Effects of tide pool volume on pool diversity Lindsay Grant, Anna Mairs, Charlotte Martin, Natalie...
-
Upload
deirdre-reed -
Category
Documents
-
view
215 -
download
1
Transcript of Effects of tide pool volume on pool diversity Lindsay Grant, Anna Mairs, Charlotte Martin, Natalie...
Effects of tide pool volume on pool
diversityLindsay Grant, Anna Mairs, Charlotte Martin, Natalie Rideout and Gillian
Tetlow
The Rocky Intertidal – Tide Pools
• The coastal area that is exposed during low tide and submerged during high tide
• Contains a high biodiversity of species
• A receding tide leaves an accumulation of pools
Tide pools
• Allow organisms to escape high temperatures and desiccation
• Acts as breeding and nursing grounds, provides protection and a feeding habitat
• Can also be stressful environments • Changing ocean salinity, temperature and pH
Goal of Study
• To determine if the tide pool size affects the species diversity
• Hypothesis - Species abundance will increase with increased size and depth
of tide pools - However, species distribution will not be significantly different
between varying tide pool dimensions
Methods
• Sampled 10 random tide pools of different sizes• Measured dimensions
• Used a quadrat (1m x 1m) for larger pools
• Collected samples of all plants and animals present• Plant coverage estimated
• Identified all species in the lab http://vitalsignsme.org/sites/default/files/climatechange12012/049.jpg
Methods – Calculations
• Simpson’s Diversity Index: n = total number of organisms of a particular speciesN = total number of organisms of all species
Methods – Calculations
• Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index:
pi = proportion of total sample represented by species i
• H’max:
S = number of species
Results
• Plant average – 4.3
• 12 species total
• Animal average – 4.9
• 18 species total
Results
Results
Results
• No significant patterns found for plant or animal diversity
• More sparse species of animals found than plants
Discussion
Plants:
• 3 outliers
• Constant diversity irrespective of tide pool size
• Failed to support hypothesis
http://www.clarku.edu/departments/biology/biol201/2002/EMachala/Gallery.htm
Discussion
Animals:• Similar to plants, 2 outliers
• Richness vs Abundance
• Failed to support hypothesis
https://www.clarku.edu/departments/biology/biol201/2002/JDubois/Marine%20Gastropods.htm
Discussion
Confounding variables:
• Ambient conditions
• Elevation
• Uneven distribution of pool volumeshttp://www.acurite.com/7-5-thermometer-00338.html
Discussion
Supporting studies:• Cullity (2012)• Found no significant relationship
Biological relevance:• Metaxas and Scheibling (1993)• Refuge area from stressful conditions
Questions?