aquatic habitat
Underwater living space
An aquatic habitat is an environment where water is the primary medium—oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds, wetlands, or coral reefs.
The term appears in ecology and conservation contexts: The dam destroyed critical aquatic habitat for salmon.
Aquatic habitats support organisms adapted to life in water, from microscopic plankton to whales.
- wetlandWaterlogged land ecosystem
- vernal poolSeasonal depression holding water
- estuaryTidal mixing zone
- lakeEnclosed body of freshwater
- riverLarge flowing watercourse
fish ladder · hydrothermal vent · ocean · open water · mudflat · watershed · stream · kelp forest · mangrove · tide pool · freshwater ecosystem · continental shelf · oxbow lake · duck pond · pond · water lily · floodplain · intertidal zone