** Tide Pools Project 1: Seeing Like a Biologist • Ecosystem Book **
See model from last year. Create a book on the La Jolla Tidepool ecosystem.
Tide Pools (aka the Intertidal Zone):
- Environmental challenges to inhabitants
- Survival of the Fittest Species,
- Adaptations to environmental conditions
The Intertidal-National Geographic Video
Seeing like a BIOLOGIST (not a Tourist!)
(Checklist: Matter, Energy, Life-on-Earth:
6 characteristics of all Living Things):
1. Cellularity? Collecting no longer allowed (with good reason!)-otherwise field microscope, magnifying glass- plant/animal dissection
X. Struggle for Survival • Natural Selection • Adaptations • Evolution: How is each species adapted to its niche? How does it use space, light, water, food sources?
Y. “Ecological Services”: what do the different zones in the Intertidal Zone (Tide Pools) provide for the whole ecosystem? What does the rocky areas, surf zone, deep water provide? What do the cliffs provide?—
La Jolla Scripps Pier (aka “Dike Rock”) tide pools
Tide pools can be small, shallow puddles found high up on the shore or huge, deep holes nearer to the sea. They’re created when the rising and falling tides of the of the ocean covers the rocks or beach twice a day. Tide pools that are below the low-tide line, are filled with ocean water most of the time. When tide pools are above the low-tide line, they may be exposed to air much of each day, which poses a special challenge to the organisms living there.
Life in a San Diego tide pool
Many different kinds of plant and animal life call San Diego tide pools their home, nourished with fresh oxygen and food delivered by the daily ocean tides. Animals that thrive in tide pools include sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, barnacles, mussels, snails, crabs, limpets and anenomes. The Red and Pacific Octopi also live in tide pools. Various algae such as Palm Kelp, Scouring Pad and Surf Grass can also be found in San Diego tide pools.
Life in a tide pool can be a challenge
What kinds of ADAPTATIONS allow tide pool species to maintain homeostasis? fight wave and tidal energy?
Organisms living in a tide pool are often exposed to extreme conditions. For example, they may have to survive both wet and dry conditions because smaller tide pools often dry up in between tides. Animals can hide under cool, damp rocks and moist seaweed so that their bodies don’t dry out before the tide comes in again. During a big rainfall, the tide pool may fill with fresh water, a sharp contrast to the usual salt water environment. Also, the water temperature in a tide pool can vary greatly between hot and cold days.
What kinds of ADAPTATIONS allow tide pool species to maintain homeostasis? fight wave and tidal energy?
