Introduction For two days, on the 14th and 15th of April, a field excursion to Hastings Point, New South Wales was conducted. At Hastings Point, topography, abiotic factors and organism distribution were measured and recorded, with the aim of drawing links between the abiotic factors of two ecosystems (rocky shore and sand dunes), the organisms which live in them, and the adaptations they have developed to cope with these conditions. Within these two ecosystems, multiple zones were identified and recorded, and this report also aims to identify the factors and organisms associated with each zone. Lastly, using data and observations from the past, predictions for the future of the rock pool ecosystem were made. Evaluation If the excursion were …show more content…
The black nerite was observed 76 times in the upper 25 meters of the rock pools, which has been defined as the supralittoral zone. The black nerite has adapted in many ways to successfully survive the harsh biotic and abiotic conditions associated with the supralittoral zone. The supralittoral zone has a categorically large amount of predation, and the black nerites have adapted structurally to deal with this. They have developed a tough, dark shell which not only prevents predators from accessing the snail inside, but acts as a camouflage, matching the dark coloured rocks. This tough shell also helps the nerites survive in the often dry and hot supralittoral zone, where a decrease from 83%RH to 75%RH was seen at Hastings Point. This adaptation is to retain moisture using a special structure – the operculum – which can be sealed when the snail is not eating to retain moisture within the shell. This is used especially between the high tides, as water only reaches this high zone at these times. Another factor associated with the supralittoral zone is harsh wind conditions, which was observed at Hastings Point where the temperature indicated a 12% increase in average temperature between the littoral and supralittoral zones. The black nerites adapted behaviourally to survive these conditions. To do this, …show more content…
70 common limpets were identified in the 40m bracket identified as the littoral zone, between 0m to 40m. The common limpet employs a range of adaptations to survive the abiotic and biotic conditions associated with the littoral zone. Firstly, the limpet uses a structural adaptation to overcome the harsh wave action in the tidal zone, by using their radula to grip on to imperfections in the rock. Furthermore, they employ a behavioural adaptation of grinding their shells down into the rock, to further ensure they are not swept away by the tide. Additionally, the limpet utilises a behavioural adaptation regarding its tough shell and powerful radula, to defend against predators. This predation was seen at Hastings Point, where the limpet’s main predator, Morula marginalba (mulberry whelk), was identified 25 times in the first 35m. To survive this predation, the limpet utilises its tough clutch on the rocks, defending itself against predators by trapping them under the rim of its shell, consequently killing or starving the
Ecological Succession Report of Conrad’s Beach Anthony Cormier (B00719104), SCIE 1505X October 23rd 2015 Abstract – The study to prove that ecological succession occurred at Conrad’s beach took place at Conrad’s beach in Nova Scotia. Species richness, height and amount of organic material was sampled by using a 1m x 1m quadrat. As predicted the abundance and size of the organisms were larger further as the groups got further from the sand dunes.
Once acclimated, the isopods walked around the arena for five minutes and go to the sponges that they preferred. The experiments should be repeated 3 times with the same design layout for accurate results. 20 isopods were released in the center of the arena. After five minutes, the number of isopods behind every sponge was
In this experiment two environmental variables were used moist and dry. The purpose was to see the behavioral adaptation of the crustaceans to the moist or dry environment and which they preferred. Due to their way of respirating it was hypothesized that they’ll prefer a moist environment over a dry. Results concluded that the hypothesis was denied and not significant.
Loggerhead turtles are species generalists. Loggerheads compete with other carnivorous predators whose diets overlaps with theirs. For example, juvenile loggerheads and Kemp’s ridleys in waters around Long Island have substantial diet overlap. Interspecific competition also occurs for nest sites for beaches shared with other sea turtles species; however, this problem was likely greater in the past before modern turtle population declines. The diet of loggerheads includes many species that are harvested by humans and consequently decreases in food resources can result in sublethal effects in the form of decreased growth rates and reproductive output (Bjorndal 2003).
