What organisms live in the profundal zone of a lake?

Common inhabitants of the profundal zone are leeches and other annelid worms, some species of insect larvae, and a few types of crabs and mollusks. In marine profundal zones echinoderms such as sea urchins, and crustaceans such a a few species of crabs, are also found.

What types of organisms live in the littoral zone of a lake?

The littoral zone is shallow and gets a lot of nutrients from runoff and non-point source pollution. Therefore, it typically has an abundance of aquatic plant and algae growth. Some other common inhabitants of the littoral zone are cattails, reeds, crawfish, snails, insects, zooplankton, and small fish.

What animals live in the limnetic zone?

Limnetic zone

• The producers in this ecosystem are planktonic algae.
• The primary consumers include such animals as microscopic crustaceans and rotifers – the so-called zooplankton.
• The secondary (and higher) consumers are swimming insects and fish. These nekton usually move freely between the littoral and limnetic zones.

What zone of a lake has the most organisms?

The limnetic zone is the most photosynthetically-active zone of a lake since it is the primary habitat for planktonic species. Because phytoplankton populations are densest here, it is the zone most heavily responsible for oxygen production within the aquatic ecosystem.

What occurs in the profundal zone?

The profundal zone is a deep zone of an inland body of freestanding water, such as a lake or pond, located below the range of effective light penetration. This is typically below the thermocline, the vertical zone in the water through which temperature drops rapidly.

Where do most lake organisms live?

In lakes and ponds, much of the species diversity is concentrated in the littoral zone, near the shore, where algae and plants thrive in the abundant light needed for photosynthesis. Living within the plant matter is a cornucopia of animals including snails, amphibians, crustaceans, insects, and fish.

Why littoral zone is productive?

Lakes lower in the landscape tend to have larger, more productive littoral areas because of greater watershed inputs of nutrients, minerals, and dissolved or particulate organic material, from both surface water and stream connections.

Why is littoral zone important?

The littoral zone is the area around the shoreline where the aquatic vegetation is and is required for most man-made lakes. This is because it is critical for wildlife habitat, water quality, and erosion control which are all important factors of a lake to have a healthy ecosystem.

Where is the limnetic zone?

limnetic zone(sublittoral zone) The area in more extensive and deeper freshwater ecosystems which lies above the compensation level and beyond the littoral (lake-edge) zone. This zone is mainly inhabited by plankton and nekton with occasional neuston species.

Why is the Profundal zone important?

Nutrient cycling The anoxic nature of the profundal zone drives ammonia release from benthic sediment. This can drive phytoplankton production, to the point of a phytoplankton bloom, and create toxic conditions for many organisms, particularly at a high pH.