DIVERSITY ANALYSIS OF INTERTIDAL SPECIES IN DIFFERENT TIDE POOL ELEVATIONS Femi Adegbidi, Brittany Cain , Ally Pennell, Melanie Hogan, Louise-Marie Roux The Rocky Intertidal Unique environment with fluctuating physical factors Physical transition zone Diverse zones with various species Fluctuating habitats Tide Pools Fluctuating environments Tides Physical factors Temperature Salinity Oxygen concentration Tide Pool Composition High Elevations High salinity Temperature changes Low Elevations More water Oxygen Poor at dealing with fluctuations Objective Effect of elevation on species diversity and organismal composition in tide pools Hypotheses Medium-Low height tide pools greater diversity and richness Organisms found will be similar to those defined in the intertidal zonation theory Tide pools at similar elevations will be more similar to each other Bay of Fundy St. Andrew’s, NB World’s highest tides Ideal site for intertidal research Sampling Sites 2 sites Indian Point- uniform, sandy substrate, Green’s Point- steep, rocky 4 tide pools per site Sampling Methods 30 cm2 quadrat Surveyor’s transit Organisms collected and identified Data Analysis Dichotomous key for species identification Diversity indexes Sorensen’s similarity index Simpson’s diversity index Common Species: Greens Point I Lowest Tide Pool IV 25 Highest Tide Pool 100 Littorina littorea 90 15 Cystoclonium purpureum 80 Mytilus edulis 70 Laminaria saccharina 60 Littorina littorea Littorina obtusata 10 Acmaea testudinalis Buccinum undataum 5 Fucus spiralis Total Count Total Count 20 Littorina obtusata Mya arenaria 50 Anomia aculeata 40 Mytilus edulis 30 20 Placopecten magellanicus 10 Gammarus oceanicus 0 0 Organisms Organisms Common Species: Indians Point II 120 100 Total Count 80 Littorina littorea 40 Mytilus edulis Littorina obtusata 60 Mya arenaria Semibalanus balanus 20 Acmaea testudinalis 0 Organisms Species Richness 10 9 8 Species Richness 7 6 5 Indian Point Green's Point 4 3 2 1 0 0 0.5 1 1.5 Height (m) 2 2.5 3 Species Diversity 0.6 0.5 Simpson's Index 0.4 0.3 Green's Point Indian Point 0.2 0.1 0 0 0.5 1 1.5 Height (m) 2 2.5 3 Tide Pool Elevation Similarity Conclusions Organisms that can cope with frequent disturbance are found in tide pools at higher elevations Organisms that require more water and oxygen in tide pools at lower elevations Sampling methods may have missed microscopic organisms Changing diversity THANK YOU!