Species whose effects on their communities are proportionately greater than their abundance
What are keystone species?
Infauna depend on water flow to replenish _
What is oxygen?
Is affected by rain, runoff, and evaporation
What is salinity?
A mix of clay, silt, and water
What is mud?
Caused by gravitational force of sun and moon + the motion of the Earth, sun, and moon
What are tides?
Sediments accumulate in _ intertidal communities
What is soft bottom?
The 2nd coarsest sediment
What is sand?
Sediment composition is related to _
What is water motion?
Has to do with competition for space and physiology of organisms
What is vertical zonation?
Tides that have the highest high tides and lowest low tides
What are spring tides?
Animals living on top of sediment
What are epifauna?
Some species can survive the loss of 75% of water in tissues
What are chitons?
Zone that is submerged and uncovered regularly
What is the middle intertidal zone?
Zone completely above the high tide line
What is the splash zone?
California tidal range is typically between _
What is 6-8ft?
Animals living in the interstitial space between grains of sediment
What are meiofauna?
Released by anaerobic respiration and leaves a distinct black layer in sediment
What is hydrogen sulfide?
Dominant biological factor in rocky intertidal communities
What is competition for space?
A challenge faced mainly by rocky shore intertidal communities
What is wave exposure?
Tides that occur during quarter moons
What are neap tides?
Infauna that burrow through, turn over, and disturb sediment
What are bioturbators/bioengineers?
2 factors affecting water flow through sediments
What are grain size and degree of sorting?
Main food source in soft bottom communities
What is detritus?
Emersion during low tides is challenging to marine organisms because of these 4 factors
What are water loss, feeding restrictions, and changes in temperature/salinity?
Has tidal ranges as high as 50ft
What is the Bay of Fundy in Canada?