Stream+Ecosystem

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Hello my name is Catherine Nestor I am from class 5-5B and these are my 5 facts about stream
1.a stream is a natural flow of water across country between banks. 2.the stream is smaller than a river. 3.navigable streams are sometimes called waterways 4.the stream is smaller then a river 5.water running down a slope becomes a stream

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Hello my name is Lyla Flores i am from class 5-5B these are my 5 facts about stream
1.a stream is a natural flow of water moving across country between banks. 2.The most familiar type of stream is made water although stream can also be made of air,lava,or any other fluid. 3.Water running down a slope be comes a stream when there enough water to tiny rivulet. 4.streams stares at as some high point such as hills and mountain 5.streams are smaller than rivers.





7)what is a daptation?
=__ Stream Facts by Samuel,Emanuel,Brian __= =3.The depth will show what sort of animal life the stream will suppo+rt.= =4.If the stream is to shallow it could only support smaller fish.=

depth and flow of a stream are the most important factors of river habitat.
=2.They also determine the volume of the water in the stream.= =5.If it is very wide and deep,it can support larger fish.= =6.There are different types of plants and animals in each of the fresh water ecosystems.= =7.Large systems have more types of plants and animals,but all systems share the same basic structure.= =8.There are tiny plants and algae in the water that bacteria and other very small organisms feed upon.= =9.These small creatures are then food for invertebrates and insect larvae.= =10.Ins= =ects and larger invertebrates feed on the smaller organisms.= =11.Freshwater ecosystem includes lakes,ponds,rivers,streams,and wetlands.= =12.The term "freshwater means,like there is no salt in the water/like there is in the oceans.= =13.Two percent of it's frozen in ice caps and glaciers,leaving only 1% as free flowing water.= =14.S= =ince only 1% of water on earth is available for all of us to share that makes freshwater very important to protect.= =15.Streams are the important thing to protect because all the animals need to be alive cause its nature.=

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what is an ecosystem? A ecosystem is a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. what is a population? Population is all the inhabitants of a particular town,area,group, or country. what is a community? A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common. what is a niche? A shallow recess, especially one in a wall to display a statue or other ornament what is a biome? A large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g., forest or tundra. by Samuel,Emanuel,Brain

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==//m#cite_note-1|]]] with a [|current], confined within a [|bed] and [|stream banks]. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a// branch//,// brook//,// beck//,// [|burn]//,// creek//, "crick",// gill //(occasionally// ghyll//),// [|kill]//,// [|lick]//,// [|mill race]//,// [|rill]//,// [|river]//,// syke//,// [|bayou]//,// rivulet//,// streamage//,// wash//,// run//, or// runnel//.== ==Streams are important as conduits in the [|water cycle], instruments in [|groundwater recharge], and corridors for [|fish] and [|wildlife] migration. The biological [|habitat] in the immediate vicinity of a stream is called a [|riparian zone]. Given the status of the ongoing [|Holocene extinction], streams play an important [|corridor] role in connecting [|fragmented habitats] and thus in conserving [|biodiversity]. The study of streams and [|waterways] in general is known as //surface [|hydrology]// and is a core element of [|environmental geography].[|[][|2][|]]== =streams by Tyeese Tippins and Roshell Walters= Small streams, including those that don’t flow all of the time, make up the majority of the country’s waters. They could be a drizzle of snowmelt that runs down a mountainside crease, a small spring-fed pond, or a depression in the ground that fills with water after every rain and overflows into the creek below. These water sources, which scientists refer to as headwater streams, are often unnamed and rarely appear on maps.Yet the health of small streams is critical to the health of the entire river network and downstream communities. These small streams often appear insignificant, but in fact are very important, as they feed into and create our big rivers. Headwaters can be streams that flow briefly when snow melts or after rain, but shrink in dry times to become individual pools filled with water. Desert headwater streams can arise from a spring and run above ground only a few hundred yards before disappearing into the sand. Other spring-fed headwaters contain clear water with steady temperature and flow. Yet other headwaters originate in marshy meadows filled with sluggish tea-colored water. Headwater streams and streams that only flow for part of the year make up the majority of river miles in the United States. About 53 percent of the total stream miles in the continental U.S. are headwater streams. Almost 60 percent of stream miles in the continental U.S only flow seasonally or after storms. The very foundation of our nation’s great rivers is a vast network of unknown, unnamed and underappreciated streams. Flow in a headwater may be year-round, seasonal, or rain-dependent. Despite their seasonal or temporary appearance on the landscape, seasonal and rain-dependent streams are critical to the health of river systems, are hydrologically and biologically connected to the downstream waters, and provide many of the same functions and values as rivers and larger streams. The arid Southwest and Midwest portions of the country have the highest number of seasonal and rain-dependent streams. For example, more than 95 percent of the streams in Arizona are seasonal.
 * Headwater streams** are the beginnings of rivers, the uppermost streams in the river network furthest from the river's endpoint or confluence with another stream. Headwater streams trap floodwaters, recharge groundwater supplies, remove pollution, provide fish and wildlife habitat, and sustain the health of downstream rivers, lakes and bays. Because small streams and streams that flow for only part of the year are the source of the nation’s fresh waters, changes that harm these headwaters affect streams, lakes and down streams.
 * Seasonal streams (intermittent)** flow during certain times of the year when smaller upstream waters are flowing and when groundwater provides enough water for stream flow. Runoff from rainfall or other precipitation supplements the flow of seasonal stream. During dry periods, seasonal streams may not have flowing surface water. Larger seasonal streams are more common in dry areas.
 * Rain-dependent streams (ephemeral)** flow only after precipitation. Runoff from rainfall is the primary source of water for these streams. Like seasonal streams, they can be found anywhere but are most prevalent in arid areas.

