Final answer:
The distribution of life in lakes is influenced primarily by osmotic forces and environmental variables like temperature and moisture. Nutrient availability and net primary productivity also play crucial roles, especially in the littoral zone, where nutrients enter through runoff or streams, affecting biomass and species diversity.
Step-by-step explanation:
Biogeography is the study of the geographic distribution of living things and the abiotic factors that affect their distribution. Two key factors that drive the distribution of life in aquatic ecosystems like lakes are osmotic forces and environmental variables such as temperature and moisture.
Osmotic forces are principal factors controlling the amount of fluid in various body compartments. These forces are influenced by the solutes of the body, which include inorganic salts, sugars, and other dissolved substances.
Environmental variables like temperature and moisture are critical in dictating the distribution of organisms in terrestrial habitats. For aquatic ecosystems, these factors, combined with nutrient availability and net primary productivity, determine the vitality and diversity of the ecosystem.
In the littoral zone of lakes, the main entry point for nutrients may include runoff or streams, which can increase the biomass and affect species diversity. Abundant nutrients typically support a higher biomass but could also lead to problems such as eutrophication.