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Salt marshes, bogs, swamps, and freshwater marshes are examples of wetlands, each one home to wide varieties of plant and animal life. This type of biome is a complex ecosystem that benefits people and upon which humans have had destructive impact.
(Source: DCMP)
What percent of earth's water is fresh? What are sources of freshwater? What is groundwater and how is it formed? Covers these questions and more in this discussion of water's characteristics, the water cycle, and freshwater's importance. Concludes with a quiz.
Freshwater mussel species are critical to river ecosystems. But, many species are in trouble. Nearly 70% of freshwater mussel species are considered threatened in some way, according to zoologist Caryn Vaughn at the University of Oklahoma. With support from the National Science Foundation, Vaughn studies the role mussels play in freshwater ecosystems. They work hard filtering impurities from the water. The major problem for freshwater mussels now is habitat fragmentation and channelization by dams.
The estuary is part of the Plum Island Ecosystems LTER (Long Term Ecological Research). The LTER Network was created by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1980 to conduct research on ecological issues that can last decades and span huge geographical areas. Biogeochemist Anne Giblin, of the Marine Biological Laboratory, is leading a team of researchers who are studying the Plum Island salt marshes to determine how this 2,000-year-old ecosystem is holding up under climate change, land use changes, and sea-level rise. Part of the National Science Foundation Series “Science Nation.”
After a few relatively mild winters on the northern Gulf coast, cold intolerant black mangroves have started to multiply in salt marshes. Dr. Hughes is conducting an experiment to test whether some mangroves are better adapted to colder climates. Part of the series "In The Grass, On The Reef."
The Large Lakes Observatory (LLO) helps an interdisciplinary group of scientists use oceanographic research approaches to investigate the mysteries of large lakes. With support from the National Science Foundation, LLO scientists work to better understand the biology, chemistry, physics, and geology of these bodies of water. In the summer of 2011, LLO scientists completed a 17- day research cruise on Lakes Superior, Huron, and Erie, focusing on how a buildup of nitrates may impact the ecology of all the Great Lakes. They say a greater understanding of lakes will ultimately improve our management and conservation efforts.
Investigates both saltwater and freshwater biomes. Explores how ocean temperature, salinity, and depth affect the enormous diversity of marine life. Covers the intertidal, neritic, and open ocean zones and their characteristics. Also examines estuaries and freshwater biomes such as streams, lakes, and ponds. Defines terms and concepts, and reviews content before a quiz.
The salt marshes along Florida’s Gulf Coast provide a variety of ecosystem services and are economically important, but in decline. Dr. Hughes studies these marshes in hopes of finding a way to slow their decline and preserve these services. Part of the series "In The Grass, On The Reef."
In this episode, host Emily Graslie interviews conservation scientist Dr. Lesley de Souza. She is working with the people of Guyana to establish a new protected area. Their goal is to safeguard a watershed for animals like the arapaima, one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. Part of "The Brain Scoop" series.
A quick glance at the marsh next to Saquatucket Harbor in Harwich Port, Massachusetts, reveals right away that some of the grass is missing. The cordgrass there, and all around Cape Cod, has been slowly disappearing for decades. Marine ecologist Mark Bertness of Brown University studies this critical ecosystem, which protects our coastal environment by nurturing a complex web of plants and animals, filtering nutrients, and serving as a critical storm barrier. Bertness says the marshes are being overrun by purple marsh crabs because their main predators, blue crab and finfish, are being overfished. So, the purple marsh crabs are free to gorge on healthy fields of cordgrass and once done feeding, they leave behind nothing but lumpy fields of mud.
After the end of the last ice age 10,000 years ago, populations of marine stickleback fish became stranded in freshwater lakes dotted throughout the Northern Hemisphere in places of natural beauty like Alaska and British Columbia. These little fish have adapted and thrive, living permanently in a freshwater environment drastically different than the ocean. Stickleback bodies have undergone a dramatic transformation, some populations completely losing long projecting body spines that defend them from large predators. Various scientists, including David Kingsley and Michael Bell, have studied living populations of threespine sticklebacks, identified key genes and genetic switches in the evolution of body transformation, and even documented the evolutionary change over thousands of years by studying a remarkable fossil record from the site of an ancient lake ten million years ago.
Students investigate the wide array of fish found on the planet. Concepts and terminology include saltwater, freshwater, cold-blooded, fins, backbone, eggs, scales, and gills.
Divers in Florida explore a labyrinth of treacherous caves as they attempt to map the state’s freshwater resources. Segment of video from Wild Chronicles Series.
This UNC TV segment explores the intricate interactions between organisms which are the building blocks of the freshwater ecosystem. These include the relationships between insects and the environment, predator and prey, water and organic waste, and nutrients and underground channels.
The American South is home to some of the world’s most spectacular ecosystems, from coral reefs to salt water marshes. These two national monuments are underwater paradises and support a diverse and complex system of plant and animal life.
The biosphere is a thin zone of land, air, and water that is home to all living things on earth. Discusses its features as well as characteristics of ecosystems and biomes, including biotic and abiotic components. Also covers types of terrestrial and aquatic biomes, and how ecosystems can change through a process called succession. Defines terminology, and concludes with a summary and quiz.
Dr. Randall Hughes is examining diversity within the marsh. She discusses the diversity of the foundation species of a marsh: smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora). Does having a greater diversity of genetically distinct plants make for a healthier marsh? Part of the series "In The Grass, On The Reef."
In the summer, seagrasses slough off old shoots and grow new ones. The sloughed off grass is pushed into salt marshes. Dr. Randall Hughes and her crew weigh the benefits of seagrass wrack versus its destructive aspect. Part of the series "In The Grass, On The Reef."
Dr. Randall Hughes is conducting an experiment into how well black mangrove propagules from both local and south Florida trees grow in Saint Joseph Bay. Following a harsh winter, she is able to more thoroughly test the survivorship of black mangroves in northern Gulf marshes. Part of the series In "The Grass, On The Reef."
The Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga is a unique freshwater aquarium. Visitors learn how a river is formed, how fish live beneath its surface, and other fish facts. Showcases important world rivers and their fish. Introduces aquarium workers, food preparation, the quarantine area, and a control center. Notes the aquarium is a learning place from top to bottom.
