Aquatic Biomes

Texas Coastal Estuary Photo: USFWS

Aquatic communities are the world's major water habitats. Like land biomes, aquatic communities can also be subdivided based on common characteristics.

Two common designations of aquatic communities are: freshwater and marine communities. Freshwater communities include rivers, streams, estuaries, lakes, and ponds. Marine communities are difficult to divide into distinct types, but can be classified based on the degree of light penetration. The simplest classification consists of two distinct zones: the photic and aphotic zones.