Rocky Shores Flashcards
Which phyla contain meiofauna?
Arthropods (ostracodes & amphipods), Mollusca (gastropods), Foraminifera (Forams).
What are the three types of seaweed?
Chlorophyta (greens, 7000spp), Rhodophyta (reds), Phaeophyta (browns, fucoids and kelps).
What are the main primary producers?
Seaweeds, microalgae.
What are the two types of microalgae primary producers?
Diatoms and Cyanobacteria.
What are examples of grazers?
Limpets, periwinkles, top shells, urchins.
What are examples of filter feeders?
Barnacles, sponges, sea squirts, mussels.
What are some examples of predators?
Shore crabs, dogwhelks, seastars, oyster catchers.
What is the littoral zone?
The near shore area where sunlight penetrates all the way to sediment.
What are the three parts of the littoral zone?
High intertidal, mid intertidal, low intertidal.
What organisms are found in the high intertidal?
Lichens, periwinkles, barnacles, isopods, etc.
What organisms are found on the mid-intertidal?
Barnacles, limpets, mussels, fucoids, whelks, green macroalgae.
What are the organisms found on the low intertidal?
Seastars, kelps, red and green macroalgae, urchins.
What causes patterns of vertical zonation?
1) Larval settlement & adult preference.
2) Physiological tolerance to environmental variables.
3) Biological interactions: interspecific competition/predation.
How do animals tolerate emersion?
They move into crevices, inhabit rock pools, and adapt their body size for volume rations, limiting water loss, or living in dense groups/under seaweed canopies.
What are meiofauna?
Fauna that are
What are the environment variables on the rocky shore? Where do they increase?
Physical, chemical, biological (plant/animal) variables, + unpredictability. They increase the further away from the low shore you get.