Vertical Zonation and the Rocky Shore

12. In the Figure 5 profile, the coastline is within a few kilometers of the western end of the vertical cross section. From the coastline, water depth increases very gradually to about 40 m at 140 km from shore (western end of the profile). This segment of the vertical cross-section resembles the continental [(rise)(slope)(shelf)]

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.

The lower shore, or low tide zone, is mostly submerged underwater. The most noticeable difference of this sub-region is the large diversity of different types of seaweeds. Organisms found in this zone are generally less adapted to periods of dryness. The creatures are generally the largest and most complex organisms on the shore as there are more sources of food as marine vegetation flourishes.

Between day 8 and day 14 the Semibalanus start settle lower on the rock and there are none above 4 m. The Semibalanus start to settle mostly between 0-2 m and few Chthamalus are settling in that range. This occurs during neap tides. After day 14 the spring tide occurs and some

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 Tidal zones consist of splash zone, high water neap tide, low water neap tide, high water spring tide, low water spring tide, mid tide level and the splash zone and sub littoral zone. All of these tidal zones can be determined by which indicator organisms/animals are living there. For an example the splash zone is the highest of all zones and the organisms that are generally living there are noddiwinkles. If you spot a lot of honeycomb barnacles and blue-grey periwinkle’s then you are most likely in the high water tide zone and water only covers this zone at high tide. White tube worms are indictor organism the mid tide level zone and is covered by water for half of the day. There’s also the low tide zone which is engulfed in water for the majority of the day expect at low tide, you can determine this zone by finding indicator organisms such as sea squirts. The final tidal zone is the sub literal zone and this is always under water the indictor organism’s living here are brown tubeworms and striped girdled chiton.

b) Connell showed that the realized niche of the barnacle semibalanus was the same as its fundamental niche by clearing the upper tidal reach of Cthamalus so

Long Island is famous for its sandy ocean beaches. Between the barrier beach and the main coast is the Great South Bay. The beaches and dunes have very different characteristics. The sandy beach is the junction of land and ocean. The sandy beach consists of two zones, the swash zone and the drift line. The swash zone is the area of wet sand, caused by the incoming wave. The drift line is formed by the dead seaweed and other aquatic plants. Behind the sandy beach is the primary dune. The primary dune's main function is to absorb the force of the ocean and protect the great south bay and the island's main coast. In some cases secondary dunes form. These dunes are behind the primary dune and are therefor protected from the ocean. This provides the stability necessary for plant growth. Many time a maritime forests will form on secondary dunes.

Foveaux Strait contains unique biogenic habitats that supports an important commercial oyster fishery. Regular surveys recorded stock abundance of target oyster species and bycatch, however little is known about the algae community within this region (Michael et al., 2013). Algae can be an important habitat forming organism. In particular calcifying coralline algae has been demonstrated to facilitate the settlement of many invertebrate larvae, inhibit settlement and growth of other seaweed species and enhance local biodiversity (Nelson, 2009; McCoy & Kamenos, 2015). Coralline algae can survive in conditions not typical of other fleshy algae species such as low light and high sand scouring conditions within the Strait (McCoy & Kamenos, 2015).

9.1 Hypothesis: My hypothesis behind the pattern of distribution is that the Semibalanus are better survivors at the lower region of the rock surface because of their diamond like structure which allows it to be opened when underneath water and close shut when exposed to air. They would rather settle for the bottom region where they aren’t exposed to air as much. The Chthamalus have better chance of settling and surviving at the top region because there won’t be much competition with the Semibalanus barnacles because they can handle air exposure as well as thrive in warm waters which is seen at the top of the rock surface because

The erosion of shorelines is a natural process that can have beneficial or adverse impacts on the creation and maintenance of habitats. Sands and gravels eroded from the shores of coastal bays maintain the beach as a natural barrier between the open water and coastal wetlands. Beaches move back and forth onshore, offshore and along shore with changing wave conditions. The finer-grained silts and clays derived from the erosion of shorelines are sorted and carried as far as the waters of wetlands or tidal flats, where benefits are derived from addition of the new material. However, excessively high sediment loads can smother submerged aquatic vegetation beds, cover shellfish beds and tidal flats, fill in riffle

The Natural Bridges at Santa Cruz that I have been to study the marine organisms and the environment of between the beach and the ocean. The directions to the Natural Bridges Tide Pool Area is at the north end of 2395 Delaware Ave and De Anza Trailer Park. We examine some different kinds of marine plants such as seaweeds, kelps, and algae in texture, size, type of phylum and class, and how tidal zone affects their natural habitat. We learn about different animals that different in their biodiversities such as Epifauna and Infauna animals. We also examine and analyze the data in abiotic living things about the intertidal habitat. We also observe the tidal zone in high, middle, and low from how winds carried the energy to create the ocean waves.

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 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.

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).