Majid Din
College Bio/Per.9
Fall Research Paper
11/17/14
Mytilus Californianus are known as California mussels that form dense mussel beds and considered one of the most abundant intertidal organisms. They are found clustered together in the upper-middle zone on the open coast. Mytilus Californianus attach themselves to rocks by byssal threads. They have geographic range from the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to northern Mexico of Baja California (Morris et al. 1980). “It provides habitat, refuge, and provides food for over 300 other species” including human (rust, 2011). For long period of time, human use these mussels as a food source. These mussels can grow up to 130 to 150mm in size but the process usually is attained in three years. Scientists
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Climate change is causing shifts in the distribution and abundance of Mytilus Californianus. Due to the climatic trend, it is predicted that over the next century, most of the coastal region will increase in temperature by several degree which will result the mussel to have higher body temperature (Smith et al). One study shows that a survey of mussel’s abundance along three regions of the California coast (Smith et al). The three regions included southern, northern and central California. It was found that mussel’s abundance was relatively higher in Northern California than Southern California. Northern and Southern California are two regions that have very different oceanographic processes. The mussel abundance may decline in Southern California due to human visitation, increased sea surface temperature and most importantly pollution (Smith et al). Therefore, mussels shift to protected areas such as Northern California to protect themselves from desiccation, warm temperature and salinity fluctuation. In addition, under an experiment, it was found that majority of adult population of this species existed in the Northern California. This proves that Mytilus Californianus had higher survival rates in the northern California region. In addition, this shows the growth of this species plays an important factor in affecting the distribution of mussels in the southern California. According to the article by D. Schmidt: A Review of California Mussel (Mytilus Californianus) Fisheries Biology and Fisheries Programs, there are changes in the bed cover of Mytilus Californianus along the different regions. It was mentioned that the bed cover of this species decreased in southern California due to climatic trends. Since the mussel’s bed cover is changing, this could affect hundred of dependent species’ habitats. Furthermore, climatic change is impacting to the abundance and distribution of
T. californicus is found from Alaska to Baja in small, shallow tidepools and tidal flats in the upper spray zone where they cannot avoid the full effect of visible and ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Individuals assemble in areas of lower radiation at midday, yet have no preference to the intensity of light at dawn and dusk (Hartline and Macmillan 1995). These tiny arthropods inhabit all types of marine sediments from sand to fine mud and ooze. Along with plankton, T. californicus eats microscopic algae, protists, bacteria, diatoms, algae and microbes (McGroarty 1958). When the concentrations of the species in their habitats are high, T. californicus will turn to cannibalism for a food source. The nautilus eye present in the species is rich with fatty acids and provides a good food source for the animal.
The Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), is a small freshwater mollusk that is an invasive species. It has slowly been making its way into the United States. It has done this by showing up in lakes and in rivers. The mussels get their name due to the striped pattern on their shells. They are a relatively small species, only growing to the size of a human finger nail but there have been cases of larger (“Zebra Mussels,” 2013, para. 2). Mussels live a short life span of 4-5 years and most do not make into adulthood. They live in freshwater at depths of 6 to 24 feet. The female produces 30,000 to 1,000,000 eggs per year starting at the age of two. Zebra Mussels are free moving and can move with an external organ called the byssus (“Zebra Mussels,” 2013, para. 3). But they can be moved around by currents and other objects too. Zebra Mussels are a threat to ecosystems. They damage the natural habitat of lakes and rivers and cause negative effects to the native aquatic life. They multiply in vast majority casing a lake of food and space for other animals. And also the U.S. has spent millions on the removal of these pests from our water (“Zebra Mussels,” 2014, para. 8). The Zebra Mussel has now made its way into Colorado. Just a few has been found in the waters of Colorado but a few is enough to cause a big stir. Extreme precautions have now been put into effect to make sure that the threat of Zebra Mussels is under control.
A common inference made by scientists predicts that the zebra mussel will continue spreading passively, by ship and by pleasure craft, to more rivers in North America. Trailered boat traffic is the most likely cause for invasion into North America. This spread can be preventable if boaters thoroughly clean and dry their boats and associated equipment before transporting them to new bodies of water. Since no North American predator or combination of predators has been shown to significantly reduce zebra mussel numbers, such spread would most likely result in permanent establishment of zebra mussels in many North American waterways.
