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Group 4 . Abera , Brandon, Parmin , Parminder , Shreya , & Yogesh . . Affect of human actions on marine ecosystem. Indian Point. Work in Progress. Measuring the transect distance. Making Observations. Difference in vegetation at different elevations. Seaweed. Rocks and pebbles.
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Group 4 Abera, Brandon, Parmin, Parminder, Shreya, &Yogesh.
Affect of human actions on marine ecosystem Indian Point
Measuring the transect distance Making Observations
Difference in vegetation at different elevations Seaweed Rocks and pebbles
Animals, seaweed and substrate amount and type at different quadrates
Why are certain species abundant in one region and not other?
Ecological Niche • The habitat of an organism and its function in an ecosystem • Describes how an organism adapts to its environment when there is an abundance or shortage of resources and competitors • Determines the presence or absence of species under different circumstances
Scuds are freshwater shrimp (Amphipod) • Hide among the weeds and under rocks or debris • Live mostly in areas where there is concentrated aquatic vegetation • The highest amount of scuds found in a quadrate is in number 17 • It consists of 100% knotted rag and 90% mud
Other factors affecting presence of species in an area • Salinity • Proximity to water • Sunlight intensity • Elevation
Correlation between elevation and presence of common periwinkles • common periwinkle is densely located in areas with low elevation and as the elevation increases, the density of common periwinkles decreases
Limiting Factor • a condition that affects the population of a certain organism, if it is absent or insufficient in a habitat • i.e. the change in elevation was the limiting factor for the transect lab • The change in elevation in turn determines: • the vegetation growth (e.g. seaweed) of that location • the amount of water present at the location [high/low tide]
Elevation change- Vegetation growth • Depending on the type of seaweed present in the location, different species are found • the type and amount of seaweed determines the amount of food source available for the bigger species which determines the amount of species present in the region
Elevation change-High/Low tides • the elevation affects the amount of waves that reach the location • determines whether intertidal or subtidal organisms will be present in these locations.
Elevation change-High/Low tides • The organisms present in these regions will be determined according to their body structure, whether they are able to handle high tides or only low tides. • Some organisms prefer lower elevations since they can easily be spotted by their predators at high elevations.
Natural Selection of Species • certain species are more adaptable to different habitats, have a higher chance of surviving than the species that can not adapt to different conditions • e.g. the common periwinkle has a higher chance of natural selection than the dog periwinkle and the smooth periwinkle
Natural Selection • the common periwinkles are found throughout the whole transect in different substrates including gravel, rock and mud • the dog periwinkle is only found in two muddy quadrates and in very small numbers, due to its low ability to adapt to different habitats.
Natural Selection • the smooth periwinkle, Littorinaobtusata, is able to survive some extreme exposure and temperature; however it is not as well adapted to being out of the water as the rough and common periwinkles • The smooth periwinkle’s ecological niche is the lowest reaches of the lower intertidal region.
We think of animals such as: • Polar Bears • Sea Turtles • Right Whales
Polar Bears • Frozen Iceland will turn into open water causing the bears to swim for longer distances between areas of stable ice. • That will mean there is less time and energy for reproduction. • Polar bear population will go down
Polar Bears Cont. • With rising temperatures, these sea ice is decreasing in numbers, effectively making the polar bears travel farther distances between safe resting places. • Since they use it for hunting, less sea ice means more competition for ice platforms, which means more polar bears go hungry which means that they acquire diseases and die quicker.
A 2007 report from US geological services predict that if there is a decline in sea ice, what is now a 22,000 strong polar bear population would decrease by two thirds to just over 14600 by 2050
Polar Bears Cont. Reduced stock of its primary food...