What are the littoral and benthic zones?

What are the littoral and benthic zones?

Littoral Zones are the topmost zone of a lake or pond while the Benthic Zones (profundal zone) are near the bottom of a lake or a pond.

How are littoral zones different?

How do littoral zones differ from riparian zones? Riparian zones occur where the land meets the water. Littoral zones occur in the transition zone between water and dry land. Littoral zones extend until the water depth is approximately 15 feet.

Is the littoral zone the same as the intertidal zone?

Introduction. The intertidal zone (sometimes referred to as the littoral zone) is the area that is exposed to the air at low tide and underwater at high tide (the area between the low and high tide lines). This area can include many different types of habitats, including steep rocky cliffs, sandy beaches, or wetlands.

What is meant by the littoral zone?

Definition of Littoral zone: In marine ecosystems the shore area or intertidal zone, where periodic exposure and submersion by tides is normal.. It may also include the adjacent shallow subtidal zone.

What are the zones under benthic zone?

The benthic environment is divided into a number of distinctive ecological zones based on depth, seafloor topography, and vertical gradients of physical parameters. These are the supralittoral, littoral, sublittoral, bathyal, abyssal, and hadal zones.

Where is the benthic zone?

The benthic zone is the lowest ecological zone in a water body, and usually involves the sediments at the seafloor. These sediments play an important role in providing nutrients for the organisms that live in the benthic zone.

What is the littoral zone and what does it include?

In marine biology, the littoral zone includes areas of ocean extending to the ends of the continental shelf, and can be subdivided into three smaller zones based on areas of tidal action. From shallow to deep, these zones are the supralittoral zone, the eulittoral zone, and the sublittoral zone.

What are two features of the littoral zone?

The zone is characterized by abundant dissolved oxygen, sunlight, nutrients, generally high wave energies and water motion, and, in the intertidal subzone, alternating submergence and exposure. The geological nature of shorelines and nearshore bottoms is exceedingly varied.

What is a littoral zone and why is it 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.

What are the characteristics of benthic zone?

This zone is characterized by low temperature and high pressure. Such conditions are not optimum for sustaining vast flora and fauna found in this zone. The sediment layers of the benthic zone help in recycling the nutrients that helps in the survival of the aquatic life in the upper column.

How are the benthic zones divided?

The benthic environment is also divided into zones, most of which correspond to the pelagic divisions: The supralittoral zone lies above the high tide line. Also called the spray zone, it is only submerged during storms or unusually high waves. The littoral zone is the region between the high and low tides.

What is a benthic zone?

Can a benthic zone overlap with a littoral zone?

The benthic zone is the deepest part of the body of water, and actually can overlap with the littoral zone. For example, a few feet from the shore of a lake, the sediment can be considered to be in both the benthic and littoral zone.

What is the definition of a littoral zone?

The zones discussed are the Littoral Zone, Limnetic Zone, Profundal Zone, Euphotic Zone, and Benthic Zone. The Littoral Zone is the shore area of the lake or pond. The littoral zone consists of the area from the dry land sloping to the open water and can be very narrow or very wide.

What makes up the benthic zone of a pond?

The benthic zone is the pond or lakes digestive system. This is where bacteria decompose organic matter from dead algae, aquatic plants, and fish and animal waste. The more organic matter in the pond, the more decomposition taking place.

How are benthos adapted to live in the benthic zone?

This has resulted in specific adaptation in benthos, which allows them to survive there. Because of the lack of light, benthos cannot produce their own food, and hence, for nourishment, they have to rely on the organic matter that drifts down from the layers of water above the benthic zone.