Question

I'm doing a project on %seaweed coverage in tide pools (based on tide pool height w.r.t. chart datum), There is a negative correlation between the two on running the stat based on data I was provided.
My question is, how does tide pool height wrt chart datum affect their exposure to factors like the sun (consider desiccation), salinity due to rainfall, etc. Any help will be great! I'm on a major time crunch.

Answer 1

Thank you for your question. Although much details have been missing to give an accurate answer, I would try to generalize my answer using the information provided. and knowledge of seaweeds in general.

Salinity: Most seaweeds in general are able to tolerate the wide range between high-salinity ocean water and freshwater rain. Any impact on the corelation wont be significant.

Moisture: Seaweed species inhabiting upper tidal zone may lose 90 % of water. They cope by methods such as stiffening algal cell walls to reducing photosynthesis during dry periods. When the tide returns, these species rehydrate quickly and can do so a couple of times a day.Most marine algae alternate between sexual and asexual generations.

Sunlight: Unlike in a forest, sunlight is of no consequence for seaweed survival in tidal pool as it is abundant except the fact that as mentioned above, sunlight can cause species in upper tidal zone lose 90% of water.

Acidification: Increased CO2 dissolved in seawater and forms an acid that alters the chemical balance of the sea. Seaweeds are dependent on dependent on calcium carbonate, which becomes less available to them as seawater becomes more acidic.

Overall, abiotic factors do not have an as much impact on seaweeds except acidification, which however, based on your location may or may not have an impact.

Hope this helps.