Description Of Intertidal Ecosystem

The intertidal zone is a very complex marine ecosystem. This area is where the land meets the sea, it also is the place that has the largest amount of photic exposure, meaning there are many green plants around. This is violent ecosystem for the organisms that reside in this zone due to the crashing of waves and rise and fall of the water. The constant up and down change of water levels leave some areas of the intertidal zone exposed to the air for a prolonged period of time, while others remain underwater. This change in water makes imaginary horizontal layers of which certain species exist. The intertidal ecosystem can be divided into different sub-zones. These zones are called: supralittoral zone/splash,supralittoral fringe/high tide, midlittoral zone/mid tide, infralittoral fringe, and the infralittoral zone/lowest tide. The supralittoral zone is the harshest environment for the organisms who live there, it also has the least amount of water -only receiving the mists form the sea, or water fall from storms. It is crucial that the terrain is whetted by the sea or, greatest environmental danger is having the animals dry out from lack of water. Most organisms that live in the inetertidal zone have adapted ways to conserve water, such as an operculum to seal the shell entrance from water loss. Because of the small amount of water, the most commonly found organisms in the supralittoral zone are mollusks, oysters, and barnacles.