BIOL 6: THE OCEANS

Background of The Oceans at Santa Clara

Pathway Relfections:

New, Changed, or Deepened Understanding of BIOL 6: The Oceans

Living in California, I never quite understood the diverse ecosystem of the Pacific Ocean, just a mere 45 minute drive from Santa Clara. This treasure of an ocean environment should be protected; from my studies in Biology 6, I learned just how sensitive these ecosystems actually are. The diversity of an ecosystem can be seen here in a lab report, detailing a variety of indigenous California ocean/tidal organisms. 

Man is so influential in the natural environment and his actions greatly affect the species of the ocean. This was certainly unsettling, and made me question my own actions and footprint in the Santa Clara Valley. How can I be more aware of how my consumerism affects the natural beauty of California and the organisms that have lived here longer than I? 

Pathway Relatedness:

This being my second pathway class for Sustainability, I am comparing many of my biological experiences to my Sustainability Through Writing class taken freshman year. This class provided the framework for all of my Sustainablilty education at Santa Clara. As you can read in my Pathway Reflection on English 1A/2A: Sustainability Through Writing, gaining a responsibility for sustainability should inspire action. Part of my English class promoted taking action and having a firm response to the facts of global climate change. With Biology 6, I realized that I needed to be much more aware of my actions and how they directly affected the ocean ecosystem, particularly here in Northern California. 

Life Application:

As a Northwesterner, native of Seattle, Washington, salt water environments are no stranger to me. I can remember from my earliest ages playing in the tide pools. However, I never realized the diversity and importance of these delicate ecosystems. Gaining an understanding of an environment I've had so much exposure to already was certainly a valuable lesson. It made me realize how I probably have other areas, like the ocean, that need more awareness and understanding in my life. How can I slow each day and think about the environment around me? Whether it be physical, spiritual, environmental, social, etc., there is so much more to explore. What am I missing? What do I take for granted? 



BIOL 006

THE OCEANS

LAB 3 REPORT

PREPARED BY:

SEAN ROE

JACK HAGLER

CHRISTOPHER BEATTY

SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY

NOVEMBER 16TH, 2012

Introduction:

Recently, our class visited Davenport Landing on the Pacific Ocean near Santa Cruz, CA. At this unique location along the coast, lie tide pools, abundant with marine life living in the intertidal zone. During this visit, our group set out to test a hypothesis relating to the variance of organisms in the intertidal zone. To aid our experiment, we took advantage of the intertidal “zones”; each zone represents a different distance from the edge of the intertidal zone, and each zone differs in its diversity. Zone 1 is farthest from the shore; zone 4 is nearest to or under water. Each zone tested spanned 10 meters with varying starting locations. Zone 1’s start ranged from 1-13 meters. Zone 2’s start ranged from 11-25 meters. Zone 3’s start ranged from 21-33 meters. Zone 4’s start ranged from 31-45. The inconsistent starting points are helpful in ensuring more accurate data.

Using these zones of the intertidal, we were able to compare zones’ biodiversity, specifically the green anemone, California mussel, and green pincushion algae. This eventually led to the development of our hypothesis. Our hypothesis: The middle zones of the intertidal (Zones 2 and 3) will have more abundance of these particular species than the outer zones (Zones 1 and 4). Before we could test this hypothesis, though, we performed additional research on our chosen species.

-Green Anemone (Anthopleura xanthogrammica)
         Research done by experts in the marine biology field would suggest that green anemones grow abundantly in Zones 2 and 3. According to Lisbeth Francis’ research on colonial and solitary growth of the green anemone, “Solitary growth organisms tend to favor protected environments in the mid to sub-intertidal zones” (Francis). It’s important to differentiate between colonial sea anemone and solitary growth style of our particular organism: the green anemone. Francis’ research would suggest that we could expect to see most green anemone abundance in Zones 2 and 3. Green anemones feed on organisms that are readily available in their immediate environment, thus zones 2 and 3 of the intertidal zone.
-California Mussel (Mytilus californianus)
            The California mussel is a large edible mussel, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Mytilidae. This species is native to the west coast of North America, zoning from northern Mexico to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. California mussels are found in clusters together, often in very large numbers. They are located on rocks in the upper intertidal zone on the open coast, where they are exposed to many elements including the strong force of the currents and surf. The California mussel prefers the high salinity, low sediment conditions found on open rocky coasts. Colonies of mussels are often hurt badly by big waves on the open coast, which is why they tend to be found more in the middle part of the intertidal zone.
           
