rocky shore ecosystem

Question 1

location

Answer 1

all over the planet where are the bedrock and large boulders exposed at low tides

Question 2

what’s the substrate

Answer 2

rock

Question 3

physical characteristic: intertidal air water

Answer 3

exposed to air and covered by water

Question 4

temperature

Answer 4

wide variation especially in the air

Question 5

light

Answer 5

lots in air, but it water varies with depth

Question 6

energy

Answer 6

variable on location

Question 7

chemical characteristics (salinity, oxygen, nutrients)

Answer 7

salinity: wide variation in air and in tidepools with precipitation and evaporation
oxygen: variation in tidepools, not very accessible to the most intertidal organism in the air
nutrients: moderate to high due to proximity to land

Question 8

how is the distribution of organisms in the … bands

Answer 8

horizontal

Question 9

how many zones are?

Answer 9

3! high, middle, and low zones

Question 10

why there are 3 zones?

Answer 10

because of differing tolerances of organisms to stresses (biotic and abiotic)

Question 11

what can you find in upper tidal?

Answer 11

periwinkles: limpets, lichens, encrusting algae

Question 12

what can be found in middle intertidal?

Answer 12

barnacles dominant, mussels, seaweeds

Question 13

what can be found in the lower intertidal?

Answer 13

seaweeds, surf grass

Question 14

what are the limits of organisms for upper limits?

Answer 14

set by abiotic factors such as desiccation, temperature, salinity, food, oxygen availability

Question 15

what are the limits of organisms for the lower intertidal?

Answer 15

set by biotic factors such as competition, predation, herbivory

Question 16

what is desiccation?

Answer 16

water loss, drying out

Question 17

when does desiccation occur?

Answer 17

during low tides due to air exposure

Question 18

how can desiccation increase

Answer 18

with wind and temperature

Question 19

what species are more tolerant to be in the air?

Answer 19

periwinkles, limpets, Fucus, Porphyra so can live longer in the intertidal zone

Question 20

what kind of adaptation organisms develop due to desiccation?

Answer 20

• lose water then rehydrating
• Mucus (fucus, anemones)
• conserve water
• live in the tidepool

Question 21

the temperature on rocky intertidal of air, water?

Answer 21

• water temperature varies slightly

- air temperature can vary drastically?

Question 22

how does temperature impact organisms?

Answer 22

organisms out of the water are subject to greater variations in temperature

Question 23

adaptations to temperature

Answer 23

• evaporative cooling in mussels and gooseneck barnacles
• mucus in anemones
• eurythermal enzymes(able to tolerate a wide range of temperatures) in barnacles but not in sea urchins/sea stars

Question 24

how can salinity increase?

Answer 24

with evaporation or decrease with freshwater input

Question 25

how can salinity decrease?

Answer 25

fresh water input

Question 26

how are called the organism that is tolerant to wide variations in salinity

Answer 26

euryhaline (mussels, barnacles)

Question 27

how are called the organisms that can tolerate a narrow range of salinity?

Answer 27

stenohaline (sea stars)

Question 28

what are the adaptations to salinity?

Answer 28

close up (barnacles, mussels, anemones)
ion pumps in gills crabs

Question 29

where do the organisms get their food from?

Answer 29

from water (plankton), can only feed when underwater

Question 30

where do organisms obtain oxygen from?

Answer 30

water

Question 31

adaptations to food and oxygen availability

Answer 31

low activity levels at low tide

• feed/take in oxygen the whole time they are underwater (barnacles, mussels)
• scaleless fish can absorb O2 across the body
• modified O2 absorption

Question 32

adaptations to UV light

Answer 32

• sunscreen natural compound that absorbs UV
• protective shells
• under rocks and overhangs

Question 33

adaptations to wave exposure

Answer 33

hang on (mussels make byssal threads, some seaweeds are flexible)

Question 34

biotic factors

Answer 34

competition, predators, herbivory

Question 35

how is called the direct interaction type of competition?

Answer 35

interference

Question 36

how is called the differential use of resources type of competition

Answer 36

exploitative

Question 37

the between species type of competition

Answer 37

interspecific

Question 38

between individuals of the same species type of competition

Answer 38

intraspecific

Question 39

what are the 2 types of predators?

Answer 39

generalists (eat a wide range of food types) and specialists (eat a single prey type)

Question 40

what are the adaptations to predation?

Answer 40

• protective shells (hermit crabs)
• camouflage
• chemical defenses in nudibranchs
• escape responses
• mutualistic associations

Question 41

what are the adaptations to predation?

Answer 41

• protective shells (hermit crabs)
• camouflage
• chemical defenses in nudibranchs
• escape responses
• mutualistic associations (keyhole limpet and scale worm)

Question 42

what are the refugees from predations?

Answer 42

• height in intertidal
• size (some mussels are too big to be eaten)
• space (limpets living on vertical surfaces to avoid predation)

Question 43

is herbivory similar to predation interactions?

Answer 43

yes

Question 44

what’s herbivory?

Answer 44

animals eating plants/seaweeds

Question 45

what are the refugees from herbivory?

Answer 45

chemical defenses (sulphuric acid in desmarestia)

• physical defenses (calcium carbonate in coralline algae)
• height in the intertidal

Question 46

what are the upper limits set by?

Answer 46

abiotic factors (desiccation, temperature, salinity, food and oxygen availability)

Question 47

what are the lower limits set by?

Answer 47

biotic factors such as competition, predation, herbivory