Ecosystem Case studies 1 | Page 6

Fun Freshwater facts :

Freshwater lakes

Lakes are part of the freshwater biome , which typically range in size from as little as a few square yards up to thousands of square miles . Lakes can be divided into three different “ zones ”.
1 . The littoral zone is located near the shores of lakes and ponds and is home to algae , snails , insects , crustaceans and amphibians . It is the warmest of the zones since it shallow and can absorb the sun ’ s heat .
2 . The limnetic zone is situated near the surface in the open water and is populated by plankton , small organisms , and freshwater fish .
3 . The profundal zone includes the deepest waters of lakes and ponds , and is much cooler and denser than the other two zones .

Fun Freshwater facts :

• Freshwater covers 0.8 % of aquatic ecosystems
• 797 % of all surface water is in oceans
• Great lakes in north America and Lake Baikal in Russia , containing 7 / 8 of this fresh water surface
• The Baikal is home of more than 2,500 species of plants and animals , 2 / 3 which can be found nowhere else in the world
• Fresh water is naturally occurring water on Earth ' s surface in ice sheets , ice caps , glaciers , icebergs , bogs , ponds , lakes , rivers and streams , and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams .
• Lake Eyre is the largest freshwater lake in Australia
• There are over 700 different species of fish that live in a freshwater biome .
• The water in a freshwater biome contains less than 1 % of salt water . Any body of water that contains little to no salt is considered freshwater .