water-dependent habitat. Its conditions are shaped by properties such as salinity, depth, temperature, and water movement.
Aquatic food web : A network of feeding relationships among organisms in an aquatic environment. It shows how energy and matter pass among producers, consumers, and decomposers.
Freshwater ecosystem : An ecosystem in inland water with low concentrations of dissolved salts. It includes lakes, rivers, wetlands, and other low-salinity habitats.
Marine protected area : A geographically defined marine space managed to conserve nature and associated cultural values. Protection can reduce pressures on marine habitats and their communities.
Eutrophication : The enrichment of water with nutrients, often causing excessive algal growth and oxygen depletion. Nutrient overload can shift community composition and create low-oxygen zones.
Ecological resilience : The capacity of an ecosystem to absorb disturbance and reorganize while retaining its basic functions and structure. It frames questions about whether aquatic communities recover or shift into a different state.
Primary production : The formation of organic matter from inorganic sources by organisms, chiefly through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. It sets the energy entering most aquatic food webs.
Marine ecosystem : An ecosystem in salt water, including oceans, seas, and associated coastal habitats. Its organisms experience salinity and scale conditions distinct from inland waters.
Fisheries management : The regulation of fishing to sustain fish populations and the benefits they provide. Harvest rules can affect aquatic food webs and the persistence of fish populations.
Ocean acidification : The ongoing decrease in ocean pH, driven mainly by absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Changing seawater chemistry can hinder organisms that build shells or skeletons from calcium carbonate.
Regime shift : A large, persistent change in an ecosystem's structure and functioning. Aquatic systems can cross thresholds into states that are difficult to reverse.
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