Katherine's+Journal+Page

=Katherine's Journal= Black Point is filled with rocks and tide pools, the rocks are black hence the name Black Point, there is some plant growth, it is mostly algae, but there are also some beach heliotropes and some other plants. There are many different types of fish and you can sometimes go snorkeling if you go out a bit farther when it is high tide. Be careful if you chose to do this because you can sometimes see eels. If it is low tide don't bother because it can get pretty shallow. It is also fun to go reef walking at night with a large flashlight or lantern, because you see stuff that you don't usually get to see, but be sure to wear reef boots if you do decide to go reef walking. If you plan on going tide pooling you should at least wear slippers, because the rocks heat up quite a bit and a few of the rocks are sharp. As with any place by the ocean some of the rocks are slippery so try to be careful. The rocks are slippery because of the many different types of algae that live there. There are many different green types of them, some look greenish while others look kind of brownish. Along some of the rocks you can also see sea urchins. In a certain area where there is quite a bit of surf helmet sea urchins can be seen. Which are flat sea urchins. In the tide pools you can also usually see sea cucumbers, hermit crabs, and snails. In some areas around the tide pools there is quite a bit of driftwood and whatever else washes up. It would be a great place to pick up some drift wood if you want. Also along the beachier areas there is sea glass. Some of it is sharp so we usually through it back in so that it will get smoother. Along the point of black point you can also see some very intiresting things such as the blow hole and some shear waters depending on the time of the year. If you do see a shear water, which is a grayish bird that nests in that area, do not touch it because that may be harmful to it. It may be harmful to a baby shear water if you touch it because you would leave a different smell on them and the parents might abandon them if they smell different.

Assigned Journal #1
On our trip to the Black Point tide pools we were photographing fish, plants, and some of the landscape to give a better idea of what the land looks like when we came across a crab claw. This was not just the part that can be shed, which can be seen on a regular basis, but the actual claw. We took a picture of it and you can look at it under this paragraph. I think that the crab could have been eaten by a bird, either that or it could have gotten into a territorial fight. One of the local birds that would have been able to kill the crab is the wedge tailed shear water, which has a long beak that could possibly pierce a crab's shell, If the crab was indeed caught by the wedge tailed shear water i would think that maybe it had an injury or something of that sort that had slowed it down. It also could have been a part of its genetics, that it had not been fast enough to avoid being caught by the wedge tailed shearwater. Maybe the fitness of the crab is determined by its claw size, color and agility, it would need to balance these things to be able to survive. If it was too colorful it would be easily seen, so it needs to be agile and strong to be able to fend off/escape predators. Without having a large claw it would be open to attack so if it ever did lose its claw due to evolution it would have a harder time defending itself. The claw will probably be scavenged by smaller creatures. While we were at the tide pools we also saw some snails, gobys, crabs, and plants like the beach heliotrope and //Scaevola sericea//. These plants were found very close to the ocean, the Scaevola sericea is a very common plant and can be found along a lot of coastlines in Hawaii. We also saw several different types of algae and many different types of places for animals to live, like places in between rocks, under some trees, in the tidepools, and in the ocean. Under the trees we saw some types of snails. These snails seemed to be different from the types we found on the rocks in the water. They were a slightly different color and seemed to prefer living among the leaves and twigs under the tree.

Free Journal Entry #2

On our second visit to Black Point we decided that i would do plants, Spencer would do animals, and Courtney would do abiotic factors. We saw many different types of plants. There were the beach heliotropes, Scaevola sericea, many different types of algae that can be seen under second assigned journal entry, and several other types. When we went a little bit away from the tidepools we came across some types of long bladed grass and some other small plants. There were also some seed grape trees. All over the place there were rocks and reddish dirt. In some of the shallow natural nesting areas we spotted shear waters. We also saw some discarded eggs. While were looking around we figured that because of the rain the red dirt would be washed down to the water and that is what makes the ocean look so muddy and dirty when it rains really hard. This is also potentially very damaging to the reefs. We think that this is one of the abiotic factors that is caused by the rain. Another abiotic factor that we found was the nesting site of the birds. They were living in naturally formed shallow spaces under the rocks, probably from rain, for the most part. Some of them were also living under a stunted sea grape tree, which may have been stunted by the wind and lack of rain, it also could have been caught. I wonder if it had anything to do with the nutrients found in the soil. I also wonder if the site where the birds were nesting is like that in all the other places that they are found, or if it is only like that there. By some of the Scaevola sericeas we spotted a small rain induced stream. It was also slightly brown and we followed it a few feet to its entrance into the ocean. some of the dirt looked like it rubbed off on the rocks and shells but most of it still went into the water.

