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Free Journal 1

The area my group decided to study was Sandy’s tide pools. There was a bunch of little tide pools at Sandy’s beach. The tide pool we chose to study was a big circular shape and was surrounded by large black rocks. The tide pool was a little smaller than the typical size of a classroom. The bottom of the tide pool was covered by small pieces of black colored rocks and white/beige colored coral. There was also a little bit of sand at the bottom. The depth of the water in the tide pool was about 1 foot high at the deepest part. There were some white colored bubbles floating on the top of the water. There were also pieces of a white mucky looking substance on the side of the tide pool, which I think was salt. This shows that the water in the tide pool was probably very salty.

We decided to study Sandy’s tide pools because it was easy for us to access because it was close to where we lived. It also was a place we enjoyed and there was a relaxing view of the ocean. There were also rocks for us to sit on while we studied the tide pools. Another good thing was that there were no mosquitoes to bite us and we didn’t have to hike to get to our spot. The animal life at the tide pools included a variety of different types of crabs. There were a few hermit crabs and big black crabs. There were also lots of small beige crabs that we saw stuck to some of the rocks. Another type of animal life we saw were a couple beige colored fish with black stripes. The fish were about an inch to two inches long. There were also some algae and lots of coral in the tide pool. The algae were a grayish/purple color.

Some abiotic factors that could’ve affected the tide pool were temperature, wind, and sunlight. When my group and I visited the tide pools, it was around 1:30 p.m. It was really hot and there was lots of sunlight directly hitting the tide pool. There was also a nice breeze though, which created some currents in the tide pool. The water temperature of the tide pool was pretty warm. There were also lots of rocks around the tide pool, which could’ve helped the darker animal life such as the black crabs and the fish to blend in with them.

Assigned Journal 1 The journal entry I'm writing about is the four different niches that the animals live in. All of the species that we studied in the tide pool lived in the same environment, but in different parts of the tide pool. We found the hermit crabs crawling across the bottom of the tide pool, on the rocks and coral. The small beige crabs were close together, and were attached to a couple big black rocks that surrounded the tide pool. We didn't see many of the big black crabs because they were mostly hiding under the rocks. The beige colored fish with black stripes swam around the tide pool. They would go over, under, and between some rocks and algae throughout the tide pool. The algae were at the bottom of the tide pool and were a grayish purple color and shaped like a flower.

Free Journal 2 My assigned role is to study the abiotic factors that affect the tide pools. The abiotic factors that affect the tide pool are sunlight, wind, temperature, and currents. When we visited the tide pool, which was around 1 p.m., it was very hot. The sunlight was directly hitting the tide pool. There was also a lot of wind. There were some small currents in the tide pool, but outside the tide pool, the waves were very large. There wasn’t much water that left and entered the tide pool. The water temperature felt cool and at the deepest point was probably about 1 ft and a half deep. The tide pool was pretty big, maybe a little smaller than the size of our classroom.

Some questions/observations I had, regarding the abiotic factors in the tide pool was… I observed that there were more algae in the middle of the tide pool. Is this because the sun hits the middle of the tide pool more directly? Is it because there were no rocks to shade the algae in the middle of the tide pool?

The middle of the tide pool had the deepest amount of water. Why is there more algae in the deeper parts of the tide pool?

If there were more wind, would the current be stronger? Would this mean that more fish would hide under rocks instead of swimming out in the open area of the tide pool? I observed most of the fish swimming out in the open area of the tide pool, but some were hidden under rocks. Most of the fish were around an inch to two inches long. I saw grey/brown/silver colored fish, green fish, and black fish. If there were less wind, would more fish come out? If there were more sunlight, would there be more or less fish?

I also observed that one side of the rocks had algae and moss growing on it and the other side of the rock didn’t. The algae and moss was mainly above the water. Is this because of the direction that the sunlight hits the rock? The side that had the algae and moss growing on it seemed to be hit more directly by the sun.

Why do some fish hide under rocks and some stay in the open part of the tide pool? Is it because some are affected by the sunlight and some aren’t? Is it because some like the sun and some don’t?

Assigned Journal 2 Some pressures that could be driving Natural Selection in the Sandy’s tide pools could be predators, like birds such as pigeons or other fish. I think that some of the fish became different colors over time to adapt to their environment and to blend in, so predators wouldn’t see them as easily. For example, there were many brownish/silver/grey colored fish. I think it was that color, so it could camouflage well with the algae and the ground, which was also a brownish/grey color. I noticed there was a big black fish, which was around 6 inches long. The brownish/grey colored fish were about a fourth of the size. If they could camouflage with the algae, then the big black fish probably couldn’t see them as easily, so they wouldn’t be eaten. Also if a pigeon or bird were flying above, then they would just blend in with their environment, so the bird couldn’t spot them. I think the silver color also benefited them because it could’ve attracted mates, so they could reproduce.

