TrentonDSTJournal

This is Trenton DST's Journal for Makapu'u Tidepools.

First Visit Journal Entry – 10/13/08 Makapuʻu tide pools are on the windward side of Oahu. It is between Sandy Beach and Waimanalo, right in front of Sea Life Park. This area is home to a dominate plant species, naupaka; a small low-lying bush. The bush has thin brown branches and waxy leaves. It lies right in front of fifteen feet of yellow large grained sand. There is a large pool surrounded by black rocks. On low tides the amount of water flowing between the pool and ocean is minimal. On higher tides with more wave action the water movement is much greater. Water that flows into higher pools are usually funneled down into the lower ones and then connect back to the main ocean. We saw a large group of schooling fish. They were about three inches long and there were hundreds of them. They stay in a pack to protect themselves from predators. Other fish in the tide pools were gobies. These fish were small and skiddish. On the black rocks were small shells and crabs. These species both use a hard outside shield for protection. Many of the shells were adapted to their surroundings. They were small, black, and camouflaged into their environment. Other shells were colored white and were easier to spot. Crabs were skiddish just like the gobies. These crabs were also very adapted. Their speed allowed them to run away from predators or two school kids. Haha. They also had the ability to hide in extremely small crevices.

We spotted one bird species. Its area for hunting was the rocks closest to the crashing waves. It was brown colored and was hard to spot against the rocky background. There was also a single sea cucumber in its own pool. This was a good conservation technique because it saved energy, using less of its limited resources

Aquatic plant life consisted mainly of algae. While stepping on the black rocks we felt ourselves slipping. Even thought the rocks were slippery from erosion, an added layer of algae made it even more slippery. There were three other species of algae. Each had its own leaf shape and color. Some lived closest to the wave zone and some lived more towards the shore.

Significant abiotic factors included color of the rocks, wind speed, wave action, amount of sunlight, and the tide. Most animals were of a darker shade because it is harder to spot them against the dark colored rocks. The wind speed and the wave action whipped salt water into the air affecting the plant life outside the water for miles. It also creates erosion changing the living environment every year. The tide affected the amount of wetted area the animals had and the amount of nutrients flowing into each of the separate tidepools. Some tide pools were very close to the shore and didn’t receive new water. The life died in these pools.

Makapuʻu tide pools are a good place to study because there are many species. These animals and plants are good indicators of survival of the fittest and evolution theory. The animals are adapted so well to their environment. Most animal species are dark colored and blend well with the rocks. There is an obvious game of predator prey. Most animals are skiddish and speedy, allowing them to escape from their predators. Other animals use their strong shells and exoskeltons to protect themselves. Makapuʻu tide pools are different than tide pools on the southern shores because of the amount of wind and the wave action. It is a good place to study because the people there don’t change the environment, they usually sit on the beach and enjoy the sun. It is a good place to study because the people there don’t change the environment. It can remain untouched because of the wave and wind action occurring. media type="custom" key="2128711"

Four niches of different species. 1. The first species is an alga that that lives closest to the water. It lives on top of black lava rock, attaching itself to it. There are many colonies of the same plant, but they all live near each other. The plant is located right where the waves crashes on the rocks but it is above the water for the remaining time. It probably needs powerful sunlight that can only be attained above water. The alga uses the wave action to provide it with water containing oxygen and nutrients. 2. The species of bird that we saw uses a wide niche. It is one of the only animals there that can use the sky and open air to live. We observed it feeding on top of the rocks. The water would surge up but the bird would fly up for a second and let it pass by. It would peck into little holes of the rock to search for food. It has a dark color just like the rocks it hunts in. Long legs permit it to stay on rocks when there is water flowing. The bird would use wind drafts to fly using the least amount of energy and would go from rock to rock. 3. The next species is a type of shell. The Hawaiian name is pipipi. It is black colored and the size of a pencil’s eraser. This shell lives on rocks, whether it is wet or not. It can camouflage against the dark color of the rock and its small size allows it to hide in small holes and crevices. It has a strong hold against on rock and has a small opening where the actual mollusk lives; harder for predation to occur because the animals pry it from the rocks. We can predict the pipipi is an algae eater because we found it living near other algae. Its hard shell deters some predators because it is hard to crack open. 4. We found a species of crab. This species lives in the rocks and crevices. Its body is about palm size and its total reach is about double palm. It lives all along the rocks but mostly likes to stay in the splash zone. The wide reach from its legs help it run along the rocks and keep its balance. It is usually found hiding in crevices where other members of the species also lives. The crab (dark colored) uses the black color of the rocks to camouflage from larger predators. Its hard exoskeleton helps survive from predators.

