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
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
Objective
Bay of Fundy
St. Andrew’s, NB World’s highest tides Ideal site for
intertidal research
2 sites Indian Point- uniform, sandy substrate, Green’s Point- steep, rocky
4 tide pools per site
Sampling Sites
30 cm2 quadrat
Surveyor’s transit
Organisms collected and identified
Sampling Methods
Dichotomous key for species identification
Diversity indexes Sorensen’s similarity index
Simpson’s diversity index
Data Analysis
Lowest Tide Pool
Common Species: Greens Point
Organisms0
102030405060708090
100
IV
Littorina littoreaLittorina obtusataMya arenariaAnomia aculeataMytilus edulisPlacopecten magellanicusGammarus ocean-icusGammarus tigrinis
Tota
l Cou
nt
Organisms0
5
10
15
20
25
I
Cystoclonium purpureumMytilus edulisLaminaria saccharinaLittorina littoreaLittorina obtusataAcmaea testudinalisBuccinum undataumFucus spiralis
Tota
l Cou
nt
Highest Tide Pool
Common Species: Indians Point
Organisms0
20
40
60
80
100
120II
Littorina littoreaLittorina obtusataMya arenariaMytilus edulisSemibalanus balanusAcmaea testudinalisTo
tal C
ount
Species Richness
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 30
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Indian PointLinear (Indian Point)Green's PointLinear (Green's Point)
Height (m)
Spec
ies R
ichn
ess
Species Diversity
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 30
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
Green's PointLinear (Green's Point)Indian PointLinear (Indian Point)
Height (m)
Sim
pson
's In
dex
Tide Pool Elevation Similarity
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
Conclusions
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