Sedimentary facies changes may show if there was a transgression or regression and can be identified on whether there are coarse-grained sediments such as sand, which indicates they are nearshore, in high energy environments. Or if they are fine-grained sediments like muds and silts, they indicate offshore, deep, low energy environments. List and discuss in detail major problems that had to be overcome by plants and animals in order to live successfully on land. Give examples. Discuss how life has evolved from the ocean during the Paleozoic to move onto
Each ecosystem has their own biodiversity, differing themselves from other ecosystems. In our experiment we are revisiting how the intensity of light effects the movements of Gammarus setosus. From J. M. WeEsøawski, M. ZajaÎczkowski, J. Wiktor (1997) report, when there are Macrofauna taxa and Macrophytes, there would a frequent amount of Gammarus setosus. With this we can conclude that Gammarus setosus plays a large role in the food chain. By getting more information of the Gammarus setosus we able to get more information for future research into the how prey and predation with the Gammarus setosus.
1.0 Introduction 1.1 Purpose The purpose of this report is to investigate the impacts of urban development on biodiversity at stumers creek dog beach. This report will include data collected from the creek including; water samples, soil samples and animal and excrement surveys in order to determine the health of the environment. 1.2 Location Stumers Creek is located in Coolum Beach, on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia. The sub catchment of Stumers Creek covers an area of 13km2.
Chitons are a class of mollusc called Polyplacophora, when examined, share the same anatomical features as those of the first molluscs on earth. This means that they are t closely related to the beginning of the mollusc group. These molluscs vary in size but have the same features as a long, oval flat body with a segmented mantle to protect the ventral of the chiton. These organism have learned to create a “suction” affect using their ventral to hold on to rocks so that they do not get washed away by the waves. Their radula is a teeth like structure that scrapes of algae that are living on rocks.
On the other hand, the winter months have amplified wave energy and increased sediment suspension thus lowering the beach profiles. In tropical areas, this phenomenon is in
We went to the salt marsh at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Starting at the water line we measured 100 meters into the salt marsh. At every 10 meters we stopped and laid a quadrat down, which is just a square made out of pipe. We counted the number of each species and organisms we saw in each quadrat and also measured the height of each plant. We repeated these steps until we got to the 100 meter mark, which took us eleven quadrats total.
Nevertheless, the orator impugns this assertion by stating that animals who apply this style of living tend to move slow and they usually stay in a certain location. However, fossils of these species indicate that they were speard in enormous expanses of the ocean and they were able to move rapidly which contradicts with the fact that species in the seafloor occupy a certain geography. Therefore, this theory is unable to explain their style of
Describe two attributes of the deep sea pelagic ecosystem that pose challenges for its inhabitants. For each of these, identify and describe 2 strategies or adaptations that address these problems. One attribute of the deep sea pelagic ecosystem that poses a challenge for its inhabitants is the hydrostatic pressure. The water pressure in the ocean increases by 1 atm for each ten meters in depth so doing the math the pressure at 11000m or the bottom of the deep sea is around 1,100 atm. These high pressure eliminates the use of a swim bladder, being it would compress the air within the organism and render it useless (Childress et al, 1993).
Suppose a dark-colored micro-organism colonized the rocks and sand at the beach, thereby changing the color of the substrate also to be dark. Before, The light color helped the clams to blend into the surrounding, making them less salient and exposed. There are some clams that are dark and stand out in the light colored sand. Consequently, you’ll notice the scarcity of the dark colored clams because predators usually spot them first before spying a lighter color clam. However, now that this new micro-organism came in, turning the beach’s sand and rocks to be dark, this exposes the populous light colored clams.
With these adaptions, how is their diet and how do these adaptions & behaviors keep them and help them survive in the
A study conducted on sandy beaches by Bally (1981) found that the mean number of macrofaunal species found in areas of high, medium and low wave action were 11, 17 and 30 respectively. This further provides evidence that wave action has an impact on species abundance. In relation to wave height, McLachlan and Dorvlo (2005) found that the variability in marine species richness was greatest at low wave heights and decreased in areas of greater wave heights. Hence, it can be said that areas of high wave height and high wave action have a low abundance of marine species and species richness. Meiofauna and macrofauna inhabiting the finer grain size beaches are confined to the oxygenated top few centimetres (Rodriguez et al., 2003), in order to avoid unoxygenated, stagnant black sand.