Importance of Streams
Streams, headwaters and streams that flow only part of the year provide many upstream and downstream benefits. They protect against floods, filter pollutants, recycle potentially-harmful nutrients, and provide food and habitat for many types of fish. These streams also play a critical role in maintaining the quality and supply of our drinking water, ensure a continual flow of water to surface waters, and help recharge underground aquifers.

Clean drinking water:
Streams play a critical role in the quality and supply of our drinking water by ensuring a continuous flow of clean water to surface waters and helping recharge underground aquifers. In the continental United States, 357,000 miles of streams provide water for public drinking water systems. Of that total, 58 percent (more than 207,000 miles) are headwater streams. Approximately 117 million people– over one-third of the total U.S. population – get some or all of their drinking water from public drinking water systems that rely in part on these streams.See: [|geographic analysis of surface drinking water provided by headwater streams.] Small streams, headwaters and streams that flow only part of the year protect against floods, filter pollutants, and provide food and habitat for many types of fish.

Flood and erosion protection:
Headwaters, seasonal streams and rain-dependent streams absorb significant amounts of rainwater, runoff and snowmelt before flooding. These streams have significant storage ability and play a critical role in protecting downstream communities by moderating flooding during heavy flow and by maintaining flow during dry weather. Over the last 30 years, freshwater flooding has cost an average of $7.8 billion in direct damage to property and crops each year.1

Groundwater recharge:
Streams are also vital for recharging the nation’s groundwater supply. Water enters the groundwater through the stream bed. Even during dry periods, groundwater replenishes flow in the stream to feed downstream waterways. In arid regions, water from rain-dependent and seasonal streams supports springs, [|wetlands] and plants far from the recharge areas. A major source of water in rivers in the Southwest is from groundwater released into streams that only flow part of the year.

Pollution reduction:
Streams can reduce the pollution that flows to downstream rivers, lakes, bays, and coastal waters. They are able to retain sediments and excess nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, and prevent these pollutants from traveling further downstream where they could cause algal blooms or dead zones.

Wildlife habitat:
Streams that only flow for part of the year are unique and diverse habitats that can support thousands of species, including plants, fish, amphibians, birds and mammals. These streams are important as spawning and nursery habitats, seasonal feeding areas, refuge from predators and competitors, shelter from extreme weather and travel corridors. Many stream species, including fish, snails, crayfish, insects and salamanders, are now in danger of extinction as a result of human actions. A few dozen species are already listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act; hundreds of others are rare enough to be considered for listing. Streams that flow for only part of the year provide crucial habitat, food and water for plants and wildlife. In the arid West, vegetation and wildlife near these streams – which often have water flowing just below the surface even when the surface looks dry – is significantly higher than in the surrounding uplands.

Economic importance:
Protecting streams is important for the economy, particularly for their key role in fishing, hunting, agriculture, and recreation. Healthy streams and headwaters support many industries that are dependent on clean water. [|[View sources]]
 * **Fishing:**About 33 million anglers spend $41.8 billion annually on trips, equipment, licenses, and other items to support their fishing activities. The commercial salmon fishery, worth an estimated $555 million in 2010, depends on small streams- and streams that do not flow year round- which serve as spawning areas for salmon as far as 900 miles inland.2
 * **Hunting:**About 2.6 million people per year hunt migratory birds, which depend on healthy wetlands, spending more than $1.8 billion dollars per year in the process.3See: [|how wetlands support fishing and hunting.]
 * **Manufacturing:**Industries use fresh water to process, wash, cool, dilute, and manufacture products. Manufacturing used more than 6.6 trillion gallons of fresh water in 2005. 4
 * **Agriculture:**Farmers depend on clean water to irrigate farm crops across the country. Irrigation accounts for 37 percent of all surface freshwater withdrawals in the U.S.5

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Additional Resources:
You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See [|EPA's PDF page] to learn more. [|Top of page] 1National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. National Weather Service. //Hydrologic Information Center- Flood Loss Data.//http://www.nws.noaa.gov/hic/index.shtml.2National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. National Marine Fisheries Service. //Annual Landings Query//.http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/commercial/landings/annual_landings.html.3U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (2012). //2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation//.http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/fhw11-nat.pdf.4,5U.S. Geological Survey, (2009). //Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2005//.http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1344. [|Click here] for a larger version of this map.
 * [|EPA Field Operations Manual for Assessing the Hydrologic Permanence and Ecological Condition of Headwater Streams]
 * [|The Ecological and Hydrological Significance of Ephemeral and Intermittent Streams in the Arid and Semi-arid American Southwest (PDF)] (116 pp, 2.6MB, [|About PDF] )
 * [|EPA Office of Research and Development Headwater Streams page]

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