Sea Anemone Investigation

Aquatic environments require different methods for adaptation. The pressure in water increases as depth increases and aquatic organisms have to deal with it. Mobility of small animals versus larger ones help the ones with greater SA:V flow or be moved by currents, which is a disadvantage for bigger animals that have to constantly move. Light limitations also affect living things in water, mostly plants because they have to photosynthesize to grow, and the attenuation of light increases in depth, they have to take advantage of other resources to get the light they need and the nutrients to survive. Salt tolerance is vital; the process of osmosis moves water from high concentration of solutes to low concentration of solutes, if an organism doesn’t have enough salt contents starts losing water and dehydrates

Know the adaptations of organisms found in the tidal pool ecosystem – to do this, match up the following

What does it eat? It primarily feeds on algae. Its spines and tube feet help it to grab food.

During the summers the oxygen content atop the water normally has a salinity level consistent with “more than 8 milligrams per liter”; but when oxygen content drops down to “less than 2 milligrams per liter” the water is then known to be in hypoxic state (CENR, 2000; USGS, 2006). Hypoxia is the result of oxygen levels decreasing to the point where aquatic organisms can no longer survive in the water column. Organisms such as fish, shrimps, and crabs are capable to evacuate the area but the fauna that cannot move either become stress and/or die. Due to this, many call the hypoxia zone the “dead zone” (Overview, 2008; USGS, 2006).

Introduction: I am going to do an experiment that will test whether algae effects mud snails. I want to test this because I have learned about the effects of algae on certain ecosystems, and I want to know how it will affect the salt marsh. I am interested in how algae growth will effect mud snails. This project will help me learn the effects of algae on organisms living in the salt marsh.

It is shown that with the ocean, one of the biggest factors in order to promote the diversity within it is how fast the water flows, it is proven that with the increase in flow, along with it comes the number of invertebrate species that live under the rocks within that water. 3

The presence of herbivores has greatly altered the population density of the barnacles on Island B in comparison with Island A. While the population density of Chthamalus dalli has remained the same as on Island A, the population of Balanus glandula severely decreased (less than 10 percent coverage of the intertidal zone). Since only the population of Balanus glandula contrasts between the islands, it is most likely that the invasive herbivore species was only in completion with Balanus glandula and pushed the species out of its original habitat. These effects may be an example of the competitive exclusion principle, a hypothesis that no two species indefinitely occupy the same niche in the same community, and therefore are not able to coexist.

There are also several ecological terms that are shown in the movie for example mutualism is shown between the anemone and the clown fish (Nemo and Marlin). This is shown by Nemo brushing himself against the base of the anemone to clean himself which protects him from the stings of the anemone and, the anemone protects them from predators and the anemone benefits by gaining nutrients from the feces of the clown fish. Another term shown would be the ecological niche of clown fish (Nemo and Marlin), it's shown sharks as their predators, they eat plants which makes them a herbivore, and it interacts with the anemone by depending it`s life on it. Also limiting factors for a huge amount of fish, would be shown in the movie when the fisherman are

The Giant Pacific Octopuses are found though out the Pacific Ocean. It’s found north in Alaska, South in Mexico, west in Japan and East in California. So they really can tolerate all kinds of water temperature. It is more likely to find it in tidal pools and they live in the water depth from 110 meters down to 1500m. (Schwab, 1987) They eat fish, lobster, shellfish etc. They crack them open by their mouth. The way they reproduce is that male Octopuses have genital bags inside them. They will insert a hectocotylized arm into the female and then release sperm. The entire process will take 2-3 hours. They could change their skin color to fit into the environment so they really can fit into different conditions. (Anderson, & Mather, 2007)

When on land all the tentacles retract so they are not exposed to wind. The Anemone also has to be able to cope with possible salinity changes when it passes through rock pools and returns to the ocean.

Oxygen availability is another abiotic factor that the A.tenebrosa adapts to on the rocky shore which affects their distribution. The A.tenebrosa uses the behavioural adaptation of their tentacles to collect water which contains oxygen whilst under water during a high tide. The A.tenebrosa then stores this water (as previously stated) in their tentacles and folds their tentacles into their mouths. This helps the A.tenebrosa to have sufficient amount of oxygen whilst exposed during the high tide. This affects the distribution of the A.tenebrosa as they are found in the low and mid tide zones of the rocky shore which gives them sufficient amount of time to collect the water and oxygen needed to survive during the short period of time they are

Fast swimmers, the octopus can also jet forward by taking in water through its mantle and then closing it off to seal in the water. It then ejects the trapped water forcefully through its funnel, which propels the octopus in the opposite direction. It can reach speeds of 25 miles per hour using this method, which is a lot like filling up a balloon with air and then letting it go. The octopus can change its direction by just pointing its funnel in a different direction. Its soft body, with no internal or external skeleton, can squeeze into small cracks and crevices where predators cannot

water temperatures, salinity changes, water movement, and lighting, but in captivity they can prove to be very difficult to keep. In the ocean, they are the first to arrive at a reef and spread quickly.

An ecological niche refers to an organism’s way of life - where it lives, its habitat, how it lives there and its adaptions. The radiate limpet lives in the low tide zone of the rocky platforms whereas the ornate

On the 9th of March, I went to Siren’s Rocks to investigate the community pattern, also called zonation, within the bounds of Island Bay’s Wellington Ecological Marine Reserve. The ecosystem of Taputeranga Marine Reserve takes the full impact of the Southern ocean swells. This Reserve is influenced by three different oceanic currents. This is an abiotic factor. The currents impact helps shape the rocky shoreline into the ecological community of different species of shore life into a pattern of different zones (zonation).