The aquatic biome is the biggest of the biomes, and links all our biomes together. Aquatic is defined as relating to water. The world is made up of 75% water and 25% soil. This means that most of the world is considered an aquatic biome. Within this community there are thousands of mammals, fish, and plants that are living in the waters of earth, and each one plays its own role. The temperature in the aquatic world tends to vary, but for the most part it stays on the cooler side. The aquatic biome can be broken down into two basic regions, freshwater (i.e. ponds and rivers) and marine (i.e. oceans and estuaries). In each part there are several different species both large and small.
Freshwater is defined as having a low salt concentration-usually less than 1%. Plants and animals in freshwater regions are adjusted to the low salt content and would not be able to survive in areas of high salt concentration (i.e. ocean). There are different types of freshwater regions: ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, and wetlands.
There are 10,000 known species in freshwater, of those 20% have become extinct. There are many types of threats that caused this and will in the future cause more extinction. Some of these threats are the creation of dams by people or beavers. Dams block the streams which do not allow the fish to migrate. Humans withdrawing water from ponds and streams, and draining wetlands for development impact the enviorment. .
There are many different species living in freshwater. In the rivers you have salmon. Salmon is one of the most harvested fish in North America. There are several species of salmon (i.e. Humpies, Coho, Chinook, and Sockeye). Salmon live in schools and run streams and rivers to return to their spawning grounds. Salmon provide food for people, but they are also hunted by other wild life. Bears feed on salmon to fatten up for hibernation. .
The Great Egret is a local wetland bird.