Lecture 1
CCC 716-Freshwater ecology
Introduction
Attendance policy
For biometric attendance
If there is any problem in the system, student should see
me right after the class (within 10 mins). Other wise
he/she will not receive the class attendance
Office hour
Friday: 3-4 pm
Room-B 018B
Marking scheme
Class quiz: 50
End term: 50
Course content
Lecture Topic
1: 17th Oct Introduction/Limnology
2: 19th Oct Properties of water: freshwater vs salt water
3: 21st Oct Lakes/origin/classification
4: 28th Oct Light/heat/thermal stratification/oxygen in lake
5: 31st Oct Nutrients-Phosphorus/nitrogen/carbon
6: 2nd Nov Stream/rivers/river continuum
7: 4th Nov Life in lake/river/ponds etc.
8: 7th Nov Primary producers and macrophytes
9: 9th Nov Zooplanktons
10: 11th Nov Fish in lake and interactions
11: 14th Aquatic food web and trophic cascading
12: 16th What is wetland, pond, shallow lake
Quiz : 21st Nov Class quiz
13: 23rd Wetland ecology
14: 25th Human impact on different freshwater systems
15: 28th Multiple stressors: acidification/eutrophication
16: 30th Ecological indicators/health of aquatic systems
2nd Dec End term exam
Goals of this course
• To provide an idea of the complex nature of
aquatic ecosystem
• To provide you with an appreciation and working
knowledge of Limnology
Earth- a Unique Planet
Why Earth is unique from other planet?
Earth is an ecosystem
Google image
Our Earth is mostly water
All of Earth’s water,
such as atmosphere,
glacier, ocean, lakes
or rivers
Google image
Aquatic Ecosystems
Oceans Inland waters
(Oceanography) (Limnology)
Classification – depth
• Shallow – depth – light
- Coastal • Shallow • Photic or Trophogenic
- Tidal - Littoral • Aphotic or Tropholytic
- Intertidal - Wetlands
- Estuaries - Reefs
- Wetlands • Open Lake
- Mangroves - Limnetic
- Reefs - Profundal
• Mid-depth - Benthic
- Continental Shelf
•Open Sea - Pelagic – Thermal stratification
- Euphotic – light • Epilimnion (warm, shallow)
- Bathyl • Metalimnion (transition)
- Abyssal • Hypolimnion (deep cold)
- Benthic
Limnology
• “study of inland waters”
• “Limnology applies to running (or lotic) as
well as standing (lentic) waters” (SIL, 1922)
• 1892 – F.A. Forel – “Limnology”,
“The Oceanography of Lakes”
Why study limnology?
• Intense interest in understanding structure and
function of aquatic ecosystems
• A good understanding of inland aquatic systems is
necessary for wise and sustainable management
Basic Terminology
• Plankton: diverse group of organisms (marine,
freshwater), based on size, nanoplanktons,
pico-planktons etc.
• Phytoplankton = photosynthetic plankton
(plant-like characteristics)
• Zooplankton = animal-like characteristics
Phytoplankton
Zooplankton
Benthos
Benthos = organisms associated with the lake bottom
Morphometry
The geography of lake basins and their
catchments
Morphology of lake basin
• The shape and size of a lake basin affect nearly Epilimnion
all physical, chemical, and biological
Metalimnion
parameters of lakes
Hypolimnion
• The forms of lake basins are extremely varied
• The morphometry of a lake is best described
by a bathymetric map
Depth
Temperature
A bathymetric map
• Bathymetric maps can be made by:
-Drawing a general outline of the
Piston Core
Contour (2 m)
Depth (m)
lake or finding an aerial photo or
-2 - 0
-4 - -2
-6 - -4
-8 - -6
map
-10 - -8
0 25 50 100 150 200
Meters -12 - -10
-14 - -12
-16 - -14
-16.5 - -16 -Measuring and recording water
depths at a number of locations
-Then connecting the depth “dots”
Legend
Piston Core Location
to develop simple contour lines
Contour (2 m)
Depth
-2 - 0
-4 - -2
-6 - -4
-8 - -6
-10 - -8
-12 - -10
-14 - -12
-15.7 - -14
Metres
0 50 100 200 300 400
