Long Day

I went for a walk with a friend this afternoon along a beach and captured a photo of this tide pool. I found the mixture of different textures very intriguing, especially the rippled pattern of the sand.

It was a long day. Due to traffic congestion, I ended up being 30 minutes late for a lunch with friends. Horrible; I hate being late for anything. The walk after lunch was enjoyable; my friend and I talked a lot and spent some much-needed (at least on my part) time under the sun, but now, I am completely exhausted... I don't understand why, though, it was just walking @-@ (And for some reason, my left eyelid has been twitching sporadically since yesterday. Annoying...)

Warning: Science Ahead


Tide pools are actually one of the harshest habitats to reside in because conditions (e.g. temperature, moisture, food availability, etc.) are never stable. Motile (mobile) organisms can move to avoid harsh conditions, but sessile (immobile) organisms must be able to tolerate dryness, scorching temperatures, and wave action until they are submerged by rising tides again. For these organisms, every day is a long day, haha... However, because there are so many disturbances, the chances of one dominant species taking over the habitat are smaller. Therefore, tide pools also often show high diversity.

If you look at the expanse of an entire beach (intertidal zone), sometimes you can see distinct bands of different organisms. For any given band, the borders delineate the limits of where the organisms can reside safely, determined by abiotic (e.g. temperature) and biotic (e.g. predation) factors.

I loved learning about ecosystem dynamics - how different organisms within an ecosystem interact with each other, and how ecosystems shift in response to disturbances. Many ecosystems have what is known as a "keystone species". They are vital to the balance of the ecosystem, and if the abundance of the species shifts too dramatically (either up or down), consequences cascade throughout the entire ecosystem.

Stopping now, before I turn this post into a paper (believe me, there is a lot more I can say about this topic) XD