LIFE IN THE SAND FIELD GUIDE TO SANDY SHORES Table of Contents SANDY SHORES INtroductioN......................1-2 SaNd..................................3 AdaptatioNs.......................4 Tides..................................5-6 MariNe Protected Areas.....7-8 IDENTIFICATION Field ID Card........9-10 ACTIVITIES GENERAL Sea, SaNd, Me!: Scholastic........................................................11-12 SAND ShiftiNg SaNds: NOAA..............................................................13-16 ADAPTATIONS Critter Card Games: MoNterey Bay Aquarium.........................17-24 MPAS MPA MigratioN: WILDCOAST...............................................25 HUMAN IMPACT MPA Detectives: Adapted from SaN Diego Zoo......................26-30 Sandy Shores SaNdy shores are areas where deposits of saNd or other sedimeNts cover the shoreliNe. To beachgoers, saNdy shores ofteN appear to be devoid of life, made up oNly of saNd, shells, aNd the occasioNal piece of driftwood. But iN reality, this dyNamic habitat is home to a diversity of species, each specially adapted for life above or below the saNd. These orgaNisms must coNteNd with pouNdiNg waves, chaNgiNg tides, aNd coNstaNtly shiftiNg saNd particles - Not to meNtioN people who love to visit aNd develop beaches! o r t Pearson Education, Inc. n i 1 There are maNy advaNtages of liviNg oN a saNdy shore iNcludiNg: Swash aNd tides supply food, oxygeN, aNd Key Words NutrieNts aNd carry away waste products. IN coNtrast with rocky shore habitats, ShoreliNe: The liNe where a body of water aNd the orgaNisms liviNg oN saNdy shores caN retreat shore meet. iNto the substratum iN order to avoid Beach: A deposit of loose material oN shores that is desiccatioN duriNg low tide. moved by waves, tides, curreNts, aNd wiNd. INtertidal ZoNe: The area betweeN high aNd low tides. High Tide: The tide wheN the water is at its highest level. Low Tide: The tide wheN the water is at its lowest level. AdaptatioN: A physical or behavioral chaNge that helps aN orgaNism survive iN its eNviroNmeNt. However, there are also maNy Swash: The rush of water up the shore after the breakiNg of a wave. challeNges of liviNg iN the iNtertidal: DesiccatioN: A state of extreme dryNess caused by proloNged periods of beiNg out of the water. SedimeNts are coNstaNtly shiftiNg due to wave eNergy, tidal fluctuatioNs, curreNts, aNd wiNd. OrgaNisms liviNg iN the iNtertidal sectioNs of a saNdy shore must deal with mariNe predators at high tide aNd terrestrial predators at low tide. OxygeN availability quickly decreases with sedimeNt depth. IN order to survive iN this dyNamic habitat, orgaNisms that live iN aNd oN saNdy shores have evolved a wide array of specialized adaptatioNs. 2 Sand We all kNow what saNd is...it is that stuff we play iN aNd build saNd castles with at the beach. It's the stuff that gets stuck betweeN our toes aNd fills our car after a fuN day iN the suN! Key Words SaNd is actually rather complex. It is made up of abiotic thiNgs such as small, loose pieces of rock, soil, aNd miNerals, as well as biotic SaNd: GraNular material made up of thiNgs such as shells. weathered rocks, miNerals, aNd shells. SaNd is formed wheN these larger items are weathered by waves, Abiotic: NoN-liviNg thiNgs. wiNd, raiN, or ice, thereby breakiNg them dowN iNto small graiNs. Biotic: LiviNg or oNce-liviNg thiNgs. SaNd caN be made up of maNy differeNt compouNds, such as quartz, calcium carboNate, or volcaNic fragmeNts. What the saNd is made up WeatheriNg: The process by which of determiNes its color. SaNd caN be white, taN, black, greeN, or eveN waves, wiNd, water, or gravity breaks piNk! thiNgs dowN iNto smaller pieces. Each beach is made up of more graiNs of saNd thaN we caN eveN imagiNe! For example, if you take a 30 secoNd walk oN the beach, you have already walked over trillioNs of graiNs of saNd! d Watch It: The AmaziNg Life of SaNd - Deep Look by KPBS n https://youtu.be/VkrQ9QuKprE Explore It: BriNg a sample of saNd to class. Have studeNts look at a the sample with a magNifyiNg glass or uNder a microscope. Have them try to sort aNd/or ideNtify what they see! s 3 Adaptations To deal with the challeNges of liviNg oN a saNdy shore, orgaNisms have developed a wide array of adaptatioNs. s n THREAT: SaNd aNd water are iN o coNstaNt motioN. i ADAPTATIONS: MaNy saNdy shore creatures are expert burrowers aNd dig dowN iNto the saNd to avoid beiNg washed t away by waves. WheN wave eNergy gets too high, clams use a powerful foot to quickly burrow to safety. They will wait uNtil the tide chaNges aNd the sea is more a calm, theN come out to eat. THREAT: PredatioN from terrestrial t species (birds aNd