Compare And Contrast The Epipelagic And The Intertidal Zone
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The two biomes that will be compared and contrasted are the intertidal biome and the epipelagic biome. These two biomes are very different but still share similarities similarities. The intertidal zone, sometimes called the littoral zone, is the oceanic biome that is constantly between the tides. Meaning sometimes this area will be covered with water and sometimes it will not be. In contrast the epipelagic is the oceanic biome at the very surface of the ocean, it is the first layer of the sea (Castro & Huber). The Abiotic features for both biomes will be explored next. The intertidal zone is submerged and exposed during the day twice due to the tidal period. The upper zone is the zone that will be exposed for the longest since it is harder…show more content… In the rocky intertidal zone organisms are usually attached to the rocks. For instance, a diverse amount of algae can be found on the rocky environment of the intertidal zone. The intertidal zone has three different areas, the upper intertidal, the middle intertidal, and the lower intertidal. The organisms that can be found in the upper intertidal include lichens, periwinkles, cyanobacteria, limpets, shore crabs, algae, sea lice, and sea roaches. The predators of the upper intertidal zone are usually the shore crabs along with sea birds. Occasionally predatory snails, raccoons, and rats are also predators. The upper intertidal zone is also known as the splash zone so these organisms must be well adapted to rarely being submerged in water. The organisms that can be found in the middle intertidal zone include barnacles, sea stars, mussels, rockweed, algae, spiny lobsters, whelks, snails are a predatory organism that preys on barnacles along with some of the other organisms listed. The organisms that can be found in the lower intertidal zone include seaweed, algae, kelp, surf grass, sea urchins, sea anemones, polychaete worms, snails, sea slugs, and small fish like gobies, clingfishes, sculpins, pricklebacks, and gunnels. In the epipelagic zone the most well-known organisms living in these waters in phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are photosynthetic plants and their predator is zooplankton. The grazers of the phytoplankton…show more content… In the intertidal zone the first human impact is harvesting of seaweed and animals in this intertidal zone. The harvesting of these organisms is for food, bait, and home aquariums. Another human impact on this marine biome is shell collecting, these are beautifully shelled organisms and many people are after their looks. Another human impact happens when people go tide pooling and humans disturb the delicate habitat. The last two impacts involve pollution and global warming, both negatively effect the intertidal zone. The conservation efforts are in place; many states have regulations that protect certain species in the intertidal zone and some states have restrictions for removing organisms from tide pools. Some states you must have a valid fishing license to remove live mollusks from the intertidal zone ("Tide Pools Human Impact & Conservation”). In the epipelagic zone the human impacts that negatively affect this zone is overfishing and pollution. Overfishing removes an excess amount of fish from the ecosystem which has a negative effect on the food chain. Throwing off the food chain has a negative effect on all organisms in the ocean. Another human impact includes pollution such as waste dumping and oil spills. Oil spills can effect all organisms and an oil spill covers the top layer of the ocean which will disrupt any photosynthetic creatures and again throw off the food chain, kill