Biology report
Aim of this investigation
The aim of this investigation is to look at the distribution of the ornate limpet, (Cellana Ornata) and the radiate limpet (Cellana Radians) on the rocky shore. We went to the rocky shore of Sirens rocks between Island Bay and Owhiro Bay, on Wellington’s South Coast. We are studying how our chosen organisms affect each other’s distribution patterns. We sampled in the low tide zone, mid tide zone, and high tide zone. The rocky shore we explored was 80 metre long, rocky terrain, bare rock platforms with rock gulley’s.
Description of limpets
Limpets have conical shells. The limpets that are situated higher up on the shore tend to have taller shells than those on the lower shore. The underside of the limpet has a muscular ‘foot’ on which the limpet moves around on.
Identification of organisms
Radiate limpets are identified by their flatter shells than the ornate limpet shells. Radiate limpets can have 20-25 smooth low radial ribs. In the North Island the ribs are more indistinct and maybe absent, the shell has radial streaks of brown and white. In the South Island the shells are dark grey with fine radial lines. Ornate limpets are identified by their radiating black bands with a row of white specks.
Biology of organisms
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
Mangroves are woody trees and shrubs with a thick, exposed network of roots that grow down from the branches and into the water and sediment. All mangroves are found on the intertidal zones between ocean and the land. When the sediment accumulate little wave occurs, the saline depend on the frequency. Some of the indirect impacts are the sediment runoff and also including chemical runoff, global warming is one of main effects of the mangrove ecosystem. In Tannum there are various types of mangroves. Such as the river and grey mangroves located at south tree and wild cattle in both Tannum sands and Boyne Island along the Boyne River. Leaves are around 7cm long gland that secret salt, the
Limpets (Patella vulgate) live in algae rich environments on rocky shores. . It has been proposed that in more sheltered areas, limpet shells will grow to be flatter with a larger diameter, while in more exposed areas of coastline, they will grow a taller and narrower shell shape. To find out whether or not the shores of Aberdeen reflected this, samples were taken from two sites (Site A and Site B) along the Aberdeen coastline that varied in their exposure to wave action. The sites were chosen to provide two sample sites with a notable difference in their environment. In the more sheltered site A, limpets were not exposed to harsh waves, while at site B, there was significantly more wave action. Quadrats were used at both sites to provide an area of sampling for the limpets and they were placed around 5 meters from the waterline. The overall results from the study showed that there is a very strong relationship between diameter and height in Limpet shells and that there was an incredibly slight difference in the relationship between the two sites.
This study was conducted to deduce whether the height to width ratio of limpets altered across the three main zones on the shore: upper, middle and lower. It was carried out on Holbeck Beach, North Yorkshire, where limpets were measured in all three zones using random sampling. We found a significant difference in the height to width ratio between the upper and lower shore and upper and middle shore. This is due to many factors, including the threat of desiccation and strong waves.
Although it supports a number of different organisms, Nudgee Beach lacks many of the fundamentals that make up a healthy and successful ecosystem. The first indicator of this is from the lack of birds present in the area. Although it has been noted for terrestrial bird species – such as kingfishers, pelicans, ibis, egrets, jabiru, stilts and heron – and wading bird species – such as golden plovers, curlews, tattlers and godwits – to have been spotted at Nudgee Beach and surrounding areas in the past; after a day’s worth of extensive observation and research, it was found that the birds observed were limited to magpie, ibis, great knot and eastern curlew species. To intensify this factor, at the time by which this lack of species was recorded, Nudgee Beach was expected to have started seeing tens of thousands of birds arrive for the migratory season [21]. This blatant lack of bird species diversity and quantity may have been due to the lack of small organisms within the ecosystem. The restricted number of small organisms at Nudgee Beach is detrimental to the entire ecosystem as these organisms make up the bottom levels of the food web and provide higher-level organisms with adequate amounts of food to consume. The smaller organisms expected to be observed – including; crustacean, shell, mollusc, lizard, frog, fish, worm, arachnid and insect species – was limited to the infrequent observation of crustacean, shell,
The American Alligator is also covered in an armor like coat called osteoderms or scutes. They have short legs with five toes on the front legs and four in the hind legs. The front toes are about half webbed and the outer hind toes are about two thirds webbed which allows them to swim with ease. The majority of all American Alligators are black or a dull gray with some lighter blotches on the sides and a light yellow underbelly. One of the most important features of the America Alligator is its muscular tail. Their tail is used to propel them out of the water, to swim fast, and to death
The aim of our excursion to Hastings Point, New South Wales was to study the biodiversity and ecology and to see how these organisms behave in their natural habitat and surroundings. There will also be information collected about a variety of different organisms as well as population counts and observe how they have adapted to the species surrounding environment. The excursion will also be an opportunity to gather information on
The sandy shores of beaches can be considered as a very harsh environment to live in (Ted Klenk, 1999). Survival in such a habitat requires an organism to withstand strong wave and current action, tidal rise and fall, unstable substrate, heavy predation and wide variations in salinity and temperature (The Otter Island Project). Any organism found in this type of harsh environment is specialized and highly adapted (The Otter Island Project).