mammals) ADAPTATIONS: BurrowiNg iNto the saNd caN also help creatures avoid beiNg eateN. Mole crabs like to feed oN tiNy p plaNktoN iN the swash, theN burrow dowN iNto the saNd as the water recedes so that they woN’t be picked off by a sea bird. Ingrid Taylor THREAT: OxygeN levels are very low a withiN the saNd aNd sedimeNt. ADAPTATIONS: MaNy orgaNisms that live iN aNd oN saNdy shores are able to use oxygeN very efficieNtly, meaNiNg that a d little bit of oxygeN goes a loNg way. These creatures are able to use a small amouNt of oxygeN to create eNough eNergy to keep them alive. a 4 Tides Tides are the periodic risiNg aNd falliNg of oceaN water that occur at regular iNtervals because of the gravitatioNal pulls of the suN aNd the Key Words mooN. Tides seem to make the water creep up the beach with each iNcomiNg wave for part of the day uNtil it reaches a so-called “high Tides: The periodic risiNg aNd falliNg of tide liNe” aNd theN retreat back dowN the beach iN the same maNNer. oceaN water that results from the The height of tides is determiNed by the positioNs of the Earth, suN, gravitatioNal pulls of the suN aNd the aNd mooN. The gravitatioNal pulls of the suN aNd the mooN pull the mooN. oceaN water toward them, so the Earth will experieNce high tides oN the sides of the Earth closest to the suN aNd the mooN. SiNce the mooN Neap Tide: The weak tide created wheN revolves arouNd the Earth, the Earth revolves arouNd the suN, aNd the suN aNd mooN are at a right aNgle Earth rotates oN its owN axis the distaNces aNd relative positioN of each with the Earth. of these are coNstaNtly chaNgiNg. DepeNdiNg oN the distaNces of the suN, Earth, aNd mooN the tides may be higher or lower aNd the curreNts SpriNg Tide: The stroNg tide created stroNger or weaker. wheN the suN aNd mooN aligN with the Earth. Tide Chart/Tide Table: A graph used to represeNt predicted high aNd low tides over a set period of time at a specific locatioN. For example, wheN the suN aNd the mooN are at a right aNgle with the earth, a pheNomeNa kNowN as a Neap tide, their gravitatioNal pulls partially caNcel each other out creatiNg weaker tides. WheN the suN aNd mooN aligN with the Earth, called a spriNg tide, their s gravitatioNal pulls combiNe creatiNg stroNger tides. SiNce the suN is 360 times farther from the Earth thaN the mooN, the gravitatioNal pull of the mooN is twice as powerful as the pull of the suN. The Earth aNd the mooN revolve arouNd a commoN poiNt every 27.3 days creatiNg a tidal cycle that repeats approximately every 27.3 days. e d i t 5 There are two high tides aNd two low tides each day which, because of the aNgle of the mooN to the Earth, may Not be of equal height. Tide heights may also differ from day to day due to the chaNgiNg distaNce betweeN the Earth aNd the mooN. The timiNg aNd height of each high aNd low tide are predictable aNd aNy fluctuatioNs may be measured by scieNtists aNd used to track hurricaNes aNd wiNter storms. Tides are reported iN a tide chart or tide table which shows the predicted water level at a specific locatioN over a certaiN period of time. Water levels are portrayed as a wave with time aNd date oN the x-axis aNd water level oN the y-axis. The crests of the wave represeNt the high tides, while the troughs represeNt the low tides. To determiNe what the water level will be at a giveN time fiNd the date aNd time oN the bottom of the chart, trace up to the tide liNe, aNd theN look to the left side of the chart. Tide charts are specific to a certaiN time period, so New tide charts are issued regularly. Tide charts for the UNited States may be fouNd through NOAA: https://tidesaNdcurreNts.Noaa.gov/tide_predictioNs.html Tide charts iN Mexico may be fouNd through UNAM: http://www.mareografico.uNam.mx/portal/iNdex.php?page=EstacioNes s e d i t 6 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) CaliforNia’s coastal aNd mariNe ecosystems are some of the most icoNic aNd treasured resources iN the state aNd coNtribute greatly to the history, ideNtity, aNd ecoNomy of the area. UNfortuNately, these same ecosystems are also some of the most exploited aNd without proper care the loNg-term health of these resources is iN jeopardy. RecogNiziNg the Need to safeguard CaliforNia’s coastal aNd mariNe ecosystems, the state legislature passed the s MariNe Life ProtectioN Act iN 1999. This act aimed to protect CaliforNia’s precious mariNe resources by creatiNg a statewide Network of mariNe protected areas (MPAs). DesigNed to protect the diversity aNd abuNdaNce of mariNe life while still maiNtaiNiNg recreatioNal access for people, MPAs Now protect over sixteeN perceNt, or 850 miles, of the CaliforNia coast.