One of the Bays biggest resources is its oysters. Oysters are filter feeders which mean they feed on agley and clean the water. The oysters feed on agley and other pollutants in the bay turning them into food, then they condense the food down to nutrients and sometimes developed pearls. Filtering the water helps the oysters to grow, and also helps clean the Chesapeake Bay. One oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day, Oysters used to be able to filter the Bay in about a week. However, these creatures are now scarce in the bay. The Chesapeake Bays Oyster (crassostrea virginica) Population has declined severely because of over harvesting, agricultural runoff, and disease. Now the Chesapeake Bay is becoming polluted without the oysters and the water is not nearly as clean as it once was. The Chesapeake Bay was the first estuary in the nation to be targeted for restoration as an integrated watershed and ecosystem. (Chesapeake Bay Program n/d). This report will show the cause and effect of the Chesapeake Bay's Oyster decline on the Bay.
The Greek word for gymno is “naked” or “bare”, and the word for gyps means “vulture”. The California condor is a bare-headed vulture.
In 1831, Asian carp were brought over as a delicacy. Asian carp are originally from Asia (Barbara A. Somervill 13). They were imported by catfish farmers in 1963 for federal research on controlling aquatic vegetation. In 1966, the first Asian carp had escaped into Arkansas waters. By 1970, grass carp we're being stocked in Arkansas waters to help with over vegetation. In 1972, big head carp were brought in the United States by a fish farmer in Arkansas to improve his water quality and fish production. In 1973, silver carp were introduced for phytoplankton control (Watershed Council 1). Over time, they were brought over for different reasons and made their way into many of the United States waters. The federal government had transported the invasive species to help the waters but, they did not realize the bad effects that the fish would have on the future environment. People need to find a way to stop them before it’s too late. Their rapid breeding has had a great toll on the environment and is still affecting it today. Over population can destroy the environment
The Chesapeake Bay plays host to an astonishing amount of plant and animal life, providing much of our fish intake for species that aren’t being overfished. For the species that are being overdrawn, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is working to restore the populations, and it’s going well thus far. Another theme that is endangering the marine life populations as well as the health of the human population is the massive amount of polluti...
The monarch butterfly, as known as Danaus plexippus, is often called the milkweed butterfly because its larvae eat the milkweed plant. They are also sometimes called "royalty butterflies" because their family name comes from the daughter of Danaus, ruler of Argos. There are many other interesting facts about this butterfly including its anatomy and life cycle, where the butterfly lies on the food chain, the migration from Canada to Mexico, why the butterfly is being threatened, and lastly, what is being done to help the butterfly.
I found the highest number of L. polyphemus in the Main Lagoon, although the difference in the number found in the Main Lagoon and Moon Pond was not statistically significant. The Main Lagoon seems to have favorable environmental conditions for horseshoe crabs, as it is the sub-basin with the largest area for them to inhabit, and it has the deepest water. However, very little information is known about the habitat preferences and requirements of horseshoe crabs. They can tolerate and cope with a wide range of environmental conditions, especially temperature and salinity, and as a result adults are classified as environmental generalists (Sekiguchi & Shuster, 2011). Horseshoe crabs have been encountered in water deeper than 200 meters, but studies
Species such as the blue crab, oyster, and atlantic menhaden are three main commercial fishing outputs in the Chesapeake bay, but the recent algae blooms are devastating the harvest numbers of several different species. According to the oyster company of Virginia, over 20 million bushels of oysters were harvested every year during the peak of the oyster rush of the mid 1880’s. These numbers
You probably think horseshoe crabs are crustaceans, but you’d be wrong. They actually aren’t crabs at all, and there’s more about the horseshoe crab that you wouldn’t believe. This weird-looking marine animal survived two mass extinctions and lived in the Ordovician Period.
The findings could be taken into account in the selection of parameters used in biomonitoring research and in the interpretation of their results, and may be particularly important for criteria used in studies of the invasive potential and distribution of zebra mussels in other parts of the world. Studies like this are important in gaining knowledge of the environments that zebra mussel populations can survive and thrive in, and helping threatened and invaded ecosystems to move away from those conditions.
Arthropods are animals belonging to the phylum Arthropoda, which is the largest of all phyla in the Animal Kingdom, with more than one million species, making them almost 80% of the whole kingdom. These include insects, arachnids, crustaceans and many more, most of which are quite small, the biggest being the Japanese Spider Crab with a leg span of 3.5 meters and the smallest being the microscopic Plankton.
prized seafood and commercial item on the West Coast, the species could vanish from California
Lotze, Heike K., Marta Coll, Anna M. Magera, Christine Ward-Paige, and Laura Airoldi. "Recovery of Marine Animal Populations and Ecosystems." Trends in Ecology & Evolution 26.11 (2011): 595-605. Print.