1. Effects of Waves on Tide Pool
Biodiversity
By Emily McDowell, Maile Prickett, Amy Barnes, Carolyn
Ezell

2. Question: Is the Biodiversity in a tide pool
ecosystem affected by high energy wave
systems?
Hypothesis: There will be greater diversity in
tide pools that are sheltered.

3. Location

5. We went here:
X
X
Point
Pinos
Site
A
Site
B

6. The Waves
North
Pacific
Swell
Southern Swell

7. Project Details
• Analyzed data.
• Found tide pool sites similar in size and
elevation.
• Used half of a quadrat to count number of
species in each pool.

8. Tools
• Measuring
Tape
• Compass
• Quadrat
• Kneel pads
• The internet

9. Site A

10. Site B

11. Results
More diversity was found at Site A
Relative Density
Biodiversity Index
Scores
Site
A
Site
B
Striped Shore
Crabs
Black Turban Snails
Thatched Barnacles
Rough Limpets
Hermit Crabs
California Mussels
Green Anemone

12. What does it mean??
Possible reasons exposed side is
preferred…
• Predation
• Nutrient flow

13. Conclusions
Possible errors:
• Difficulty in identifying
areas of impact
• Identifying most
representative sample
Hypothesis was disproved!
The wave watcher. Safety first!

14. Future Projects
• Survey the area ahead of time
• Take physical measurements
• Research the various organisms

15. References
• Dr. Raskoff
• Dr. Durstenfeld
• Sanctuarysimon.org
• Mikey Selbicky (local
wave enthusiast)