Atinuke Bandele

BIOL 250

11 November 2019

Alki Beach Intertidal Biodiversity

Question:

How does biodiversity change depending on the location within the intertidal zone?

Hypotheses:

H0: Location within the intertidal zone will have no effect on biodiversity.

HA: Species abundance and species diversity will increase as depth into the intertidal zone

increases (i.e. high intertidal = low species diversity and abundance, low intertidal = high species

diversity and abundance).

Methods:

At Alki beach, data collection began at approximately 8:32 P.M. when the tide was near

its lowest. In order to collect data, four different sample areas were chosen to survey within the

intertidal. The distance between the ocean’s edge and the high intertidal zone/spray zone was

divided into four areas, with each section being where we’d place our quadrants for surveying. A

tape measure was ran from the ocean’s edge to our first surveying spot to ensure that each

quadrant was evenly spaced. The total distance between our first quadrant and the ocean’s edge

was about 41 m and each quadrant was placed approximately 10 m apart. In order to mitigate

bias and to improve the accuracy of the results, the quadrant was thrown down onto the ground

as opposed to placed. From here, each specimen within our quadrant was identified using the
field guides that were provided and counted. Once this step was completed, a rough sketch was

drawn of each quadrant on the grid paper that was provided. A picture of each quadrant was

taken as well. I used these pictures as a way to figure out individual species % cover for each

quadrant. I did this by superimposing a 10 by 10 grid onto each quadrant picture. This, along

with the rough sketch that was drawn, allowed me to figure out how many boxes each organism

dominantly occupied.

Once data was collected, further analysis was necessary. For each quadrant, Species

Richness (S), total % cover, and the dominant species was calculated and recorded. Species

Richness is a measurement of how many unique species were found within the surveyed area of

the quadrant. Total % cover is how much of the entire quadrant was covered in organisms. The

dominant species of a quadrant is the species that had the highest about of individual species %

cover. For each individual species that was collected, the total amount of that specimen was

observed and counted, as well as the individual species % cover, a measurement of how much an

individual species makes up the total % coverage of a quadrant. In order to assess the species

diversity of each quadrant, Simson’s Diversity Index (D) was used. This is calculated using the
1
formula 𝐷 = ∑ 𝑃2 where Pi is the individual species % cover in decimal form
𝑖

Results

For Quadrant 1, the highest intertidal zone, D was 1.78. For Quadrant 2, the upper-mid

intertidal zone, D was 2.72. For Quadrant 3, the lower-mid intertidal zone, D was 3.81, and for

Quadrant 4, the lower intertidal zone, D was 3.54 (See Figure 2,). Species Richness (S) followed

the constant trend of increase. S for Quadrants 1,2,3 and 4 were 3,4,8, and 9 respectively (See

Table 6). As seen in Table 6, For Quadrant 1, the overall dominant species was Ulva/Ulvia, but
for the other three quadrants it was Balanus glandula. The total amount of organisms that were

observed and counted was 1233, and Ulva/Ulvaria made up about 6% of this number with 72

specimen, and B. glandula made up about 86% of this number with 1014 specimen (See Table 5

and Figure 1). There were 14 unique species found in our survey of Alki Beach’s intertidal zone.

Discussion:

Although my null hypothesis was not supported, my alternative hypothesis was only

partially supported. For the part of my hypothesis concerning Species Diversity, there was an

increase is species diversity as intertidal height decreased like I predicted, but this trend wasn’t

constant. Quadrant 4’s D value was higher than both Quadrants 1 and 2’s, but was lower than

Quadrant 3’s D value. This finding contradicts what is traditionally known about intertidal areas.

