_Zonation of the Marine Environment海洋环境的生态区划.pptVIP

Specimen # 7 Specimen #8 Specimen #9 Specimen #10  Intertidal Communities Most studied and best understood marine environment Intertidal – part of the sea floor that lies between the highest and the lowest tides Unique due to regular exposure to air The size and species composition of the intertidal will vary with degree of exposure Organisms must be adept at surviving in these arid conditions  Problems to be dealt with because of exposure to air: Desiccation (drying out) Mobile organisms move in out with tide Protective shells and/or mucus Store water efficiently Temperature (very warm temp) Organisms have a wide temperature range Light color of shell reflects light Salinity (concentration of salt) When it rains or snow melts, exposed plants and animals have to endure fresh water Must have a wide range of salinity tolerance Wave Action (mechanical effects that smash and tear away objects from substrates or to alter seafloor) Adaptations to maintain position include: becoming fixed to rocks (sessile), increasing thickness of shell, enlarging muscular foot Vertical Zonation of Intertidal Zonation is a vertical banding of the organisms living on the rocky coastline The Supralittoral Zone“The Splash Zone” Upper part of intertidal zone Size of this zone depends on slope, splash, climate, and amount of shade Only covered briefly by water during the highest tides Dissolved nutrients and oxygen are limited Black Lichen Symbiotic relationship of fungi and algae Fungi soaks up water like a sponge, storing it for long dry periods Black, tar-like blotches on rocks Cyanobacteria Blue-green algae Protected from desiccation by a jelly-like coating Periwinkles Snail-like mollusks Abundant in intertidal Avoid desiccation by: clustering in moist, shady crevices. Sealing opening of shell Can breathe air Tolerate extreme temps. Limpet Soft-bodied invertebrate protected by a hard, cone-like shell Cling tightly to rocks using muscular foot Intertidal communities are separa