The Inter-Tidal Zone

1. The Inter-Tidal Zone Period 3 By: Ken Rosenberg Katie Collins Jen Jenson

2. What is the Inter-Tidal Zone • The inter-tidal zone is divided into four broad sections: splash, upper inter-tidal, mid inter-tidal, and low inter-tidal zones.

3. Inter-Tidal Zone : Splash Zone • The first place, the splash zone, includes shore crabs and large isopods.

4. Inter-Tidal Zone: Upper Zone • . Covered in rough acorn barnacles, carnivorous snails, and algae is the upper tidal zone. Predators of the algae include periwinkle snails, turban snails and limpets. Barnacles would easily overpopulate this area if it weren’t for predators.

5. Inter-Tidal Zone: Mid Zone • Dominant in the mid inter-tidal zone are gooseneck barnacle and sea palm algae. Mussels, in this section, also provide a thick bed of security for snails and crabs.

6. Inter-Tidal Zone: Low Zone • The lowest section of this biome is probably the liveliest. Algae in the low inter-tidal zone include the red coralline and other large kelp-like plants. Upon these plants dwell worms, snapping shrimp, porcelain crabs, and sea urchins. The sunflower starfish preys on these urchins. Other organisms include sponges, sea squirts, bryozoans, and hydroids. Sea anemones capture food from currents and large crab and small octopus act as dominant predators in this area. Many fish and small shrimp live in large tide pool areas such as these.

7. What are Abiotic & Biotic Factors? • Abiotic Factor: A physical, or nonliving, factor that shapes an ecosystem. • Biotic Factor: The biological influence on organisms within an ecosystem

8. Inter-Tidal Zone: Abiotic Factors • Abiotic factors consist of the water temperature, tide levels, amount of sunlight, and air temperature.

9. Inter-Tidal Zone: Biotic Factors • Biotic factors in this biome include zonation, plants, and competitors.

10. Inter-Tidal Zone: Geological History • Inter-tidal Zones can be found all over the world. In the US alone, they can be found all along the west and east coasts. On the Northern Californian Coast alone, there are hundreds of these specific areas.

11. Inter-Tidal Zone: Future Outlook • The inter-tidal zone in the past decade has been very threatened and effects have already been noticed. People who visit beaches often move, touch, take, or disturb the very delicate array of life. Pollution has also had an effect on the amount of animals now living in tide pools. Different animals that, just a few years ago were not known for living in tide pools, are now appearing, signaling that some kind of change is happening. Not many projects are out there to protect this delicate biome. Some beaches post signs telling their visitors to make sure not to disturb the tide pools, but other than this, not many precautions have been taken thus far.

12. What does the Inter-Tidal Zone look like? • When you ask people what an inter-tidal zone is, they probably would relate it to tide pools. This is true; tide pools are a main part of the zone. When looking at a tide pool in low tide, you will see a small pool of water that is inside or on top of rocky structures along a particular beach.

13. Inter-Tidal Zone Location Dependences • These tide zones appear on coastal beaches all over the world, however different species of animals and plants in each area all depends on the latitude. Inter-tidal zones are found all over, including North America, Africa, South America, Australia, and the Mediterranean Coasts.

14. Inter-Tidal Zone: Climatogram • Here is a Climatogram from a Tide Pool location. You can conclude in this, that this area received the most rain during the middle of the year, when temperatures where lowest. The rest of the year, when temperature was higher, less rain was received. These results do have an effect on Tide Pool life, but only partially. The other effects include Tide, and Water Temperature.

15. Inter-Tidal Zone: Food Relationships • Food chains and webs are the specific, interwoven relations between each and every specie of a biome. In the tide pools, for instance, plankton are at the very base of the food chain. Using photosynthesis, plankton creates their own energy, therefore making them primary producers. Barnacles feed on these producers, receiving 10% of the energy. The most common predator of the barnacle is the whelk. These snails are preyed upon by sea stars, which are very close to the top of the food chain. The adult sea star does not have very many predators in the tide pool area, although hungry birds and very large snails can be dangerous in the open sea.

16. Inter-Tidal Zone: Food Relationships Cont. • Primary Consumers: Consumers feed on producers. 10-20% of energy passes on from producers to consumers. Examples: snails and barnacles • Tertiary Consumers: Eat Carnivores. Conversion of energy only about 1%. Examples: crab and octopus • Detritivores: break down dead tissues and wastes. Examples: Sea Urchins

17. Inter-Tidal Zone: Food Chain Octopus Hermit Crab Sculpin Starfish Seaweed

18. Inter-Tidal Zone: Food Web Octopus Hermit Crab Sculpin Fish Crab Starfish Lobster Seaweed Sand Dollar

19. Inter-Tidal Zone: Roles Of Biotic Factors • Primary producers play a big role in this ecosystem. They are a limiting factor of consumers and can effect a population greatly. Producers are also autotrophic organisms that use solar or chemical energy to create all the organic nutrients in an ecosystem. Seaweed and algae are examples of primary producers. A biome would not be complete without primary consumers. These organisms feed on the producers, receiving 10% of their energy. Examples of these consumers consist of snails and barnacles. Tertiary consumers are the carnivorous animals of the bunch. Crabs and octopus in this area convert about 1% of energy from their prey. The last members of the whole ecosystem cycle are the detritivores. Detritivores, such as sea urchins, break down dead tissues and wastes.

20. Inter-Tidal Zone: Commercial Uses • Shrimp, lobster, crab, and octopus are all commercially fished. In non-tide pool area’s in the low inter-tidal zone. • Tide pools are not often used for commercial, because this biome is protected. Often, these areas are tested and studied by scientists or for other educational purposes.

21. Inter-Tidal Zone: Negative Impact of Human Activity • Over fishing in the low inter-tidal zone could be a possibility so that why certain organizations monitor the animal population. • For the most part, inadvertently, humans severely damage these delicate plants and animals in the Inter-Tidal Zone. Many people touch, move, and take the life forms in tide pools, disrupting the habitat.

22. Inter-Tidal Zone: Conclusion The Inter-Tidal Zone is a biome in which a vast array of life forms exist. Lifting up a rock may hold a pool of water, but as you look closer you might just see many tiny plants and animals that you have never seen before. To appreciate this biome you need to go out and see it with your own eyes.

23. Inter-Tidal Zone: Questions • 1. Name 3 abiotic factors of the Inter-tidal Zone. • 2. What are the 4 zones in the Inter-tidal Zone? • 3. Name one negitive impact of human activity in an Inter-tidal Zone.