Mussel, Goose Neck Barnacle, And Acorn Candle

The barnacles were tested using a small cup filled with water which has a small rock with barnacles on it. Before the experiment was conducted, the barnacles were fed food. The change in cirri beats over one minute was determined. The average decrease of cirri beats per minute was 12.6. Although the manipulated trial was inconsistent, it is still logical to conclude that the

The fem ales lay over one million eggs in one spawning. They are very effcient filter-feeders. They pull nutrients directly from the water at a very high rate. One Zebra Mussels can filter about a quart of water per day therefore, reducing the amount of phytoplankton available for other organisms like native mussels, fish and other lake animals. They out compete the native mussels species for the same resources. The Zebra Mussels filtration of phytoplankton causes a negative effect from the increased water clairity that results to the ecological structures of the lake community. However, some organisms benefit from the arrival of the Zebra Mussels. One is the red-breasted sunfish .With the increased clarity it allows in more sunlight which give more growth that provides food and shelter to other organisms that fish like to eat. But the bad out weighs the good that Zebra Mussels

To many owner having saltwater aquarium, live rock is one of the essential things which set the natural tone for the whole tank besides fish and turtles. Not only does the collection of the colorful live rocks beautifies one’s tank but also provides shelters for the fish and filters the whole tank. However, everything has a good side and the bad one. The addition of live rocks to the tank may have some potential drawbacks, for not every organism living on those marine rocks is important, and even some of them are disadvantageous to the tank itself. One exemplary “unwanted organism” which lives on live rocks is the Mantis Shrimp, which maybe accidentally introduced to the tank through the addition of live rocks.

The ecosystem with which the simulation is being done is an aquatic ecosystem. This specific ecosystem is home to producers such as: black pine, coral weed, and nori seaweed. Stationary consumers like acorn barnacles, gooseneck barnacles, and mussels are also present. Mobile consumers such as chitin, starfish, and whelk. The invasive mobile consumer is the green crab. Animals such as starfish compete with others like green crabs for mussels. Starfish and whelk prey on and also compete for the gooseneck barnacle. Whelk and green crab also compete for the acorn barnacles. The competition between starfish and green crab over mussels is what led me to my hypothesis as the mussel is one of the largest secondary consumers in terms

The overall ecology of Mona Vale Beach Rock Pool is that the rock pool is linked to other ecosystems. This is evident in the structure of two tides every day, which change the seawater in the rock pool and bring in different and new organisms from the ocean but also allowing other organisms escape back into the ocean. The tides of the rock pool change the physical characteristics of the pool and its surroundings. When it is low tide, the rock pool becomes a collection of organisms living together in a clearly define place. When it is high tide, the rock pool becomes no more than a small imprint on the rocky seabed.

In my ecology project the invasive species that interested me the most was the zebra mussel. In this report, I will be addressing the negative impacts that zebra mussels have on an ecosystem and the positive impacts of human actions on those ecosystems.

Mytilus Californianus are known as California mussels that form dense mussel beds and considered one of the most abundant intertidal organisms. They are found clustered together in the upper-middle zone on the open coast. Mytilus Californianus attach themselves to rocks by byssal threads. They have geographic range from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to northern Mexico of Baja California (Morris et al. 1980). “It provides habitat, refuge, and provides food for over 300 other species” including human (rust, 2011). For long period of time, human use these mussels as a food source. These mussels can grow up to 130 to 150mm in size but the process usually is attained in three years. Scientists

The reasoning for this is quite clear. First off, they disrupt the local food chain. Even though they are relatively small, when they enter an ecosystem, they filter feed, taking away food from the microscopic organisms who are a vital player in said ecosystem. As a result of these microorganisms not getting food, they die off, and the various species that feed from them no longer have food. This chain of events continues the whole way up the food chain, until there are very few or even no life left in the ecosystem, save for the newly introduced Zebra Mussel

The reading states that the Zebra mussels' invation to North American cannot be stopped and that poses a serious threat to freshwater fish populations in all of North America and provides three reasons of support. However, the professor states that there are ways to control the Zebra mussel spreading and doesn't have a serious threat in the environment and refutes each of the authors' reasons.

