71 Fun Aquatic Biomes Facts For Your Kids To Learn

The aquatic biome is among the five basic biomes in existence.

This is further subdivided into different aquatic biomes depending on the geographical region and the existing ecosystem. These aquatic biomes have different levels of biodiversity existing in them.

The aquatic biome is significant, partly due to its large size and partly because it exists in water, one of the most important natural resources on the planet. Just like the other biomes, the aquatic biome also plays an important role in the different aspects of life on Earth.

Read on to explore more fascinating facts about the aquatic biome.

What are aquatic biomes?

Among the five basic biomes present on Earth, the aquatic biome is one of them. It is the largest biome out of all, with a coverage area of 75% of Earth's surface.

Aquatic biome refers to a geographical location underwater that has its own ecosystem, which can be different from those found in other biomes.

While being the largest biome, the aquatic biome is still considered to have less total biomass than that of the terrestrial biomes.

As the water on Earth is differentiated into two separate bodies: marine or saltwater and freshwater, the aquatic biome also follows this distinction.

Different Types Of Aquatic Biomes

While there are broad categories of the aquatic biome in terms of marine biome and freshwater biome, these are further subdivided into several distinct biomes. The differences between each biome are listed as follows.

The marine biome is the largest because of the large amount of saltwater present on Earth's surface.

These saltwater biomes thus include oceans, seas, and coral reefs.

The oceans of the Earth include the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean.

The marine biome of the ocean has many different ecosystems living in it due to the different depth levels of this large water body.

The biomes that take place on the continental shelf of the ocean water are known as neritic biomes.

The extension of this biome ranges from the waterline of the low tide to the continental shelf's edge.

The biome that occurs in the open ocean is called the oceanic biome; this takes place beyond the edge of the continental shelf.

The oceanic biome has further distinctive zones which are based on the depth of the water.

The top zone is the epipelagic zone which occurs at the depth in the water where the sunlight can reach.

The zone below the epipelagic zone is the mesopelagic zone.

The mesopelagic zone occurs at the water depth where only some sunlight reaches, which is less than what is needed for photosynthesis.

Then comes the bathypelagic zone, which occurs at the water depth where no sunlight can penetrate.

This bathypelagic zone is consequently filled with darkness, and some of the organisms living in this zone are bioluminescent as they have adapted to combat the darkness that surrounds them.

The zone after the bathypelagic zone is the abyssopelagic zone.

The one after it is the hadopelagic zone.

Both abyssopelagic and hadopelagic zones are similar to bathypelagic zone in the sense that they are also shrouded in darkness.

The biome that occurs at the bottom of the ocean is known as the benthic zone.

It is thus named after the existence of benthos in this zone.

The other marine biomes are coral reefs, estuaries, and intertidal zones.

Coral reefs are found in the shallow ocean water of tropical regions.

Invertebrate animals, known as corals, form a limestone structure which is thus called a coral reef.

The bay where the river water meets with the ocean is called an estuary.

Freshwater biomes, on the other hand, refer to the different types of freshwater habitats found on Earth's surface.

The freshwater biomes include ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams.

Ponds and lakes are freshwater bodies that are still.

The differentiation between ponds and lakes arises from their size.

A pond is considered to be typically smaller than a lake.

Rivers and streams, on the other hand. are freshwater bodies that are constantly flowing.

Each of these freshwater habitats thus has a different freshwater biome.

Importance Of Aquatic Biomes

Being the largest biome on Earth, the aquatic biome plays an especially significant role in the different aspects of life on the planet. Some wonderful facts about the importance of aquatic biomes are mentioned as follows.

The aquatic biome is the place where life on Earth first evolved.

The different currents and temperatures of the oceans play a significant role in regulating the world's climate.

The aquatic biome is home to a large number of species of animals and plants.

Each different aquatic biome provides the surrounding environment and humans in various manners.

The marine biome offers opportunities for fishing and shipping for humans.

Freshwater regions, on the other hand, are necessary for agriculture and drinking water.

The aquatic biome, especially the marine life, is constantly threatened by the growing water pollution, including oil spills, dumping of toxic water, and dumping of plastic into the ocean.

The freshwater and marine biomes are significant as they occur in the natural resource of water which is considered to be the basis of life.

The exploitation of the aquatic biome can have severe repercussions on various aspects of life on this planet.

Just like the forests, marine biomes affect the global climate too.

Water has a high heat capacity and covers most parts of the Earth's surface.

It thus helps to regulate the surface as well as the core temperature of the Earth, thereby supporting the life of different organisms on the planet.

Any changes to the aquatic biome can have an effect on the climate as well as on the lives of humans and animals directly and indirectly.

It is thus important to take care of and preserve the aquatic biome in as many ways as possible.

Flora And Fauna Found In Different Aquatic Biomes

Each different biome consists of different species of organisms living in it. The species of animals and plants that each makes a home in the different types of aquatic biomes are listed below.

Various species of freshwater fish live in the shallow and sunny waters of ponds and lakes.

The deep part of the lakes, though, is dark because of the lack of sunlight, and it is the home for decomposers.

Due to the small size of the ponds, they have sunlight penetrating right to the bottom of these water bodies.

Similar to the ocean, the lakes also have different zones where different species of plants and animals reside.

Plant species that float on the water surface and phytoplankton are found living in the zone closest to the surface of the freshwater body as they require photosynthesis to survive.

These species further become a source of oxygen, habitat, and food for other living organisms in the surrounding.

The biodiversity rate is high in this zone.

Zooplankton and nekton, along with phytoplankton, are found in the limnetic zone below the littoral (nearshore) zone.

There is no sunlight penetration in the profundal zone of a lake near the bottom part of the still water body.

Since the process of photosynthesis is not possible at this depth, there is no existence of producers in this zone.

This zone has low biodiversity, with decomposers thriving on the dead organisms that drift into this zone from above.

The very bottom of a water body is the benthic zone which has different species living in it.

The floor of the water body near the shore receives sunlight and thus has plants growing in this region.

Organisms like insects, snails, and crayfish are found living among the plants near the shore.

The plants offer food, oxygen, and protection from predatory fish species.

The bottom, where there is no sunlight, is filled with decomposers.

The surface water is warmer than the cold water due to the absorption of the sunlight.

The temperature of the surface water and that of the bottom becomes equal during temperate climates and springtime.

The process of turnover thus takes place in which the nutrients collected at the bottom from the breakdown of the dead organisms reach the surface water and get used by the producers.

Streams being smaller than the rivers at some point during the course become part of the rivers.

Some species that live in rivers that empty into an ocean may live some stages of their life cycle in freshwater and the other stages in saltwater.

An instance of this is the salmon species which are born in freshwater and spend some time in these waters developing before they move to the ocean where they spend their adult lives.

The flowing water has greater biodiversity than still water as it receives more oxygen.

Algae are considered to be the main producers of freshwater biomes like streams and rivers.

The marine biomes still have more varied biodiversity than the freshwater biomes.

Marine mammals such as the blue whale live in the ocean biome.

Loggerhead sea turtle is a species of turtle found in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea.

The main species of animals living in the coral reefs is the corals.

Another species found in coral reefs is the pharaoh cuttlefish.