Intertidal Community Project: Chiton Research
Intertidal Community Project
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Pablo Robledo Period 3 Ms. Ashley February 10, 2010
Introduction
The intertidal zone, or littoral zone, is a slim perimeter along the shoreline. The intertidal zone is located between the highest and the lowest tides. Since the intertidal zone is located between the highest and the lowest tides it has many abiotic factors that make life challenging for the intertidal organisms, therefore the organisms must be well adapted to the intertial zone in order to survive. Intertidal organisms experience emmersion and immercion, meaning that they are being exposed to air and they are being submerged, thus the organisms must be adapted to emmersion in order to avoid desiccation, or drying up. Some examples of intertidal organisms are sea anemones, sea stars, sea urchins, crabs, mussels, barnacles, limpets, chitons, and algae. Each one of them has different adaptations to survive different abiotic factors that make life challenging for them like temperature, wave action, currents, competition for space, desiccation, and salinity. For example sea stars developed tube feet to attach to hard surfaces, in addition chitons developed a muscular foot to attach to rocks. The intertidal community is important to me because it is part of the planet I live in, because the environmental and species interactions are unique, because the organisms have developed amazing adaptations for the harsh environment, and because I live on the coast. I am connected to the intertidal community because it is part of the world I live in and because I live near it.
Vertical Zonation
One special characteristic that the rocky intertidal community is that it is typically divided into sections, or zones, vertically thus biologists have named this arrangement vertical zonation. Rocky shores have four main sections, which are the splash zone, upper intertidal,
[pic]
Pablo Robledo Period 3 Ms. Ashley February 10, 2010
Introduction
The intertidal zone, or littoral zone, is a slim perimeter along the shoreline. The intertidal zone is located between the highest and the lowest tides. Since the intertidal zone is located between the highest and the lowest tides it has many abiotic factors that make life challenging for the intertidal organisms, therefore the organisms must be well adapted to the intertial zone in order to survive. Intertidal organisms experience emmersion and immercion, meaning that they are being exposed to air and they are being submerged, thus the organisms must be adapted to emmersion in order to avoid desiccation, or drying up. Some examples of intertidal organisms are sea anemones, sea stars, sea urchins, crabs, mussels, barnacles, limpets, chitons, and algae. Each one of them has different adaptations to survive different abiotic factors that make life challenging for them like temperature, wave action, currents, competition for space, desiccation, and salinity. For example sea stars developed tube feet to attach to hard surfaces, in addition chitons developed a muscular foot to attach to rocks. The intertidal community is important to me because it is part of the planet I live in, because the environmental and species interactions are unique, because the organisms have developed amazing adaptations for the harsh environment, and because I live on the coast. I am connected to the intertidal community because it is part of the world I live in and because I live near it.
Vertical Zonation
One special characteristic that the rocky intertidal community is that it is typically divided into sections, or zones, vertically thus biologists have named this arrangement vertical zonation. Rocky shores have four main sections, which are the splash zone, upper intertidal,
Bibliography: Castro, Peter, and Huber, Michael. Marine Biology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2008. http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/ezidweb/animals/Tonicellalineata.htm. Mary Jo Adams. 11/22/05. Beachwatchers. http://www.wallawalla.edu/academics/departments/biology/rosario/inverts/Mollusca/Polyplacophora/Tonicella_lineata.html. Dave Cowles. 2005. Wallawalla.