The harshness of the environment of each specific zone often determines what types of

organisms can survive there. Few types of organisms generally live in higher intertidal zones

compared to lower intertidal zones due to the instability of the environment as well as the high

amount of wave action (Bruno, Stachowicz, Bertness, 2003). This phenomenon can be observed

in various other studies done on other rocky intertidal environments. For example, a study was

conducted on Helgoland Island in Germany and focused on the species richness and diversity

within the rocky intertidal. Three different shores were studied and findings showed an overall

trend that in the high intertidal zone, species diversity was lower compared to the middle

intertidal zone, which was then lower than the lower intertidal zone (Scrosati, Knox, Valdivia, &

Molis, 2010). Intertidal variations have caused many organisms to be specially adapted to this

environment in order to survive. Due to the ideal nature of the lower intertidal, competition is a

very key limiting factor. Many organisms want to live in this area but space is limited, so

organisms must evolve adaptations that increase their competitive edge. In most intertidal areas,
there are specific species that have adapted so well into the intertidal environment, that they tend

to outcompete other organisms within the intertidal; these species are the competitive dominant

species of the intertidal. On Pacific Northwestern coasts, organisms such as Mytilits

californianus (California mussel) and Balanus glandula (Acorn Barnacle) have been shown to be

the competitively dominant species throughout various intertidal communities (Connolly,

Roughgarden, 1998). Even with the presence of these competitive dominant species, intertidal

zones are usually teeming with various different types of life, and this is usually due to a predator

that performs a type of population control on these organisms. These predators, known as

keystone predators, are crucial to intertidal environment. They control the amount of

competitively dominant species which then in turn gives space for another organism to live

within the intertidal. In the pacific northwest, Pisaster ochraceus, a starfish, is the keystone

predator and primarily feeds on M. californianus (Smith, 2010). When the presence of keystone

predators in interfered with, the entirely of the intertidal zone will suffer. Too many keystone

predators may over eat the intertidal, diminishing the species diversity of the environment, but if

too little key stone predator are present, competitively dominant species will be allowed to grow

unchecked, also resulting in low species diversity. This may be what is being seen within our

surveyed area of Alki Beach. Keystone predators like p. ochraceus generally reside in lower

intertidal zone, and this is where the drip in species diversity was seen. On top of this, the

competitively dominant species within this zone was B. glandula, a species known for its

invasive competitiveness. There could be some sort of shortage of P. ochraceus in the area, but

more research must be done to confirm this. This mirrors what was said by another

undergraduate research group at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. They conducted

a similar study as what was done at Alki beach in order to determine the health biodiversity of
the intertidal ecosystem at Northeast False Creek. One of the parameters that they included in

their analysis of the shoreline was that there must specifically be a limited amount of acorn

barnacles in order to consider the intertidal zone a biodiverse one (Walton, Donohue, Wang, &

Vi, 2019). Unlike species diversity, Species Richness (S) did follow the trend of increase as tidal

height decreased, supporting my hypothesis and what was seen at the various other studies

mentioned.

Overall, it can be concluded that biodiversity does change depending on intertidal zone

location, as this was reflected within the data collected. Although the part of Alki Beach that we

surveyed didn’t completely show what would be considered normal measurements of a typical

rocky intertidal zone, much more research and data collection will be needed to show that Alki

Beach lacks biodiversity or is abnormal in any form. Still, the research conducted and other

similar research methods can still be used to assess the health of Alki Beach. Again, this study

will not give a definitive answer, but it may be an indicator that action needs to begin to take

place.
Table 1
Observed Organism Diversity of Quadrant 1(High-Intertidal)
Species %
Organism Common Name Count Number # of Squares
Cover
Ulva/Ulvaria Sea Lettuce 21 10 71.4
Zostera marina Eel Grass 7 3 21.4
Fucus disticnus Rock Weed 1 1 7.4

Table 2
Observed Organism Diversity for Quadrant 2 (Mid-Intertidal)
Species %
Organism Common Name Count Number # of Squares
Cover
Ulva/Ulvaria Sea Lettuce 14 10 52.6
Hemigrapsus
Hairy Shore Crab 3 2 10.5
oregonensis
Anthopleura Aggregate Green
2 2 10.5
elegantissima Anemone
Balanus glandula Acorn Barnacle 56 5 26.3

