FNR 201 Final Exam Study Guide

intertidal zone

intertidal zone

defined as shoreline area between highest high tide and lowest low tide

rocky and sandy

two main types of intertidal zones

rocky shores

any coastline comprised of hard materials

high diversity

diversity and density of rocky shores is high or low?

submerged and exposed due to tides, high energy waves, salinity fluctuations

challenges to organisms in rocky shores

D

how do animals deal with desiccation and heat stress?

a. high body to surface area ratio (large body and less surface area)

b. light color

c. point shell to sun

d. all of the above

C

how do animals minimize water loss in rocky shores?

a. aggregate and clamp down tight on rocks to trap water

b. gelatinous covering

c. both a and b

d. none of the above

dorsally flattened bodies, large foot, secrete cement, create crevices

how do animals deal with wave shock on rocky shores?

barnacles

which rocky shore animal secretes cement?

supralittoral fringe

rocky shore: uppermost area, damp from wave spray, covered by only highest tides

midlittoral zone

rocky shore: true intertidal zone (barnacles, rockweed, mussels)

infralittoral fringe

rocky shore: only exposed during lowest tides

fundamental niche

physical processes determine where organisms may live

realized niches

biological interactions determine where organisms DO live

supralittoral- lichens, limpets

temperature rocky shore key organisms in supralittoral, very harsh environment with very little moisture: there are two

midlittoral: oysters, mussels, bivalves, urchins, brown algae

temperature rocky shore key organisms in midlittoral, most wave action

algal turfs, seastars, anemones, hydrozoans

temperature rocky shore key organisms in infralittoral; transitional area almost always submerged

white periwinkles, grey nerities, black algae and cyanobacteria

tropical rocky shore key organisms in supralittoral; can be divided into upper, mid, and lower zones

yellow- boring algae, pink coralline algae

tropical rocky shore key organisms in midlittoral; can be divided into yellow and pink zone

relatively barren

tropical rocky shore key organisms in infralittoral; relatively barren compared to temperate shores

tide pools

hold water and prevent desiccation, have low DO, variable salinity, temperate and pH

sandy intertidal shores

soft materials, 25% of world’s coasts, 65% ice-free shores; lower species diversity and density than rocky shores; wave action, sediment size important

true

true or false: all sandy beaches have water between the grains of sand due to capillary action

heavy waves

________ ________ move fine sediment and leave coarse sediment

soft

_______ waves leave fine sediments

swash

water running up a beach after wave breaks

backwash

water flowing back down beach

macrofauna

many live in tube/burrows

heavy waves = only few large organisms

soft waves = many smaller organisms

oxygen

________ can be limiting in sandy intertidal shores. very fine sediments = anoxia

detritus and plankton

infauna primarily eat __________ & ____________

high tide

when do most organisms feed in sandy intertidal shores?

infauna predators

whelks, seastars, moon snails, crabs, fish, rays, shorebirds

meiofauna

microscopic organisms that live between sediment particles; require water driven by capillary action, sediment grain size important (large grains = larger spaces, but water drains more quickly)

types of meiofauna

major phyla: ciliates, flatworms, nematodes; minor phyla: rotifers, annelids, crustaceans

includes many nutritional groups including predators, herbivores, suspensions feeders, and detritivores

sandy shore zonation

lack obvious zonation, but some exists; can divide most into 3 types

Supralittoral: Between high-tide swash & terrestrial vegetation
Midlittoral: Between high-tide swash line & water table
Water table: Area where ground remains saturated with water
Sublittoral: Between water table & low-tide swash
Note: analogous to “Infralittoral zone” as in rocky tides lecture
Zonation only recognized at low tide
Because organisms move at high tide

estuary

semi-enclosed area where freshwater and seawater meet; where rivers meet the sea

constantly changing salinity, nutrients, and temperature

essential to ecosystems and humans

horizontally

in estuaries: salinity varies _________, meaning it increases from river mouth towards sea

vertically

in estuaries: salinity varies __________, meaning freshwater near surface, saltwater near bottom

coastal plain (or drowned river valley)

type of estuary: form between glacial periods, current ones formed by drowning of low land around the mouths of rivers when sea level rose after the last ice age, most common type of estuary worldwide

tectonic