From headwaters to its

mouth, the Flowing –

water ecosystem
is a continuum of changing
environmental conditions
Swift
Cold
Shaded forested region
Primary productivity in
these streams is typically
low, and they depend
heavily on the input of
detritus from terrestrial
streamside vegetation,
which contributes more
than 90% of the organic
input.
Even when headwater
streams are exposed to
sunlight and autotrophic
production exceeds inputs
from adjacent terrestrial
ecosystems, organic matter
produced invariably enters
the detrital food chain.
Shredders
Small fishes
Are accumulators,
processors, and
transporters of particulate
organic matter of
terrestrial origin.
With more surface water exposed
to the sun, water temperature
increases, and as elevation gradient
declines, the current slows.
Because of the lack of
CPOM, shredders
disappear.
Collectors, feeding on
FPOM transported
downstream, and
grazers, feeding on
autotrophic production,
become the dominant
consumers.
Predators show little
increase in biomass but
shift from cold-water
species to warm water
species, including
bottom-feeding fish such
as suckers and catfish.
Flow volume increases,
and the current becomes
slower
Sediments accumulate on
the bottom
Both riparian and
autotrophic production
decrease
Basic energy source is
FPOM, used by bottom
dwelling collectors that
are now the dominant
consumers.
The place where
freshwater joins
saltwater
The one-way flow of
freshwater streams and
rivers into an estuary
meets the inflowing and
outflowing saltwater tides.
This meeting sets up a
complex of currents that
vary with the structure of
the estuary, tidal
oscillations, and winds.
Mixing of water with
different salinities and
temperatures create a
counter flow that works
as a nutrient trap.
Maintaining their
position

Adjusting to changing
salinity
Salinity dictates the
distribution of life in the
estuary. The vast majority
of the organisms
inhabiting the estuary are
marine, able to withstand
full seawater
Sessile and slightly motile
organisms have an
optimum salinity range
within which they grow
best.
 Live most of their lives in
saltwater and return to
freshwater to spawn

 Highly specialized to endure the

changes in salinity

 Spawn in Freshwater, but the

young fish spend their first
summer in an estuary and moves
out to the sea.
 Spawn near the interface of
fresh and low sanity water
 The larvae and young fish
move downstream to more
saline waters as they mature
 Estuary serves as a nursery
and a feeding ground for the
young
 In shallow estuarine waters they have major
importance
 Represent complex systems supporting many
epiphytic organisms.
 This are important to certain vertebrate grazers,
such as geese, swans, and sea turtles, they
provide nursery ground for shrimp and bay
scallops