Feature	Lotic ecosystems	Lentic ecosystems
Water flow	Present; water flows in a continuous and definite direction (flowing waters/running waters/moving waters)	Absent; water do not flow in a continuous and definite direction (standing waters/static waters/still waters/ stationary waters)
Morphometry of waterbody (size description)	Linear, longer, narrower and shallower basin with more complex perimeter	Circular and deeper basin with less complex perimeter
Width of waterbodies	Relatively narrow	Relatively broad
Depth of water	Shallower	Deeper
Landscape position	Natural placement	Lower in the catchment
Regional distribution and function	Dictated by geomorphology	Influenced by regional demand for dam related ecosystem services
Permanence	Can last many thousands of years	Usually only last for a few hundred to a few thousand years
Source of water	Fed by lower order streams and diffuse inputs; fed by rains, precipitation, snow melt and springs	Fed by higher order streams, surface water dominated; in addition to ground water, lotic waters from rivers, streams and creeks drain into lakes and ponds to form a lentic environment
Current velocity	High	Low
Water retention time/ water residence time (how long it holds water)	Sometimes there is a lot of water like after a heavy rain; sometimes there is a very little water during drought; will dry up and many organisms will die	Last longer and organisms can continue to live despite the shortened supplies
Dissolved oxygen content	Usually high in dissolved oxygen; higher percentage of dissolved oxygen in water, due to water flowing	Lower percentage of dissolved oxygen, especially in deeper water
Salt content	Lower salt content	Higher salt content as water evaporates over time
Adaptability of creatures	The creatures that live here must adapt to their past-paced environment	The creatures that live here must also adapt to their environment
Speciation rates	Low	High
Geographical range size	Higher	Lower
Species diversity	Higher	Lower
Stability	High	Low