Assigned Journal #2

When I was looking for some different types of plants i found several different types of algae which can be seen below. The picture of the algae on the far right shows one of the less common types of algae that we found in that area. The algae in that picture was also the furthest back of the algaes that are featured in these pictures. I noticed that this algae was growing on the top part of one of the long flat rocks, and was not very sheltered by any of the other rocks in the vicinity. I think that it was able to grow out more and be less flat, because it was not very close to the surf. The picture of the algae in the middle was taken closer to the water (surf) than the other one that i wrote about. I noticed that it was also in a different area from the other ones. It was in a more sheltered area, there were some rocks that blocked the worst of the surf. I think that that is why it sticks up more than the other algaes. It probably was not constantly being smashed by waves. The picture on the far left has some algae that populated a large area of the habitat that we are studying. It seemed like it was closest to the surf, but it also covered most of the rocks. This algae is very short and slippery, unlike the other ones in the pictures, which were slightly rough. I think that because it was so close to the surf it was not able to grow out and flourished most when small and durable. In the habitat we are studying there are several other types of algae. One of them was a bright green that seemed to stand out in comparison to the other algaes that we saw, but we also only saw it in only one area, between two rocks. This was one of the tallest algaes that we saw and I think that, because of the conditions it was living in there were not very many others. Seeing as there were not very many conditions that matched the one that it was currently living in. I think that the algae in the picture on the far left had the widest niche. While the other ones had relatively small ones. One of the key elements in all of the algaes survival is the rocks that they live on. Without them they would not be able to latch Free Journal securely onto something when it is high tide, or when there are a lot of waves.

free journal #3

In this picture the plant life has fewer leaves on the lower branches because of the salt water that would get on it during high tide. If the lower branches of this plant do not have leaves on them because of the salt water then if the plant was farther away from the ocean this would not happen. I also saw this occur on several other trees and small shrubs close to the water that would at high tide be partly submerged. The salt water also might encourage plants that life close to the water to grow taller, or at least til they are above where the tide reaches at its peak. From there it could expand out. Which is what we saw in the land based plant life at black point.

The growth of plant life in this area is in part due to the protection it receives from the walls on either side of it. If the two walls were not there the wind would have an effect on the plant life then allowing it to grow shorter or taller depending on the area. This also could work in either way seeing as there are only walls on two sides it prevents the plants from being severely shaken if the wind blows in a certain direction. Yet if it blows straight off the water it could create a bit of a wind tunnel which also seems why the plants are pretty flat. So overall I think that the walls both help and hinder the plant but it has adapted to where these conditions are perfect for it. The plant itself is vine like and seems to be very hardy, which it would need to be considering the conditions that it lives in. With the wind sea water and the fact that most of the year black point can be very dry. The plant produces a purple flower and tends to grow close to other plants. Many of the other rocks in this picture besides the one on the right look bare or have only a little bit of algae on them because they are lower which allows the waves to pound on it. The rock that i was focusing on, with the algae, also seems to be the closest to the water out of the rocks in that picture. Maybe this algae thrives in a slightly saltier environment with more waves and that's why it is so close to the water. Them more. If greenish algae is on a rock taller than the other ones surrounding it then it is more likely to have this type of algae on it.

Assigned Journal Entry #3

For this journal entry i will describe some of the community interactions that i saw. One of the interactions that i saw was between some crabs and some algae. The algae was in a little crevice between two black rocks in an area that seemed very shallow with only a little wave action. The algae it self seemed very flat and a light greenish brown color. I saw three crabs on the algae eating it. The crabs were easily scared. They went and hid in between some very small rocks when i moved and my shadow was cast on them.

Another interaction that i saw was between some snails and some dead leaves from a beach heliotrope. I saw this interaction on a dry bit of land which happened to be some rocks and an accumalation of leaves. On these leaves i saw some snails. These snails looked different from the ones found closer to the ocean. Their shells seemed almost pointier and they also appeared to be eating the leaves.

I also saw a shear water nesting in a stunted sea grape tree. The sea grape tree was probably stunted because of lack of water and wind. It usually gets pretty windy at black point which would mean that it would be more effective for the sea grape tree to grow short and wide. This also provided ample nesting ground for the shear waters. Which is a sea bird that nests on land and brings back food for the chicks.

I also saw an interaction between the plants. The more vine like plant was trying to take over the more shrub like plants niches by twisting itself around some of them. You could also see the vine like plant twisted around some driftwood and coconuts. Trying to expand its niche. While looking at this plant i also saw a bee polinating the purple flowers of the plant. Some of the other bush like plants were also being polinized by some bees. These plants had very small white flowers, but they also had a lot of them. This plant also produced a small white fruit that when squashed or dried out you can see its seed. Which is a light tan color. In the areas with plants there were also more insects like ants. They only came out during low tide or wherever the water didn't reach.

Free journal entry #4

While we were looking at some of the tide pools i noticed that some of the gobys that i had previously not seen were eating the algae off of the rocks. I had also seen this behavior from some of the crabs that i had previously observed. My conclusion is that the small fish from the tide pools and crabs that live on the rocks by the water both share the algae as one of their major sources of food. If the two walls were not there the wind would have an effect on the plant life then allowing it to grow shorter or taller depending on the area. For this experiment i took pictures of two plants of the same species located in two different areas. For the first picture i chose a plant that was surrounded by walls on either side. For the second picture i chose a plant that was growing by a beach heliotrope against a black wall. I then observed what each plant looked like. The first plant that i spoke of looked shorter and had more brown spots on it than the other plant. The second plant that was against the wall also trailed behind a tree and was able to grow taller. 1 3-4 in2 5-6 in
 * Plant** **Height (in)**

Assigned Journal entry #4

plants eg. beach heliotrope, algae, etc.- respiration→ fish, crabs, birds, sea cucumbers and ants co2 released into→atmosphere goes down to→plants use co2→ animals eat plants→ decomposers eat animals when they die→ co2 released into atmospher