Rocky Shore Habitats

Although it supports a number of different organisms, Nudgee Beach lacks many of the fundamentals that make up a healthy and successful ecosystem. The first indicator of this is from the lack of birds present in the area. Although it has been noted for terrestrial bird species – such as kingfishers, pelicans, ibis, egrets, jabiru, stilts and heron – and wading bird species – such as golden plovers, curlews, tattlers and godwits – to have been spotted at Nudgee Beach and surrounding areas in the past; after a day’s worth of extensive observation and research, it was found that the birds observed were limited to magpie, ibis, great knot and eastern curlew species. To intensify this factor, at the time by which this lack of species was recorded, Nudgee Beach was expected to have started seeing tens of thousands of birds arrive for the migratory season [21]. This blatant lack of bird species diversity and quantity may have been due to the lack of small organisms within the ecosystem. The restricted number of small organisms at Nudgee Beach is detrimental to the entire ecosystem as these organisms make up the bottom levels of the food web and provide higher-level organisms with adequate amounts of food to consume. The smaller organisms expected to be observed – including; crustacean, shell, mollusc, lizard, frog, fish, worm, arachnid and insect species – was limited to the infrequent observation of crustacean, shell,

The profile of Pallarenda beach as shown in figure 1 is very typical of a North Queensland, medium energy beach. The lack of organisms present higher up the beach was due to the harsh conditions at low tide. Ghost Crabs, Ocypode quadrata, can survive these areas as a result of their adaptations (The Otter Island Project). The ghost crab burrows during the day and feeds at night to avoid the heat of the day (The Otter Island Project). These crabs can actively take up moisture from damp sand to wet their gills (The Otter Island Project).

The Purple Marsh Crab, or simply known as the Marsh Crab, is a small crab that is native to the Eastern United States. They live in the salt marshes and mud flats of brackish estuaries, and create networks of connected tunnels within the flats.

Horseshoe crabs are an important part of the wetland ecosystem, however they are going extinct. Due to harvesting, pollution, and other animals consuming their offspring their numbers are dwindling. They play an important part in the ecosystem and need to be protected so they do not become extinct. The Delaware bay has decided to protect them for their future uses in medicine and to keep them as an important role in the ecosystem.

6) There are several advantages and disadvantages to identifying benthic macro-invertebrates at different taxonomic levels. In this assignment metrics were calculated to the 27-group level (which consists of phyla, classes, orders and families) as well as the family level. There were slight differences in the calculated species richness and Biotic Indexes using these different identification levels. This is an indication that taxonomic resolution can affect bioassesment outcomes.

How effective are the coastal management strategies used at present in your local beach area?

Three years ago, the author took a trip to Delaware. As his family was walking on the beach they came across some horseshoe crabs mating. He wondered how they have changed. The type of horseshoe crab he saw along the beach was called “limulus polyphemus”. Limulus Polyphemus is not found in the fossil records. The fossil record for horseshoe crabs is deeper than 20 million years, and the

In south Texas there are several types of ecosystems one of those ecosystems are the dunes. South Texas dunes are found along the Texas coastline and the general abiotic conditions are sandy soil, high salt content, some fresh water, flooding in the occasion of severe storms and moisture from rain and waves. Sea Oats and Bitter Pancum are two types of plants that dominate the South Texas dunes. Bitter Pancum adaptation for living in this type of ecosystem is that they are tolerant to high salinity. Sea Oats are less tolerant to high salt but their adaptation is to grow rapidly. Some common animal species that live in the dunes are crabs, which are tolerant to high salt water, gulls, and terns feed on crabs and other species around the

The intertidal rocky shore of Caloundra Beach is inhabited by diverse range of biodiversity of animals and plants, many of which have developed high levels of adaptations throughout their existence. The very boundary of marine and terrestrial ecosystem, this environment is subjected to extremes of the physical environment such as temperature, desiccation, wave turbulence as well the ecological interactions that commonly occur in biotic communities (e.g. competition, predation). However Rocky intertidal shores are easily accessible by humans and provide an enjoyable opportunity for passive recreation and for science and environmental education as well.

The blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay was considered to be a surplus from the 1950s to around the 2000s as well as in the Bay’s tributaries (Stagg & Whilden, 1997). The blue crabs in Maryland live for about three years (Stagg & Whilden, 1997). This is part of the reason that it’s so important that a high level of blue crabs is maintained so that they’ll be able to produce offspring future generations. Approximately 75% of the entire blue crab population is made up of the crabs in Maryland (Lui, 2015).

These organisms were all well adapted to the environment and tidal condition of the rocky shore. They show zonation and inter-relationships; competition, predation and commensalism. The main abiotic factor of the rocky shore was the movement of the tide creating aerial exposure. Zonation at the rocky shore was distributed in very distinct horizontal bands that formed visible zones on the intertidal rock zones. This is due to

When visiting Te Raekaihou Point on the New Zealand Rocky Shore, our intent was to analyse interspecific relations between species found on the Rocky Shore and to investigate a pattern in the ecological community. Samples were taken using transect lines and quadrats, and observations were made both in terms of a site profile, as well as making measurements such as Salinity, pH of the Water, Air Temperature, Water Temperature and Light Intensity. The two species I have chosen to investigate the relationship between were the Ornate Limpet (Cellana Ornata) and the Black Nerite (Nerita Melanotragus). he main abiotic factors were Tidal Movement and the Substrate on the shore.

Shrimps and mud lobsters use the muddy bottom as their home.[10] Mangrove crabs mulch the mangrove leaves, adding nutritients to the mangal muds for other bottom feeders.[11] In at least some cases, export of carbon fixed in mangroves is important in coastal food webs.

In the University of Florida, Prof. Gustav Paulay (my MSc reader and prospective PhD supervisor) has been using an integrative taxonomic approach, combining morphological and molecular analyses, for his research on marine invertebrate biodiversity, biogeography, and speciation. I saw the need and opportunity to upgrade the facilities, techniques, and expertise (e.g. in molecular genomics) in the Philippines. It is clear that UF's excellent PhD in Zoology program, its state-of-the-art facilities, and distinguished faculty, can help me in my doctoral research and

The estuarine ecology is a spawning pool for many coastal organisms. Both visiting and local species raise their young within the estuarine habitat. The habitat supports an enormous range of species, such as shellfish, crabs, marble worms, algae, mangroves, cockles and