What makes the freshwater biome unique

Rivers and streams are moving strips of water. The water flows in a channel. The bottom of the channel is called the bed and the sides of the channel are called banks.

Rivers are large and flow into the ocean. Rivers and streams drain the earth of excess water. Water falls from the sky precipitation as rain, hail, snow or sleet. Once it reaches the ground, some of the water is absorbed by trees and other plants and the rest filters down into the ground. Most water runs off the surface and eventually joins a creek or stream. Small streams join together to form rivers. Sometimes small rivers join together to become extremely large rivers.

When this happens, the small rivers are called tributaries. A watershed is an area of land where rain water, streams and small rivers all drain into one large area of water such as a large river, lake or ocean. Because ground water also drains from a watershed, all kinds of pollution can find its way to the ocean from many kilometres away. The biggest rivers have the biggest watersheds.

Therefore, biomes with lots of consistent rain have more rivers and streams. Deserts have little rain and fewer rivers. Desert rain is short but very intense, so dry rivers and lakes suddenly become full for a short period of time.

The mouth of a river is where it meets the ocean. Rivers carry soil along as they move, and this is dropped at the mouth of the river as it enters the ocean, and gradually builds up, making new land. This is called a delta. Glaciers move slowly across the land Precipitation: water that falls from the atmosphere, whether as rain, snow, or another form. You probably don't think about water in your daily routine. In the morning you wake up and eat breakfast. Once you finish eating, you wash your dishes, brush your teeth, and head to school.

At school, you take sips from the drinking fountain after gym class, enjoy your lunch, and learn during class time. During after-school activities, you always remember to take plenty of water breaks, especially if you're playing sports.

But all of these daily routines and activities have something very important in common that you use: water. And not just any water… freshwater. Freshwater has a low salt concentration. Humans have a special connection to the freshwater biome since they cannot live without it. Freshwater biomes exist on all of the continents, in many different forms.

The main thing that makes an aquatic system part of the freshwater biome is the amount of salt dissolved in the water. While you might think this absence of salt is a good thing, because many animals need freshwater to survive, those animals also need salt. As a result, animals have adapted to these salt-less biomes in many unique ways.

These water stores can be thought of as underground lakes or rivers that are underneath the top layer of soil, but within a slab of rock. Because of the way the freshwater is stored, most organisms cannot access most of this freshwater without help from either technology or the environment itself. For example, humans access underground aquifers by drilling wells, whereas the environment might expose inaccessible water through erosion or melting of glacial ice.

Within these categories, there is a lot of variation. In fact, no two freshwater ecosystems are ever the same. So, what can we do to help freshwater biomes? First of all, we can conserve water. By using less water, we can help ensure that there is enough water for a healthy biome. We should also be careful not to pollute. Be careful what you put down the drain. By fertilizing the lawn with chemicals and allowing our cars to drip nasty oils and fluids we are polluting freshwater biomes.

The rain carries these pollutants down storm drains into rivers, streams, lakes and ponds. Another thing you can do to help is get involved! Volunteer with a stream team, or community group that works together to monitor and restore nearby freshwater biomes.

By doing this you will learn more about freshwater ecosystems and get to see the cool plants and animals that make these biomes their home. Freshwater Ecology. All Along a River. Aquatic Ecosystems available in English or French. KidzWorld: Aquatic Biomes. Many animals besides fish live in freshwater biomes. This includes crocodiles, hippopotamus, turtles, and frogs. Freshwater biomes are subdivided into three groups: lakes and ponds, streams and rivers, and wetlands.

There are four key features that determine the ecology of streams and rivers - the flow of the water, amount of light, the temperature or climate, and the chemistry of the river.