Foveaux Strait contains unique biogenic habitats that supports an important commercial oyster fishery. Regular surveys recorded stock abundance of target oyster species and bycatch, however little is known about the algae community within this region (Michael et al., 2013). Algae can be an important habitat forming organism. In particular calcifying coralline algae has been demonstrated to facilitate the settlement of many invertebrate larvae, inhibit settlement and growth of other seaweed species and enhance local biodiversity (Nelson, 2009; McCoy & Kamenos, 2015). Coralline algae can survive in conditions not typical of other fleshy algae species such as low light and high sand scouring conditions within the Strait (McCoy & Kamenos, 2015).

Despite their proximity, the reef systems of Tela and Utila differed dramatically in D. antillarum population sizes, indicating that the population in Tela had recovered significantly post-mortality compared to Utila, where the population was still being supressed. D. antillarum in Utila also had a notably smaller average test size compared to Tela, likely due to a larger juvenile urchin population. Juveniles are less effective at grazing down algae populations and display significantly greater preference over the genera of algae they consume. In areas highly populated by juveniles, this would allow domination of certain fleshy brown genera such as Dictyota whilst species of the Caulerpa genus are grazed to a more regular coverage (Rivera and Turner, 2009). On Tela, individuals were more likely to reach maturity and grow larger; implying that on Utila there was a presence of ecological barriers limiting survival to maturity, which were not present on Tela. The rate of herbivory in each area highlights the importance of D. antillarum as a keystone species, as the Utilan reef showed clear signs of deterioration in health due to the dominance of fleshy-brown macroalgae (48.6%) and low coverage of scleractinian coral (19.4%) compared to Tela. The Tela reef showed a 68.3% dominance of scleractinian coral and significantly lower fleshy brow macro-algae coverage at 13.7%. This was particularly notable for a region with an average reported coral cover of <10% (Gardner et al., 2003).

The reading claims that the zebra mussel can be a critical threat to freshwater fish population in all of North America. However, the lecturer finds all the ideas dubious and presents some evidence to refute them all.

I would expect that the sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus spp.) would spend more time hiding in refuges at intertidal site 2. The abiotic conditions and biotic interactions at site 2 are more optimal for sea urchins to spend more time hiding in refuges. Sea urchins spend more time hiding in crevices and depressions in the rocks due to strong water movement as it protects them. The water velocity is much higher at site 2 (0 m/s – 25 m/s) than at site 1 (0 m/s-25 m/s). This forces the sea star to find refuges as the water velocity has a fifty percent chance of dislodging them and it is above the expected tolerance range. The density of attached macroalgae at site 2 (1.8 individuals/m^2) is higher than at site 2 (0.3 individuals/m^2), this higher

The organism I removed from the food web is phytoplankton. The producers will be affected because giant clam would begin to eat more marine algae causing marine algae to decrease in population. Primary consumers will be affected because zooplankton rely on phytoplankton as their food source so without phytoplankton zooplankton will eventually die off. Giant clams and krill rely on marine algae as their food source so when Phytoplankton is taken away they both have to eat marine algae. Eventually there won’t be any marine algae left for the two to eat so they too will become nonexistent. Secondary consumers will be affected because there would not be giant clam for box jellyfish,clownfish, and whale sharks to eat so they would either die or

Coral reefs are one of the most diverse habitats in the world today and it this diversity that makes them so important to the overall health of the oceans and thus the overall health of the oceans as a whole. Coral reefs take up only a very small percentage of the entire surface of the ocean's surface. However, despite this, they provide a home to about one-quarter of all of the species that live in the oceans. (Mulhall, 2007, p. 321). Among the other life forms that live in the world's coral reefs are fish, worms, echinoderms (such as sea urchins), sponges, and the evolutionary ancient classes of tunicates and cnidarians. One of the most striking aspects of the diversity of coral reefs is that they can exist (and support this florescence of life) in places where few other animals can flourish: Cold and deep waters (Smithers & Woodroffe, 2000, p. 4). However, most corals live in tropical waters; it is on these types of corals that this paper focuses, looking in particular at the reef fishes that make their homes in the world's coral reefs.