I also think that over time some fish became faster, so they could escape from or avoid their predators. I observed that there were some really small black fish, but they were super fast. They were the fastest fish in our tide pool. Being fast probably allowed them to swim free from predators, such as the big black fish, who was much slower. There were also some small green fish that were very fast. This was also probably so they could swim free from predators. I think that their bright green color could’ve been a result of Natural Selection. Overtime they might’ve changed to be a bright color, so they could attract mates, so they could successfully reproduce. Also some fish could’ve adapted due to Natural Selection, by becoming bigger. This could help them because they would be so big, that the other fish would not be able to eat them. For example, the big black fish could’ve gotten bigger so other fish couldn’t eat it, and instead it became a predator to the smaller fish.

The majority of the fish were the brownish/grey/silver colored fish. I think this is because those fish were best fit to the environment. Their color helped them blend in with the algae and the ground, so predators could not see them. Also, I think their silver color allowed them to attract mates, so they could successfully reproduce offspring like themselves. Also, since there are so many of them, the rate of reproducing would be much faster compared to the other fish.

I don’t think the algae changed very much over time. This is because the algae don’t have much pressure from predators and there’s so much of it. There were tons of algae that covered the bottom of the tide pools. Even though fish eat the algae, I think the algae also benefits from the fish. They have a mutualism relationship. This is because the fish fertilizes the algae with its waste, so the algae can grow more abundantly. In turn the algae provides a living area for some of the fish and it also provides the fish food.

Free Journal #3 When we went to the tide pools at around 1p.m., it was sunny and sometimes overcast. Some sunlight directly hit the tide pool like it did when we visited before. It was also very windy, even more then the other two times we went. The size of the waves was much bigger then when we went to visit the tide pools the last time. Also, the tide was very high. Last time the deepest point of the water in the tide pool was about 1and a half foot deep. This time the deepest point of the water in the tide pool was probably around 2 and a half feet deep. As we were observing the tide pool, the tide began to get higher and higher. You could tell because the water level against the rocks began to rise. This caused us to have to move from our spots we were observing or else we would’ve gotten wet! There were also some small ripples in the tide pool. The temperature of the tide pool felt cold as it did before. Last time we visited the tide pools, we saw lots of animal life. There were a variety of different fish such as brown/silver/grey colored fish, big and small black fish, and small green fish. Last time we also saw a bunch of different crabs such as hermit crabs crawling across the bottom of the tide pool on the rocks and coral, small beige crabs attached to the big black rocks the surrounded the tide pool, and black crabs under the rocks. When we went this time we hardly saw any animal life in the tide pools. We only saw one yellow colored fish with black stripes. Like before, there was lots of brown/grey colored algae at the bottom of the tide pool. Hypotheses If the water is rough (due to wind or moving tides), then the amount of animal life visible is less. I think this is because the animal life in the tide pools would prefer when the water is calmer, so they would hide under rocks when the water was rougher. If the water temperature in the tide pools is warmer, then there will be more species in the tide pool. I think this is because species tend to like warmer temperatures better than cooler ones. If you get closer to the shoreline, then the water temperature in the tide pool will get warmer because the water will tend to stay in the tide pool and be constantly warmed by the sun. If you were farther from the shore, then the water would tend to move in and out of the tide pool and be cooler. If the tide pool is closer to the shoreline, then there will be more species in the tide pool. I think this is because the species from the ocean that come into the tide pools closer to the shoreline stay in the tide pools rather than go back into the ocean, and because the tide pools closer to shore are more protected than those farther out in the ocean.

Assigned Journal #3

Free Journal #4 When we went to our tide pools at Sandy today, it was very windy. The sky was a dark color and it was a little cloudy. There was also not much sunlight, like there was when we went to the tide pools before. The tide was very high and the waves were really big. The water temperature felt pretty cold. There was also not very much animal life that we saw today. We only saw a few black fish with white colored spots and lines on them. We also saw a brown colored eel with yellow stripes. When we looked at the tide pools, some places had lots of algae, but in some places there was none. There was some algae that was a grey color that kind of looked like a flower, like the ones we saw before. There was also another type of algae that was a brown color and kind of looked like dead elodea. This was the first time that we saw this type of algae. My hypothesis is that if you get closer to the shoreline, then the water temperature in the tide pool will be warmer. To test this I started at the sand and found a tide pool that was close to the shore. Then, using a cup, I scooped up some of the water from that tide pool and I measured that water temperature with a thermometer. After that, I moved farther from the sand, and closer the ocean. As I did this I measured the water temperature of 4 more tide pools. Shoreline=where all the sand was 1= Closest to the shoreline 5=Farthest from the shoreline From my experiment, I can conclude that my hypothesis was right. The closer the tide pools were to the shoreline (where all the sand was), the warmer the water temperature was. I think this is because the water will tend to stay in the tide pool and be constantly warmed by the sun. If you were farther from the shore, then the water would tend to move in and out of the tide pool and be cooler.
 * Water temperature (degrees F) || Closeness to the Shoreline ||
 * 81 || 1 ||
 * 81 || 2 ||
 * 80 || 3 ||
 * 79 || 4 ||
 * 76 || 5 ||

Assigned Journal 4