Zonation on a rocky shore
The seashore is a habitat that contains a wide range of microhabitats and ecological niches for different creatures. This is mainly due to the effects of the tides, that rise and fall twice each day.Tides are the vertical movement of water in a periodical oscillation of the sea, due to the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. The tides are on a semi-diurnal cycle, so there are two high tides and two low tides each day.Due to the orbit of the moon, the tides also have a monthly cycle. This creates neap (very low) and spring (very high) tides. The seashore can be divided into several zones, which are illustrated on the diagram below:This is the highest zone on the shore, and lies above the EHWS mark, and therefore is never covered by seawater. However, it may be occasionally be spray wetted. Because of this, it is ma
The leafy part of a lichen is known as the thallus. Quadrats containing many cracks or crevices, or large rocks, which organisms could hide under, also made it more difficult to be confident that every specimen had been recorded, leading to inaccurate results. Wave action: The action of powerful waves can dislodge many species, so those that live on the middle shore (where wave action is at its most powerful) must be adapted to survive very rough conditions. The majority of the animal species recorded are mobile, and so could move around while being counted, leading to inaccurate results, or could have been found far from their niche, distorting the results. · Species or specimens being miscounted or missed altogether. Organisms compete for all the resources that are in short supply. The biotic factors that affect the rocky shore tend to affect the lower limits at which a species may live. As they are submerged for long periods, the amount of light reaching the seaweeds is an important factor and only those with the appropriate accessory pigments can survive here. The biotic factors that affect the distribution of organisms on the rocky shore are:Food supply: All organisms need food to survive and so can only flourish in areas in which they can find food. Sea anemones and crabs are residents of this zone. Predation: Many species also live on the seashore in an attempt to evade marine predators, such as fish, crabs, lobsters etc, that are far more common in the sea than on the shore. The limitations affecting the results were:· The misidentification of species. It was evenly distributed across stations 9, 10, and 11, with similar numbers in each quadrat (between 40 and 50 individuals per quadrat). It became less and less abundant down the beach, at the bottom of its range, in station 7, where only 20 individuals were recorded. Stipe region (often long and cylindrical)3.
Common topics in this essay:
Light Light,
Shore Wave,
Sublittoral Zone,
Biological Significance,
SPLASH ZONE,
LOWER SHORE,
MLWN MHWN,
UPPER SHORE,
Temperature Seawater,
Coursework Conclusion,
middle shore,
fucus serratus,
upper shore,
fucus vesiculosus,
lower shore,
species found,
littorina saxatalis,
rocky shore,
littorina obtusata,
pelvetia canaliculata,
desiccation temperature change,
animal species recorded,
resources short supply,
shore region shore,
shore species seaweed,
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Acceptance Essays