Second Visit Details
11/2/08

Free Journal Entry:
At this second visit we notice that there is white sand but the black rocks are what makes the tidepools. Why is there white-yellow sand if there are black rocks? I’d imagine that sand comes from some organisms like a sea cucumber that eat on coral and some abiotic factors like erosion. But if erosion were to occur it would create black sand.

In the rocks we noticed that there were many holes the rocks, some were closer to the water and some were as far back as the sand line. What causes these holes? What is the differences between the holes closer to the water and closer to the sand?

The two previous visits both had strong gusts of wind, and also had powerful wave action. Also, the tide had an effect on the water level and where these waves had the potential of reaching. The first visit was on a high tide and most of the rocks had some water. The second visit had a lower tide. The water wasn’t able to reach as high towards the shore. How does the wind (speed and gusts) affect plant and animal life? How does the tide affect the tide pools? Does the amount of water moving in and out of the tide pool in a set amount of time affect how much life can be contained in a certain pool?

Most organisms live in the tidepools created from the black rock. So how do species use their environment to their benefit and achieve survival of the fittest? We noticed two types of gobies and two types of snails. They both differered in color. One of each had a very dark color and could blend in well, while the other was more exposed and contrasted their environment. Why do some species seem to not fit in this environment? Do they get an added advantage or are they at a disadvantage?

We observed that the gobies would hid in little crevices of the tide pool. We wondered if and organism created this hole or if it was the abiotic factors working against the rocks. What organism creates holes that occur underwater? How do animals use this?

By observing the larger tide pools, we noticed that there are some areas in which the water flows through. These areas contain a species of schooling fish. Can the organisms use this area to their benefit? If so, what is contained in the water compared to water inside a sealed tide pool?

Questions that can remain unanswered. How much of an effect does air temperature have on water temperature? How does aquatic plant life attach itself to the rocks? Also, how do plants keep attached even when there are wave and wind action hitting them? Does the salinity of a tide pool affect the life inside the pool? If sunlight is dispersed into different energy waves through water, then do these light beams have an effect on the plant life that thrives? Is there more life along the edges of the large tide pool compared to the middle? If so, what are the abiotic factors that drive this?

Assigned Journal Entry:
There are many environmental pressures in the Makapuʻu tide pool habitat. For the most part, the tide pools are made of a black lava rock. This rock has holes and crevices and creates many niches for organisms to survive in. The environment drives natural selection because of predation, survival of the fittest, and competition. There are four animals that show the process of natural selection occurring within this habitat.

There are many types of fish in the tide pool, but the most prominent fish are the gobies, which race along the bottom and scurry into the crevices of the tide pool. The gobies come in a multitude of shapes, sizes, and colors. There are some the size of your largest finger, while others are a mere half sized. Their usual colors of black and white come in patterns looking like a mixture of sand and rock combined. The patterns of black and white come in different percentages, gobies can be half black & half white colored, other species can be a pure coat. If the tide pool is made of a black rock, then why are gobies beige? It is logical to assume that those gobies are going to be preyed upon and have less “fitness” in their environment. But understand that gobies are fast creatures and can hop from one tide pool to another. The beige gobies must be from tide pools covered in sand. They are only visitors to this new tide pool. Those beige gobies show natural selection. Some gobies are wide and have large tail fins, and others are narrow and have small tail fins. When observing any species of goby, you have to be careful not to disturb them in any way. A shadow, vibration in the water, or another creature can send them off to hiding. A goby is a fast creature. So what are the driving factors of their speed? It is the predation that has occurred. Those gobies with a slower speed, either of the same species or not, have been preyed upon by faster organisms. Their heritable variations are not being passed down to the next generation. The faster gobies survive and thrive and over many, many generations of time the species contains only faster gobies.

Another example of natural selection are the mollusks. We observed white colored shells, and black colored shells. They both lived in a very similar location, meaning they were living near the waters edge and attached themselves along the rocks. But something was very puzzling; the white colored shells are contrasted against the environment. Camouflage is a useful trick against predators and so the white mollusks were not very abundant, obviously. Both species did share a common trait: the suction on rocks. They have adaptations that allow the shell to attach itself to the rock by creating a vacuum and hopefully a predator can’t break this seal.

=THIRD VISIT= Saturday, Nov 22, 2008 This weekend there was rain and wind. Combining these two created a colder environment comparative to the previous visits. There is major cloud cover, so there’s no need for sunscreen. This could be another cause of the temperature difference. The visibility is short and you can’t see Rabbit Island very well. At this visit I didn’t see many animals. I think the rain is causing the animals to hide and it is also the rain drops were causing the water to be difficult to see through. There are still a few animals out, like crabs and the mollusks. But the crabs are skiddish and the mollusks don’t move very much. The winds light at about <5 mph. But still there are wind waves that are about 1-3 feet. The tide is climbing higher above 1ft. The waves are reaching above the reef line and moving water out of the tide pools.

