Biodiversity & Nature
Aquatic ecosystem
An ecosystem based in water — freshwater (lakes, rivers, wetlands) or marine (oceans, estuaries, reefs) — supporting the organisms and processes that depend on aquatic environments.
Expert review openNo editor-accepted expert review yetDefinition
A community of organisms interacting with each other and with a water-based environment. Aquatic ecosystems divide broadly into freshwater systems — standing (lentic) waters such as lakes and ponds, and flowing (lotic) waters such as rivers and streams, plus wetlands — and marine systems, which cover most of the biosphere.
References
Freshwater/marine division; lentic, lotic and wetland types; 3% of net primary production and 41% of fish species in freshwater; ecosystem functions.
Overview
What it means
Though freshwater bodies hold only a small fraction of Earth's water, they contain a disproportionate share of biodiversity — freshwater ecosystems generate nearly 3% of net primary production and contain about 41% of known fish species. Aquatic systems recycle nutrients, attenuate floods, regulate climate and supply food and water to human societies.
How it is used
The term structures environmental assessment and management: water quality standards, protected-area design, fisheries management and freshwater biodiversity monitoring are all organised around aquatic ecosystem types. Corporate water and nature disclosures increasingly require site-level assessment of aquatic ecosystem condition.
Why it matters
Aquatic ecosystems are among the most threatened on Earth — freshwater species populations have declined faster than terrestrial or marine ones — yet they underpin drinking water, food, flood control and carbon cycling. Their degradation propagates directly into human water and food security.
Review
Public comments appear only after editor acceptance. Draft comments stay in the review queue.
Reviewers choose the definition or an overview paragraph, leave a comment or replacement, and attach evidence or a source link.
Editors compare reviewer cards side by side. AI may help find agreement, conflicts, unsupported claims and possible source issues.
Only an editor-accepted synthesis changes the public page. Reviewer identities are shown only with consent and verification.
Submitted reviews stay private until accepted.
Loading verified endorsements… Endorsements are not votes and never determine publication.
Endorse this definition
Endorse the exact version shown here. This is not a vote, and publication remains an editorial decision.
Review board
Comment on a specific line. Each reviewer stays separate until an editor accepts a merged draft.
Each person comments on the definition or overview in their own draft card, with role, evidence and suggested wording kept together.
AI can compare comments against the current text, flag conflicting claims, surface missing evidence and identify where reviewers agree.
An editor merges compatible suggestions into a draft change, checks sources, records disagreements and decides what can be published.