Becca W., Liz. R
Introduction:
The Marine Intertidal Zone is anywhere the ocean merges with land. It is any coastal region, anywhere in the world. We will be focusing on the Intertidal Zones of Cape Cod. The Intertidal Zone is one of the most difficult places for organisms to live. This is because some of the time it is covered by water, and some of the time it's dry. When the tide comes in, the Intertidal Zone is covered in water, but when the tide goes out, it is dry except for tide pools. Tide pools are similar to oversized puddles. The water is left in these areas when the tide goes out. Organisms are often trapped in these tide pools until the tide comes back in. These areas are great learning areas because they are examples of small ecosystems. If you can find a very complete tide pool, you can see and understand what happens in the ocean.
Geography:
Marine Intertidal zones are on any and all coastal areas. Tidal areas can be found on the coasts of areas next to water. When the tide goes out, small pools of water are left trapped between rocks with organisms in them.
Weather Cycles:
The weather in this zone is called a humid continental climate. The water stays cold all year round, but it may get warmer in the summer. In late spring and early summer, the water is usually between 30 and 50 degrees farenheight. The Marine Intertidal zone has four seasons. Winter which is cold, summer which is hot, spring which is warm and breezy, and autmn which is cool. Precipitation is common all year round.
Survey of organisms:
Plantae--
Holophilia ovalis-- Paddle Weed. This is a small seagrass. This is one of the two species of seagrass found in the intertidal zone.
Hormosira banksii-- Neptune's Necklace. This is a sea plant with a module-like structure, and small yellow reproductive vessels.
Protista--
Podina crassa--Padina Algae. This is one of the many types of algae found in the intertidal zone. Algae provide shelter and food fo many different kinds of marine life.
Ecklonia radiata-- Brown Kelp. This is another type of algae found in the intertidal zone. Also, this algae provides shelter and food fo many different kinds of marine life.
Corallina berteri-- Red Corraline Algae. Another type of algae in the intertidal zone, this species also provides shelter and food fo many different kinds of marine life.
Fungi--
Myxomycota-- Slime Mold.
Animals--
Tegula funebralis--Black Turban Snail
Pagarus samuelis--Blue-Handed Hermit Crab
Octopus bimacutatus--Two Spot Octopus
Oligocuttus snyderi--Fluffy Sculpin
Gobiesox maeandircus--Northern Clingfish
Food Web:
Adaptation:
The Black Turban Snail has learned to adapt to the changing environment of the Intertidal zone by shutting themselves in their shell when it is low tide. Inside their shell, they keep enough water to last them for a few hours(when the tide is low). They have also adapted by living in a shell. When the tide goes in and out, rocks roll around with it. Since a snails body is so soft, they need to live in a shell to protect themselves.
Fluffy Sculpins are a type of fish that lives in Intertidal zones. They have adapted to living in an area that is constantly changing. First of all, they can change the color of their scales to look like the color of their surroundings. This camouflages them and makes it harder for predators to locate them. Also, they are able to live for several hours out of water as long as they are in a moist place. This ability is helpful when it is low tide.
Endangered Species:
One endangered species in the Marine zone is the Dogong, also known as the Sea Cow. Over the past twenty years, Dogongs have declined greatly. Within a period of eight years there has been a loss of 3,480 sea cows. The causes of this creatures decline is habitat losses, commercial mesh nets(fishing nets), shark nets, and hunting. Dogongs feed on sea grass in a sea grass meadow. These sea grass meadows are the homes of many other types of species of fish that are hunted. The dumping of dredge wastes, and the discharge of silt from coastal rivers reduces the amount of light for the sea grass meadows to grow. Another factor, the commercial mesh nets, capture the Dogongs and drown them. A sea dog can only hold its breath for eight minutes maximum. People hunt Dogongs because they are a good food source, and they hold social, spiritual, economic, and cultural significance. The Dogong has become so endangered that it has been put on the world conservation union-vulnerable to extinction list.
Symbiosis:
Symbiosis is a word that means living together. One kind of symbiosis is commensialism in which one organism/animal benefits and the other is not harmed. A few examples of commensialism is when shrimp live within the stinging tentacles of sea anemones. The sea anemone's poison does not effect the shrimp and the shrimp are protected from predators that will be harmed by the poison. The shrimp do not harm the anemones, but they are not helped either. Another example of commensalism is a barnacle that lives on the back of a gray whale. The gray whale helps the barnacle to travel, but the barnacle does not harm the whale in any way.
WEBLIOGRAPHY
Http://mbgnet.mobot.org/salt/sandy/main.htm
Http://www.bishop.hawaii.org/bishop/HBS/hispp.shtml
Http://www.branson.org/depts/science/marbio/lower_intertidal_zone.html
Http://marinebiology.ne.net/
Http://mbgnet.mobot.org/salt/sandy/main.htm
Http://neptune.spaceports.com/~marine/fishfluff.html
Margulis, Lynn, Sagan, Dorion. The Microcosmos coloring book. Florida: Harcourt Brace Jovanavich, 1988.
Miller, R. Kenneth, Levine, Joseph. Biology. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1993.
Strahler, N. Arthur. Geologist's View of Cape Cod. New York:National History Press, 1966.
