Significance of the Aquatic Biome

• The aquatic biome provides habitat to a diverse combination of plants and animals of all sizes. According to the University of California Museum of Paleontology, life originated in the aquatic biome when amino acids converged billions of years ago. The aquatic biome supports the lives of many species, considering that many live inside or near water and many consume water for hydration. The temperature of the water itself varies a great deal, but most water bodies exist in humid areas with cooler air. Plants in the aquatic biome possess varying characteristics depending on where they reside -- in freshwater or marine regions.
  
  

Freshwater Plants

• Plants in the freshwater region are used to the low salt content of the water and are incapable of surviving in the saltier marine region. Found in ponds of the freshwater component of the aquatic biome, mosquito fern measures only 3/8-inch to 1 inch wide, making it one of the smaller plants in the earth's aquatic biome. Its leaves overlap, making the plant appear quilted as it floats freely through ponds. Often found tangled into duckweed or watermeal, mosquito fern infiltrates ponds where it covers the water's surface. Ranging in color including red and green, mosquito fern extracts oxygen from the pond, killing fish that use the pond as habitat.
  
  

Marine Plants

• The marine region of the aquatic biome is rife with phytoplankton. In seawater, phytoplankton tend to be diatoms and dinoflagellates that facilitate photosynthesis in oceans. These reside in the uppermost regions of the ocean, possessing direct access to sunlight. Shapes and colors vary according to each type of algae; they can consist of one cell or an entire colony of cells. Some even possess a hard membrane wrapping their exterior.
  
  

Plants in Both Regions

• Plants that survive in both freshwater and marine environments are highly versatile, adapting to the conditions of each part of the aquatic biome. For example, aquatic lichen reside in streams, which are a part of the freshwater region, and oceans, which make up the marine region. Three types of lichens exist. Crustose lichens take on a crusty formation. Foliose lichens resemble leaves with wrinkled edges. Fruticose lichens look like miniature shrubs, often hanging downward. Each type of lichen enters a mutually beneficial relationship with algae, in which it protects the algae from intense light while the algae photosynthesizes to create food for itself as well as the lichen.