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5 Biol Oceanogr - Rocky and Sandy Intertidal

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22 views28 pages

5 Biol Oceanogr - Rocky and Sandy Intertidal

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Abigail Valencia
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Intertidal Ecology

(Rocky and Sandy)

UP MSI & HGP Bangi notes


Intertidal Communities

Intertidal zone - benthic area lying between the extremes of high and low tides
- exposed to the air for a certain amount of time
- has within it the gradient variations in environmental factors of any
marine area
1. Tides – the periodic, predictable rise and fall of the level of the sea over a given
time interval; it is the most important factor influencing life in the intertidal zone

Tides occur due to:


1.) Interaction between the gravitational attraction of the sun and the moon on earth
2.) Centrifugal force generated by the rotating earth and moon system

RESULT: water in the ocean basins is pulled into bulges (=tides)


Position of the moon and sun at neap and spring tides

Spring tides – tide that show the greatest range (both high and low); moon and sun
directly aligned
Neap tides – tides showing minimum range; moon and sun at right angles to each other

“Perigee’’ – moon closer to earth


“Apogee” – moon farther away to earth
Types of Tides

Mixed Semidiurnal ( two highs, two lows)

Diurnal (single high,


single low per day)

The heights of the highs and lows vary from day to day as the relative position of the
sun and moon relative to each other change
Attendant Ecological Effects:
1. Duration of exposure to air – organisms will be subjected to the greatest
temperature range and dessication

2. Time of exposure – exposure during night (low temp.; low dessication);


exposure during midday (high temp.; high dessication)

3. Predictability – most intertidal organisms are quiescent when the tide is out
and resume normal activity (feeding) when the tide is in.

Physical Factors
1. Salinity
- exposure to heavy rains and run off
2. Temperature - Aerial
- dessication
- high evaporation rate in tide pools
3. Wave Action
-mechanical stress
-mixing of atmospheric gases with water
-Extend limit of intertidal zone
Adaptations
1. Resistance to Water Loss
2. Maintenance of heat balance
a. reducing heat gain from environment
- less surface to area ratio ( larger) – less area to gain heat
- reduce area of exposed body tissue
- low temperature less of a problem than high temperature

b. Increase heat loss from the body


Light – low heat absorption
Dark – high heat absorption
3. Strong holdfasts and attachments
- shape and and form minimize mechanical stress from wave action
4. Respiration
- gills enclosed in a mantle, protected by a shell to prevent from drying

- behavioral adaptation: inactive during low tide to conserve water and oxygen

5. Feeding
-- all intertidal organisms must expose the fleshy parts of their bodies to feed

- daily pattern dependent on tide – active only during the time the tide is in and they
are covered with water

6. Reproduction
-coupled with tidal regime (release of eggs and sperm when the tide is in)
-Planktonic larvae (need water to be transported and survive)
Community Structure of
Rocky Shores

Zonation – it is the horizontal banding of organisms


Causes:
1.) physical factors - result of tidal action
2.) biological factors - competition for space
- predation
- grazing (=herbivory)
1. Wave exposure
2. Dessication – a serious problem for marine intertidal organisms

Barnacle – cannot move to avoid dessication; when trans-


planted above their normal tidal height, they die
3. Aerial Temperature and exposure – can exceed the lethal limits of
intertidal organisms
4. Sunlight
- UV harm living tissues
- limits distribution of algae

5. Food Availability
- dependent on tidal regime

6. Competition
- intraspecific and interspecific
Algae- light and space
Benthic sessile invertebrates - space
Competition for space

Intertidal zonation as result of the interaction of physical and biological factors


• Chthamalus larvae settled out throughout the zones occupied by both barnacles;
survived to adulthood only at upper zone
• Balanus was prevented from completely eliminating Chthamalus bec. it did not have
the tolerance to drying and high temp at high tidal levels
7. Predation

Interaction of predation with physical factors in establishing zonation of the


dominant intertidal organisms
Composition of the low intertidal in the North Atlantic ocean with and without
predators
Keystone Predator Hypothesis

Interactions among mussels (Mytilus), barnacles and their predators on the Pacific coast
of N. America, which allow barnacles to persist in the intertidal zone

• without Pisaster starfish to remove Mytilus and Nucella, Balanus cariorus would be
outcompeted by Mytilus or completely consumed by Nucella
• Pisaster – a keystone predator (Paine, 1966)
Tide Pools with and without
predators
Succession in intertidal mussel bed – the gradual and predictable
replacement of communities in a given area brought about by the modification of the
environment by organisms

Creation of open spaces in any zone usually results in quick colonization by a


series of opportunistic species
Sandy Intertidal Ecology
Sandy Intertidal
- sediment size
Sandy Intertidal (continued…)

Adaptations:
✓ organisms burrow quickly; HOW?
- smooth body surface (e.g., shells, clams
- reduced spines (e.g., sand dollars)
- many worms
- accumulate iron compounds (weight belt to keep
them down)
- intake siphon with screen (prevent entrance of into
respiratory surfaces)
- antennae with hairs (prevent entrance of sand)
✓ no large plants – no way to attach in the presence of wave
action
✓ benthic diatoms present
✓ barnacles, mussels absent (no place to attach!)
✓ Dominant organisms: polychaete worms, bivalve
molluscs, crustaceans
Sandy Intertidal (continued…)
Feeding Ecology:
✓ little productivity = no large plants
✓ phytoplankton, organic debris, other beach animals=
source of food
✓ either suspension feeders or detritus feeders (polychaetes)
✓ few carnovores= polychaetes (with proboscis); burrowing
snails, shore birds, fishes

Zonation:
✓ Highest part of sandy beach (supralittoral)
= talitrid amphiphod crustaceans (scavengers)
✓Midlittoral area = much more variable; isopods, sand crabs
are found
✓ Lowest zone (Infralittoral area) = high number of species
=surf clams, sand dollars, various polychaete worms,
carnivorous snails

Physical factors = major factor/ contributors to


zonation patterns observed

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