Intertidal Zones

Intro:

The intertidal zones are the portions of water that are covered by water at high tide but then exposed at low tide. I learned about the different tidal zones what the tide has to do with the different zones. There is the splash zone, this is the barren rocky exposed to ocean spray but never submerged in the water. There is the upper intertidal zone which is covered by water only when at high tide. Then there is the lower tidal zone which is exposed to the air only during low tide. Then there’s the tide pools this is a collection of water that never dries out or is over flooded. Finally there is the sub tidal zone this is the rocky area that is always covered by water and never exposed. The intertidal zones are important because many of the rocks and shrubs are used to shelter animals for extreme weather condition.

Research:

For this study we went down to Wai Pulini, this is a beach that has a reef which has some intertidal zones. The purpose of this study was to come up with a question such as "how many hermit crabs can be found in the different tidal pools are there affects from salinity weather and temperature? We would then try to answer this question and then write a lab write up of the project.

Results:

It is hard to make an acuret estimation of whether not the hermit crabs are affected by salinity and temperature in the intertidal zones, but from the three samples taken in three of the five intertidal zones I guess that hermit crabs are not primarily affected by salinity and temperature but rather wind, currents and the strength of the waves, for example are they big or small? From this project I found out that as I traveled deeper into the different tidal zones there were less hermit crabs.

Plankton Study

Intro:

1. What is Plankton?
   Plankton is a tiny microscopic creature that can not swim against the currents of the ocean but rather is pushed by the waters. There are two main types of plankton, zooplankton (animal plankton) and phytoplankton (plant plankton). Each of these creatures can be eaten by other larger fish that live in the sea.
   


2. Why is Plankton Important?
   Our oceans are full of plankton, even when we can't see them. Because of this many larger fish require plankton in order to maintain a healthy diet. Plankton is the creature that tends to rule the food chain they are what keeps the food chain in order with out plankton many animals would die.
   


3. Why did we Study Plankton? We study plankton this quarter because it is an important part of understanding the ocean, the tide pool, and the food chain of ocean animals.

Research:
For this project our class went to the Kihei Boat Ramp, located in Kihei, Hawaii. At the boat ramp we took samples of plankton, along with the salinity, temperature, and turbidity of the water.

Results:
What I discovered from this sampling. As a group we were able to catch indigenous plankton located at the Kihei Boat Ramp, after leaving them in the refrigerator over night we observed the sample to come up with an average of the amount of plankton that were living in our sample. Some of the sampling may have been not as accurate due to the fact that the plankton were taken our of their natural setting and place in a new environment. Over all the sampling was a success and we were able to learn more about Maui's plankton.