Green Pincushion Algae (Cladophora)
            Zonation of this particular species varies from that of the previous two. According to the LiMPETS (Long-term Monitoring Program and Experiential Training for Students), green pincushion algae are heartier than the California mussel and the green anemone. “This alga effectively holds water and can withstand long periods of exposure and is common, on rocks, in the mid to high intertidal” (LiMPETS). According to this research on the green pincushion algae habitat, we expect to see more representation in the high intertidal zones (more zone 2 than zone 3). It’s important to note that this organism fights for space with other competitors. Its best defense is smothering neighbors by growing over the top of them.




Methods:
            The location of the study that was done was performed at Davenport Landing, just north of Santa Cruz. It was at the rocky intertidal zone where we took our samples and recorded how many individual organisms we recognized. The data was collected on October 15th and 16th, 2012 from approximately 3:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. on both days.
            The data was collected a very specific way using transect lines in quadrants that were 4 squares by 5 squares. The quadrats were placed at random points on the intertidal zone every 10 meters. The first quadrat was placed in zone 1, which is furthest away from the ocean. Zones 2, 3, and 4 were thus all 10 meters away from one another with Zone 4 almost in the ocean itself. The organisms were counted individually and as a percentage of the total area of the quadrant. Over the two separate days, a total of 12 different samples were taken from each zone; 6 quadrats were used each day. Each group’s quadrat was spaced at least 20 meters away from another group’s quadrat to ensure there was no repetition.

Results:

            We looked at several sources of data to determine the accuracy of our testable hypothesis. These data sets included Analysis of Variance Stats (ANOVA) and the averages and summations of data from each zone in the intertidal. The “f” and “p-values” from the ANOVA table that matched our species showed the corresponding significance. We found that of our three species, the California mussel showed a pattern, while the pincushion algae and green anemone showed no significance to their pattern. The following “f” and “p-values for our species are listed below:

This data shows that only the mussel shows evidence of patterned growth in the intertidal. The data shows that the organism favors one zone over other zones in the intertidal.  

            We also collected the sums and averages of the zones for our species. The following graphs detail the sum of each species in all four intertidal zones.

The total abundance of Zone 2 and 3 is greater than Zone 1 and Zone 4.

Similarly with the green anemone, the total abundance of Zone 2 and 3 is greater than Zone 1 and Zone 4.

Lastly, the California mussel shows the same pattern as the other species.

The following data also confirms the theory of increased abundance in Zones 2 and 3 but in the form of averages.

Mean Value of Three Species

Again, a summation of the averages in respect to coupling Zones 2 and 3 and Zones 1 and 4 produces the same results as the total abundance figures did: the species appear to be more prevalent in the mid zones rather than the outer zones.

Conclusion/Discussion:

Upon the conclusion of our experiment and testing our hypothesis, we realized that the data did not completely support our predictions. Since the ANOVA chart signifies patterns found in the distribution of data, it would indicate that only of our species (California mussel), showed a pattern in the data. Thus, the distribution of the other two species (Pincushion algae and green anemone) did not show any patterns statistically. We knew this because the significance output (p-value) was below .05 for the mussel (.034) and above .05 for the green anemone (.383) and pincushion algae (.463). This frustrated us, since the graphs of total abundance and average seemed to show a correlation between our species and particular zonation. According to our graphs of sums of the zones, zones 2 and 3 always were more abundant of our three species than zones 1 and 4. Further more, our table of the averages of abundance in these zones also confirms the implications of the total abundance graphs. We presume that since our hypothesis included the comparison of two zones couples not one, the analysis of variance might not have been as applicable in our experiment as when comparing one zone to a sample space. Post-hoc analysis would be necessary for further understanding of the data, its variance, and how it related to our particular experiment.

There were many different human errors that could have occurred while we were collecting our data samples from the intertidal. First of all, the weather was very harsh, blowing our data sheets, which could have distracted us from counting the correct number of organisms in each given quadrat. Also, it is possible that we incorrectly labeled the given organisms and confused them with a different type of species. Specifically the green anemone looked very similar to the aggregated anemone, so we could have confused those two. The Green Pin Cushion Algae looked very similar to other organisms as well. Another possible human error was that we did not space each quadrat exactly the same, this could have led to incorrect data.
            If we were to continue pursuing our questions, we would do the same type of experiments, just in different areas. We would also take many more samples from each zone to ensure more accurate data.  

Works Cited

Francis, Lisbeth. "Contrast Between Solitary and Clonal Lifestyles in the Sea Anemone." ASZ. N.p., 1979. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.

LIMPETS. "Green Pincushion Algae." LiMPETS: Rocky Intertidal Monitoring. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.

Marti. "California Mussel." California Mussel. Monterey Bay/NOAA, 10 June 1997. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.