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Mean temps:
Jan: 21.5
Feb: 21.3
Mar: 19.9
Apr: 16.4
May: 13.7
Jun: 11.2
Jul: 10.9
Aug: 11.2
Sep: 12.6
Oct: 14.8
Nov: 17.4
Dec: 20.2
Annual: 15.9 -
Precipitation (mm)
Jan: 98
Feb: 102
Mar: 87
Apr: 81
May: 78
Jun: 97
Jul: 96
Aug: 102
Sep: 109
Oct: 92
Nov: 70
Dec: 61
Annual: 1,073 -
FLORA
Emerged macrophytes (3)
Scirpus californicus, Spartina montevidensis, Typha latifolia, Sagittaria montevidensis, Ludwigia peploides, L. gramineans.
Floating macrophytes: Eichhornia azurea (3).
Submerged macrophytes: Potamogeton sp. (3).
Phytoplankton (4)
Melosira sp., Navicula sp., Diploneis sp., Amphiprora sp., Nitzchia sp., Cymbella sp., Stephanodiscus sp., Coscinodiscus sp., Peridinium sp., Oscillatoria sp., Aphanothece sp., Anabaena sp., Mallomonas sp., Spirogyra sp., Pandorina sp., -
FAUNA
Benthos (5)
Erodona mactroides*, Heleobia australis, Laeonereis culveri, Nephtys fluviatilis, Heteromastus simi, Balanus improvisus, Tanais stanfordi, Dies fluminensis, Melita mangrovi, Amphitoe ramondi, Chasmagnatus granulata, Cyrtograpsus angulatus, Callinectes sapidus*, Palemonetes argentinus, Penaeus paulensis*.
* Economically important.
Fish (1)
Micropogonias furnieri*, Pogonias chromis*, Mugil spp., Paralichthys brasiliensis, Brevoortia sp.*
* Economically important.
Supplementary -
Grass (Producer) >>
Grasshopper (Herbivores) >>
Toad (Secondary Consumer) >>
Snake (Secondary Consumer) >>
Hawk (Tertiary Consumer) >>
Bacteria of Decay -
Bacteria > Shrimp & Crab
Algae > Shrimp & Crab
Shrimp > Crab & Snapper
Crab > Snapper & Heron
Snapper > Heron -
We chose the Wetland of Laguna De Rocha.
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Located on the Atlantic Coast of Uruguay.
Relative location is 6 km SW of the city of La Palama.
Latitude/Longitude: 34*37'19"S , 54*17'14"W -
Wintering site for twentyfour species or types of shorebirds(many of the shorebirds at risk.)
Category: Regional.
Size: 16,500 hectacres or 40,772 acres -
Plants: Phytoplankton, rice & maiz, macrophytes
Animals: fish, crabs, shrimp, molluscs, black neck swans, chilean flamingos (endangered)
**There are twentyfour species of shorebirds in total in Laguna De Rocha.
The Buff-breasted Sandpiper is endangered to the wetland. -
• Climax Community – trees and plants in the area that border lakes or ponds in the area, such as the Black Willow and the Buttonbrush.
• Species diversity – Wetlands have the highest species diversity in any biome. Animals and plants work together to help survive. Support not only many different species, but genetic diversity within the species, allowing them to change. Has a very high species richness. -
• 77%-88% of plant species in a wetland are native
• Ideal for the development of organisms that form the essential base of our planet’s food web.
• Keystone species – beavers. Where the beavers build dams, the wetlands spread out behind them, providing home and food for dozens of other species. It’s possible wetlands wouldn’t survive if the beavers became instinct. -
• Endemic species – black mudfish, fernbirds, cabbage trees, and flax. These animals are only found in Wetland and many of them are threatened to be extinct.
• Vernal pods include rare species that survive the drought as seeds and eggs and then grow into maturity whenever there’s water again.
• Many bog species have special adaptions to low nutrient levels, waterlogged conditions, acidic waters, and extreme temperatures. -
Worldwide there are now over 40,000 dams which alter the natural flow of water and impact on existing ecosystems. Whilst there is much debate about the need for dams to be built, WWF argues that development should be as sustainable as possible to ensure minimum negative impact on biodiversity.
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Dams have a direct impact on the biological, chemical and physical properties of rivers and riparian environments
- block fish migrations, which in some cases and with some species completely separate spawning habitats from rearing habitats. The dam also traps sediments, which are critical for maintaining physical processes and habitats downstream of the dam -
Another impact is the transformation upstream of the dam from a free-flowing river ecosystem to an artificial slack-water reservoir habitat. Changes in temperature, chemical composition, dissolved oxygen levels and the physical properties of a reservoir are often not suitable to the aquatic plants and animals that evolved with a given river system
Life in and around a river evolves and is conditioned on the timing and quantities of river flow. Disrupted and altered water flows can be as severe -
A dam also holds back sediments that would naturally replenish downstream ecosystems.
Riverbed deepening (or "incising") will also lower groundwater tables along a river, lowering the water table accessible to plant roots (and to human communities drawing water from wells Altering the riverbed also reduces habitat for fish that spawn in river bottoms, and for invertebrates.
Large dams have led to the extinction of many fish and other aquatic species, the disappearance of birds in floodplains, -
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Resources:
(frobbi.com)
(international rivers.org)
(http://www.whsrn.org/site-profile/laguna-de-rocha)
(http://missoulian.com/news/local/northwestern-to-buy-ppl-montana-s-hydropower-dams/article_24859418-26ee-11e3-a055-001a4bcf887a.html)
(http://profesorapatriciatatavitto.blogspot.com/2011/11/descubriendo-la-reserva-historico.html)(http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rnk/Newsletter/Winter%202004-05/P-Type.htm)(http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rnk/Newsletter/Winter%202004-05/P-Type.htm)](http://www.mudfish.org)