Table 3
Observed Organism Diversity for Quadrant 3 (Mid-Intertidal)
Count Species %
Organism Common Name # of Squares
Number Cover
Tectura persona Mask Limpet 3 1 2.3
Lottia pelta Shield Limpet 21 3 6.8
Checkered
Littorina scutulata 53 10 22.7
periwinkle
Osmundea
Sea Laurel 1 0 0
spectabilis
Mastocarpus
Turkish Washcloth 1 0 0
papillatus
Anthopleura Aggregate Green
6 5 11.4
elegantissima Anemone
Hemigrapsus
Hairy Shore Crab 10 7 15.9
oregonensis
Balanus glandula Acorn Barnacle 275 18 40.9
Table 4
Observed Organism Diversity for Quadrant 4 (Low-Intertidal)
Count Species %
Organism Common Name # of Squares
Number Cover
Tectura persona Mask Limpet 1 0 0
Lottia scutum Plate Limpet 1 0 0
Sarcodiotheca
Sea Noodle
gaudichaudii 1 1 1.4
Zostera marina Eel Grass 9 4 5.4
Hemigrapsus
Hairy Shore Crab
oregonensis 23 15 20.3
Ulva/Ulvaria Sea Lettuce 37 20 27
Anthopleura Aggregate Green
elegantissima Anemone 2 2 2.7
Balanus glandula Acorn Barnacle 638 30 40.5
Palmaria mollis Red ribbon 4 2 2.7

Table 5
Total Species Abundance for the Sample Area on Alki Beach
Organism Common Name Count
Ulva/Ulvaria Sea Lettuce 72
Zostera marina Eel Grass 16
Fucus disticnus Rock Weed 1
Hemigrapsus oregonensis Hairy Shore Crab 36
Anthopleura elegantissima Aggregate Green Anemone 8
Balanus glandula Acorn Barnacle 1014
Tectura persona Mask Limpet 4
Lottia pelta Shield Limpet 21
Littorina scutulata Checkered periwinkle 53
Osmundea spectabilis Sea Laurel 1
Mastocarpus papillatus Turkish Washcloth 1
Lottia scutum Plate Limpet 1
Sarcodiotheca gaudichaudii Sea Noodle 1
Palmaria mollis Red ribbon 4
Total Number of Organisms
- 1233
Counted
Table 6
Total % Coverage, Diversity, Species Richness, and the Dominant Species for Each Quadrant
Simpson's
Species
Total % Cover Diversity Index Dominant Species
Richness (S)
(D)
Quadrant 1 14 1.78 3 Ulva/Ulvaria
Quadrant 2 19 2.72 4 Balanus glandula
Quadrant 3 44 3.81 8 Balanus glandula
Quadrant 4 74 3.54 9 Balanus glandula

0%

1% 0%
2%
0%
82% 4%
0%
0%

6%

0%
1%
3% 0%

1%

Ulva/Ulvaria Zostera marina Fucus disticnus Hemigrapsus oregonensis

Anthopleura elegantissima Balanus glandula Tectura persona Lottia pelta
Littorina scutulata Osmundea spectabilis Mastocarpus papillatus Lottia scutum
Sarcodiotheca gaudichaudii Palmaria mollis

Figure 1. A breakdown of the total species abundance within the surveyed area at Alki Beach.
 4.5

3.5
Simpson's Diversity Index (D)

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
1 2 3 4
Quadrant

Figure 2. The measurement of diversity for each quadrant using Simpson’s Diversity Index.
 References

Bruno, J. F., Stachowicz, J. J., & Bertness, M. D. (2003). Inclusion of facilitation into ecological

theory. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 18(3), 119–125. doi: 10.1016/s0169-5347(02)00045-9

Connolly, S. R., & Roughgarden, J. (1998). A Latitudinal Gradient in Northeast Pacific Intertidal

Community Structure: Evidence for an Oceanographically Based Synthesis of Marine

Community Theory. The American Naturalist, 151(4), 311–326. doi: 10.1086/286121

Scrosati, R. A., Knox, A. S., Valdivia, N., & Molis, M. (2010). Species richness and diversity across

rocky intertidal elevation gradients in Helgoland: testing predictions from an environmental

stress model. Helgoland Marine Research, 65(2), 91–102. doi: 10.1007/s10152-010-0205-4

Smith, H. K. (2010). Factors affecting the abundance and size of Pisaster ocharceus in the rocky

intertidal zone of southern British Columbia. Bioscience Horizons, 3(2), 179–187. doi:

10.1093/biohorizons/hzq023

Walton, T., Donohue, M., Wang, W., & Li, Q. (2019, April 16). Life on the Edge : A Comparison of

Vancouver’s Intertidal Systems with Recommendations for Biodiversity Enhancement in

Northeast False Creek [R]. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0378505