Habitat: Commonly found in terrestrial. Forest light gaps, slips, margins, disturbed sites, open habitats, riverbeds, cliffs, inshore and offshore islands, fernland, herbfield,
Silvershell Beach is the home to many different aquatic species and other forms of wildlife. Last lab block the class and I went into the ocean at Silvershell beach and took seven different seine net samples. With each sample we took, we noticed a variety of different organisms. As we moved around different areas of the ocean, we would come out with changing species and number of species that we did not find in other areas of the water. Species we found included sea robin, hermit crabs, moon jellies, minnows, shrimp, eels, and more. Sample one and two were taken from around the same area in the water and there was a reappearance of three of the species. In sample one we found hermit crabs, minnows, moon jellies, and a sea robin. In sample two
Identifying Features- Typically 4 to 6 feet, and 660 to 1,100 pounds. Skin is primarily black, with varying pale spots and a pinkish-white underbelly. Lacks a hard shell but instead has a carapace composed of tough, rubbery skin and thousands of tiny bone plates Its carapace is large, elongated and flexible with 7 distinct ridges running the length of the animal. Front flippers lack claws or scales and back flippers are paddle-shaped.
Sharon A. Poessel, Eric M. Gese, Julie K. Young, (2014). Influence of habitat structure and food
Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are marine mammals capable of spending their entire lives in water. Being carnivorous in nature, they feed on sea urchins, crabs, fishes, mussels and clams. They are referred to as keystone species due to their profound impact on marine ecology. The interaction between sea otters, sea urchins and kelp forests has been studied as a model of the impact of predator-prey interaction on community ecology. Sea otters are keystone predators, whose presence has a far-reaching influence on the marine food web by affecting the population of sea urchins in particular, and kelp forests & other marine organisms in general. There has been a steep decline in sea otter populations due to water pollution and exploitation for
The intertidal rocky shore of Caloundra Beach is inhabited by diverse range of biodiversity of animals and plants, many of which have developed high levels of adaptations throughout their existence. The very boundary of marine and terrestrial ecosystem, this environment is subjected to extremes of the physical environment such as temperature, desiccation, wave turbulence as well the ecological interactions that commonly occur in biotic communities (e.g. competition, predation). However Rocky intertidal shores are easily accessible by humans and provide an enjoyable opportunity for passive recreation and for science and environmental education as well.
The world’s oceans cover 70 percent of the earth’s surface (Allsopp, Page, Johnston, & Santillo, 2009). The oceans biodiversity is increasingly becoming more threatened each year by anthropogenic activities such as pollution, destructive fishing methods, overfishing and commercial agriculture (Tyus, 2012). Marine conservation has improved over the years to protect and preserve ecosystems in oceans and seas. To limit the anthropogenic damage, restore habitats, species and preserve vulnerable marine life (Norse & Crowder, 2005). The term marine biodiversity discusses the abundance of species in a geographical area. (Allsopp et al., 2009). The biodiversity and conservation of marine systems can include a range of different types of habitats, the habitat that will be discussed in this study will be tropical coral reefs of Madagascar (Dobson & Frid, 2009). Coral reefs are the most biologically diverse ecosystem within the oceans (Hill, 2005). At a global scale, they tend to have high species diversity to care and support a large number of fish communities (Tyus, 2012). Coral reefs are recognised as the most pristine marine ecosystem of Madagascar; it is species rich but are also very fragile and threatened (Ahamada, Bijoux, Cauvin, Kooonjul, Maharavo, & Pierre-Louis, 2004). Endemic species inhabit this region such as butterflyfish (Chaetodontidae) and wrasses (Labridae), which show reliable indicators for the reefs health (Nadon, Griffiths, & Doherty, 2005). Velondriake marine
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).