Abiotic Factors in Coral Reefs

Identification and Explanation of Trend between Abiotic Factors

Abiotic factors are the non-living elements of an ecosystem. Abiotic factors that are present in Long Reef Rock Platform are sunlight, salinity, and water. These factors affect the temperature and the water depth.

Abiotic factors not only affect the dispersion and abundance of biotic factors, but they also influence other abiotic factors such as temperature, water depth, and salinity. There is a constant trend between the interaction of abiotic and biotic factors, both of which will be discussed.

One trend that was constant was the inverse relationship between temperature and depth. From the data gathered on the abiotic factors, the temperature decreased as depth increased. This is because it is harder for sunlight to reach deeper, more obstructed areas. This is also because cold water has a higher density, making it sink to the bottom. For example, on high dry rock (0m), there is hardly any water, which is why the temperature is the highest and the depth is the least.

Additionally, another trend observed was the increase in salinity as depth and distance increased. Salinity increased as depth increased because the density of the water increased. Temperature, as explained above, is one of the factors that affect the density of water. The other factor is salinity, which explains why salinity increased as depth increased. The simultaneous increase of salinity and distance is because there is more water further out to sea.

Distribution of Two Organisms

The distribution of organisms in certain environments is affected greatly by the abiotic factors in that environment. As abiotic factors fluctuate, organisms must adapt to their changing surroundings.

One such organism is the ‘Little Blue Periwinkle’, or ‘Nodilittorina unifasciata’. They are small snails and are typically found near the high-tide mark and intertidal rock pools. They live off algae and lichens in an approximately 12m radius when submerged. Little Blue Periwinkles live in clusters in order to prevent moisture loss. This is the reason why a single transect contained an abundance of Periwinkles. Their shells are thick and assist with trapping moisture. Little Blue Periwinkles are also able to be found slightly further away from the dry rock, however, there is a significant decrease in distribution. This is most likely because of the abundance of other organisms, leading to more competition for food.

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Periwinkles are susceptible to many types of exposure because they mainly live on a high-dry rock. In order to prevent indecent exposure, they use various methods in order to keep safe. One such adaptation is they seek out rock crevices in rocks in order to diminish the drying effect of wind during gusty stages. They can also angle their shells in certain ways in order to reduce the amount of surface area exposed to the sun.

The ‘Striped-Mouth Conniwinks’, or ‘Bembicium name, is a relative of the Little Blue Periwinkle and its main competitor for food. They are found mainly at mid to high tide on exposed rocks, evident from the data gathered during the transect investigation. The distances that had an abundance in Conniwinks, 5m, and 10m, were submerged areas.

The Conniwink is cone-shaped and has a hard shell that appears worn. The shells trap moisture, much like Periwinkle shells. Conniwinks feed on the same food as Periwinkles: algae. This leads to heavy competition with Periwinkles over food in places where both species reside. Evidently, Conniwinks ended as the victors, leading to a decrease in Periwinkle distribution in partially submerged areas as shown in the transect investigation table.

Conniwinks are somewhat affected by the changing of abiotic factors. Because they naturally inhabit submerged areas, the rising of sea levels would not affect Conniwinks extensively. However, as sea levels rise, sea creatures that live in deeper areas would start to move toward the upper ground. They could serve as potential rivals for Conniwinks, and, with the additional competition, Conniwink numbers could start to decrease dramatically.

Description of a Direct Human Activity

School excursions are a mandatory part of school curriculums; however, they affect visited areas a fair bit. Field trips to ecosystems, in particular, impact the environment. Excursions to rock platforms typically involve fieldwork and walking around studying different plant and animal species. This leads to the trampling of sea plants, e.g. coral, algae, and sometimes, small sea creatures. The constant cracking of Periwinkle shells underfoot is never a pleasant sound to hear. Fieldwork also requires the handling of sea creatures, which can sometimes be consequential for sea creatures. On more than one occasion, a student has picked up a creature and not returned it to their original spot. Handling organisms also involves touching them, handing them around, and, occasionally, dropping them. More often than once, students, disgusted by the appearance of a creature, will scream and drop an organism when it is given to them. This is very harmful to the organism as it can be injured in the process. Additionally, in the past when cunjevois were present at the rock platform, students and teachers alike would happily squeeze cunjevois in order to witness the spray of water that came from the top of it. Although cunjevois are sea sponges, it is still rather harmful to them to be handled in such a way.

In order to minimize the impact we have on the rock platform and species when schools go on excursions, there are several strategies that could be undertaken.

One suggestion is to limit the areas in which students are allowed to go in order to prevent more trampling than necessary. Although it may be argued that restricting the space could mean fewer species studied, however, if a suitable environment where there is a large variety of species, would result in less damage to the rock platform and its inhabitants as a whole.

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