“If the tide pool is larger, then it will hold more species of organisms.” In previous visits I have observed there is more species in a larger tide pool. Most of the time the smaller tide pools host one or two species. This experiment will ask the question, why is there are more species in one tide pool compared to another. In this experiment I might want to measure the length, width, and depth and then figure out the relative area3 of the tide pool much like a cube. I will have a guide to the different types of species and will try to approach the pool without disturbing many animals.

I may want to follow up this question by finding out some abiotic factors of the same tide pool and compared to the ocean. “If the tide pools with abiotic factors like, DO, pH, salinity, are similar to those abiotic factors in the ocean, then it will hold more species.” This experiment would also try to answer the question, why is there are more species in one tide pool compared to another. Because the ocean is hospitable, those abiotic factors that are alike are going to be more acceptable to the organism living within. I might do the temperature but this is depending on the weather conditions such as waves. I would take several samples of water and take it back to class. One would be from the ocean and the others would be from the tide pools. I will probably ask three different questions and have three hypotheses to answer the three (maybe 4) different abiotic factors.

“If a species of algae uses photosynthesis, then the same amount (mass, in grams) of this species will create more oxygen than Elodea.” This experiment will show if there is a difference in oxygen creation compared to a freshwater plant. I would take the plant from the ocean and bring it to class. Then I would take abiotic measurements, and re-measure it 24 hours later. There should be a difference of oxygen and maybe pH after 24 hours and then I would compare those two to the other plant.

"If a tidepool is closer to the ocean, then it will be more similar to the temperature to the ocean." This question will be similar to the one above but it would only adress one variable, the distance of the tidepool to the ocean. "If a tidepool is closer to the ocean, then it will be more similar to the DO of the ocean." "If a tidepool is closer to the ocean, then it will be more similar to the PH of the ocean." "f a tidepool is closer to the ocean, then it will be more similar to the salinity of the ocean." These hypotheses are just back ups if the top ones don't work out.

Assigned Journal
This is a pyramid of energy and numbers. There is a lot of algae (energy), some energy is lost and there are fewer snails, and then finally there is one crab and this contains the least amount of energy.



This is also a pyramid of energy and numbers. The is a lot of algae and energy, but there is less gobies, energy, and then there is a single bird. Photo Credit for the goby pictures http://www.jonolavsakvarium.com/blog/200708/sand_goby.jpg



=4th Visit details=

Today I went to Makapuʻu Tide pools. It is around two o’clock and it is a very low tide. This will help me with my experiment because the higher tide pools will be more isolated from any source of ocean water. The wind is light with very small inch high waves. Because the tide was low there was a long stretch of sand and exposed reef. The sky was partially cloudy but it was late enough in the day for the sun to be blocked by the mountain. The temperature was in the 80’s. So my experiment was to measure the distance of a tide pool from the ocean and measure the salinity compared to the ocean. My hypothesis was “if the tide pool is closer to the ocean, then the salinity will be more similar,” And vise versa. “If the tide pool is farther away from the ocean, then the salinity will be different.” The tools I needed to do the experiment with were a salinity measurer, a long tape measurer, a notepad to take down data, and a camera to take photos of the tide pools and some of the life in the pool. Good thing I had all those. My procedure was to measure the closest distance to the ocean because this was going to be where the tide pool would get its salt water. I measured tide pools with varying distances from the ocean. I didn’t measure any of the tide pools that are already connected to the ocean because that would give me the same results as the ocean’s. I measured the tide pools salinity three times to get an average salinity. This would be in both the density of the water and the salt content by parts per thousand. I would have my control’s measurement by taking samples from the ocean. There would be a total of 15 measurements coming from four tide pools and the ocean. I would take observations on the biotic life in each of the tide pools and some of the abiotic factors in each tide pool. The first tide pool was about 4 x 6 feet across and at the deepest 5 inches. There were only a few fishes. The second tide pool was about two feet by 1 foot and there wasn’t any life in there except for one species of algae. The third tide pool is about 3 feet by 2 feet and there are several fish inside it. The fourth tide pool is the dirtiest tide pool. It has a bottle cap inside and there is no life. The water is not the cleanest. My conclusion is, as the tide pools progress farther away from the ocean there is a bigger difference between the salinity of the ocean and the tide pool’s. The data in the spreadsheet shows a slight difference in the salinity versus the distance. The X-axis of the chart shows the tide pools from the least far to the farthest from the ocean. Because there was an increase in the slope it showed an increase in the salinity and the distance. The third tide pool measured was the biggest increase in salinity. It was about 5 parts per thousand higher than the oceans and the density was and exact 0.004 g/ml higher too. The last tide pool shown is a bit higher than the oceans a long with the coinciding density.