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We left for Odiorne Point with the grade divided between two buses. Once we got to our destination, we tidepooled for around one hour wearing our sacrificial sneakers and water shoes, bringing our most notable findings to the aquarium up in the dry zone. After finding lots of inter-and-subtidal creatures and even exploring the Drowned Forest, we had lunch in the dry zone before leaving in the two buses for Johnson's Dairy Bar, then went back to the Middle High School.
On planet Earth, there are high and low tides. There are two extreme high tides and two extreme low tides each day. The tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon, which creates a bulge of water on opposite sides of the Earth. These bulges oscillate, sort of like a slinky dangling from the ceiling. The earth spins through the bulges daily, thus creating the tidal schedules that we have. If the earth was bigger, there would be more than two high tides per day; it is because of Earth’s size that the tides are the way that they are.
Black Zone:
The black zone, or splash zone, is the highest in elevation of the four intertidal zones, and is directly below the dry zone. Only during high tide or storms is the black zone covered in water. The black zone’s namesake comes from the black cyanobacteria that cover the rocks, causing them to be black.
White Zone:
Directly below the black zone is the white zone. Not only do the rocks of the white zone have cyanobacteria, they are also home to barnacles, giving the zone its name. Along with the barnacles are other creatures that can survive in the intense waves, caused by rising tides, such as hermit crabs and various snails. While the white zone is submerged during high tides, it is dry for most of the day.
Brown Zone:
This zone is where you can find all of the previously mentioned creatures, along with brown seaweeds including knotted wrack and rockweed. Additionally, there are sea urchins and sea stars, which thrive in more water than hermit crabs, for example. This makes sense because water is often moving through this area.
Red Zone:
The last and furthest downward tidal zone is the red zone, a cumulation of all the animals that you can find in the tidal zones, including deep red Irish moss. This plant is often harvested for its thickening agent, carageenan, used in things like toothpaste. The protection of sea water that is almost constantly covering this zone allows for tons of creatures to live here.
While I was at Odiorne, I saw lots of different tidal animals. The first thing I saw was lots of cyanobacteria covering the rocks I was walking over, until I was greeted by masses of knotted wrack and rockweed that made me slip. I started reaching small tide pools in the black and white zones full of various crabs and tons of periwinkles and barnacles. The lowest tidal zone, the red zone, was where we found lots of creatures. I saw hermit crabs, other larger crabs, dog welks, lobsters, baby lobsters, seaweed, sea urchins, Irish moss, mussels, and a Daisy Brittle Star, among others.
Of the intertidal zones at Odiorne Point, the most variety was in the red zone. I think this is because every animal at Odiorne Point could survive with the amount of time this zone is submerged daily. For example, you could find barnacles in the white zone but not in the black zone above it. Barnacles require at least as much water that reaches the white zone to survive, but not less than that. You could only find Irish Moss in the red zone and subtidal zone because it requires at least as much water as reaches the red zone daily, but couldn't survive in the brown zone because it is not submerged enough. Additionally, water provides protection for the animals in it from creatures like seagulls who feed during low tide.
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| This is an image of a limpet, which is a type of snail. Limpets have a brownish shell that protects the smooth and soft snail living inside of it. These animals can be found in pretty much every tidal zone, but become more common closer to sea level. | The above image is of a baby lobster. Often confused for shrimp during our field trip, this animal can be found swimming midway through the water's depth mostly in the red and subtidal zones. |
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| The Drowned Forest, once a normal forest thousands of years ago, is located in the mid-tidal zones of Odiorne State Park. It is made of many submerged tree stumps smoothed over because of the constant water it is underneath. | Barnacles, which make the white zone the white zone, survive by permanantly glueing their heads to rocks, then use their frilly legs to feed while they are underwater. Barnacles are very common in the white zone and lower. |
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| Mussels are a species of bivalve, meaning they have two shells. Mussel shells can be blue, purple, or even silver colored, and they protect the soft living thing inside of them. They attach themselves to rocks using bysall threads, which are stronger than steel. Mussels can be found in water in any intertidal zone, but become very common around the brown zone. | Hermit crab shells can be many different colors, and they protect the small crab inside of them. The actual crab is basically just a mini version of any larger crab you would find, with lots of small legs, one slightly bigger claw, and then one very big claw. Hermit crabs live on rocks in most intertidal zones, especially in small pools around the white and brown zones. |