Southern California Tide Pools- Katie Bassak

Southern California Tide Pools

Katie Bassak

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History

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Tide pools reside where the ocean meets land. It is a very beautiful place with many colorful organisms, beautiful shells, and unique plants. It is also a very historical place. Some of the rocks that are found around tide pools contain petrified vertebrae of gray whales that lived 10 to 12 million years ago. It is definitely a constantly changing ecosystem. The rise and fall of the tide is due to the gravitational and centrifugal forces between Earth, the moon, and the sun. The living things in the tide pools are used to all of the change that the waters bring. They are prepared to face the challenges that come with such a rough environment full of waves. But, in recent history, these conditions have been altered. Because of global warming and the melting of the ice caps, there is a rise in the sea level. This causes many of the tide pools to go completely underwater. The plants and animals are not meant to be complete submerged. In addition, there is a general rise in the earth’s temperature, which also causes problems for the plants and animals. They are prepared for natural changes in their environments, but if the change it too drastic, they will either migrate or die.

Current Human Impacts

http://www.ocmarineprotection.org/human_impacts.pdf

Humans are currently damaging the intertidal zones of Southern California tide pools in various ways. These tide pools are very sensitive ecosystems. Visitors to the tide pools are harvesting too many animals and plants. They are taking them for food, bait, and home aquariums. This is causing some species to become very scarce. Also, the human population is also increasing on the coastlines, so more people have access to the intertidal zones, which results in more plant and animal harvesting, as well as trampling. Trampling occurs when many visitors go to the tide pools and crush the creatures and plants that are living there. Shells are also collected in large quantities by visitors and gift shops. This is bad because these shells may still have occupants. Also, other animals such as hermit crabs rely on these empty shells to inhabit. This is also causing a decrease in average shell size, because all of the larger shells are being taken from the tide pools, as shown by the graph above. Humans are also causing coastal pollution. We leave trash on the beaches, there are oil and sewage spills, and our machines also cause toxic chemical run off. The global climate change that humans are creating is also effecting the tide pools. As the ocean temperature is rising due to global warming, intertidal animals and plants shift their distribution, so there are bigger changes in their populations.

Likely Future Prospects

Graph 2
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1942008?seq=7

Graph 1
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1942008?seq=6

Graph 3

http://www.ocmarineprotection.org/human_impacts.pdf

The state of the tide pools in Southern California is not good, but it is not as bad as other pools around the world in such countries as Chile, South Africa, and Australia. But by looking at the graphs above, we can see that if we continue to pollute the ocean and harvest and trample tide pools plants and animals, eventually there will be very few living things left in Southern California’s pools. The first graph shows that the closer the tide pool is to public access, the more overturned rocks there are and the less algae there is. The second graph shows that the more public access there is, the fewer organisms there are. These graphs both illustrate that people are not being careful enough when we visit the southern California tide pools. They are lacking respect for the plants and animals that live there. The third graph shows that the more steps that are taken at a tide pool, the more biomass is harvested. Overall, we are lacking respect for the sea life at the Southern California tide pools. Visiting the tide pools is both fun and educational, but if we continue to treat these areas badly, every living thing will be destroyed.

Protecting the Tide Pools

http://www.rwongphoto.com/RW1309.html

There is hope for the future of the Southern California tide pools. Although some damage has been done, we can do many things to help protect the various plants and animals that live there now. There are currently various marine reserves and laws that exist, however the protection of the tide pools all depends on the enforcement of these laws, and the compliance by the public. When visiting the tide pools, take pictures of the shells, plants, and animals instead of taking them with you. If you handle any animals in the pools, be very careful. Watch where you step when exploring in and around the pool. Make sure to clean up all your trash. The goal is to leave no trace of your visit. We want to preserve these beautiful pools for as long as possible so we can continue to enjoy and learn from them.

Works Cited

Addessi, Loana. "Human Disturbance and Long-Term Changes on a Rocky Intertidal Community." JSTOR. JSTOR, 2004. Web. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1942008>.

"Cabrillo National Monument - Tidepools (U.S. National Park Service)." U.S. National Park Service. 2 Feb. 2009. Web. <http://www.nps.gov/cabr/naturescience/tidepools.htm>.

Faris, Gerald. "Cabrillo Museum Tours Explore Tide Pools' Miniature Worlds. - Los Angeles Times." Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. 06 Jan. 1989. Web. <http://articles.latimes.com/1989-01-06/local/me-178_1_tide-pools>.

"Human Impacts on Rocky Intertidal Shores." OC Marine Protected Areas. 2011. Web. <http://www.ocmarineprotection.org/human_impacts.pdf>.

"TIDE POOLS - Human Impact & Conservation." SeaWorld/Busch Gardens. SeaWorld/Busch Gardens. Web. <http://www.seaworld.org/wild-world/ecosystems/info-books/tide-pools/human-impact.htm>.