Zonation. Definition. noun. (ecology) The categorization of biomes into zones based on their distribution or arrangement in a habitat as determined by environmental factors, e.g. altitude, latitude, temperature, other biotic factors, etc.
What are the main physical characteristics of each intertidal zone?
Characteristics. The defining characteristic of the intertidal zone is that it is submerged with water during high tide and exposed to the air during low tide. The zone can take many forms, from sandy beaches to rocky cliffs.
What are the horizontal zones of the ocean?
The ocean is divided into horizontal zones based on the depth of water beneath: the intertidal, neritic, and oceanic.
What causes primary succession?
Primary succession occurs in essentially lifeless areas—regions in which the soil is incapable of sustaining life as a result of such factors as lava flows, newly formed sand dunes, or rocks left from a retreating glacier.
What animals live in the intertidal zone?
Organisms in this area include anemones, barnacles, chitons, crabs, green algae, isopods, limpets, mussels, sea lettuce, sea palms, sea stars, snails, sponges, and whelks. Low Tide Zone: Also called the Lower Littoral Zone.
Also, what is zonation and succession?
Zonation is the arrangement or patterning of plant communities or ecosystems into brands in response to change, over a distance, in some environmental factor. Zonation is often confused with succession. The difference is succession refers to change over time, and zonation to spatial patterns.
Herein, what is species zonation in a community?
Zonation refers to the patterns that are observed in a community over a distance, based on the distinct fauna and flora found along the area. This results in zonation, since every species is adapted to surviving specific environmental conditions that are not found everywhere.
What is a distribution pattern?
Dispersion or distribution patterns show the spatial relationship between members of a population within a habitat. Individuals of a population can be distributed in one of three basic patterns: uniform, random, or clumped.
Why does zonation occur?
From the high tide line to the subtidal, one feature shared by all shorelines is the phenomenon of grouping or banding of benthic (bottom dwelling) species referred to as zonation. In the lower tide zones biological factors such as predation and competition for space and food determine the community.
What is the meaning of intertidal zone?
The intertidal zone is the area where the ocean meets the land between high and low tides. Intertidal zones exist anywhere the ocean meets the land, from steep, rocky ledges to long, sloping sandy beaches and mudflats that can extend for hundreds of meters.
What is rocky shore zonation?
A rocky shore is an intertidal area of seacoasts where solid rock predominates. Rocky shores are biologically rich environments, and are a useful “natural laboratory” for studying intertidal ecology and other biological processes.
What are the two major types of ecological succession?
There are two main types of succession, primary and secondary. Primary succession is the series of community changes which occur on an entirely new habitat which has never been colonized before. For example, a newly quarried rock face or sand dunes.
Why are vertical climate zones important?
Great variety of climate and vegetation due to several factors: First, Latin America spans a great distance on each side of the equator. Differences in elevation create three vertical climate zones that affect agriculture and settlement, with temperate zone being the most heavily populated.
Why is the intertidal zone important?
The intertidal or littoral zone maintains a balance between the land and the sea. It provides a home to specially adapted marine plants and animals. Those organisms, in turn, serve as food for many other animals. The intertidal zone also staves off erosion caused by storms.
What is zonation in biology?
Zonation. Definition noun (ecology) The categorization of biomes into zones based on their distribution or arrangement in a habitat as determined by environmental factors, e.g. altitude, latitude, temperature, other biotic factors, etc.
What is the process of succession?
Ecological succession is the process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over time. It is a phenomenon or process by which an ecological community undergoes more or less orderly and predictable changes following a disturbance or the initial colonization of a new habitat.
What does altitudinal zonation mean?
Altitudinal zonation (or elevational zonation) in mountainous regions describes the natural layering of ecosystems that occurs at distinct elevations due to varying environmental conditions.
People also ask, what is the definition of vertical zonation?
Zonation can be defined as the distribution of species and communities along environmental gradients. The distribution of organisms along this vertical gradient in a specific spatial sequence is known as littoral zonation.
What are the three main intertidal zones?
Marine biologists divide the intertidal region into three zones (low, middle, and high), based on the overall average exposure of the zone. The low intertidal zone, which borders on the shallow subtidal zone, is only exposed to air at the lowest of low tides and is primarily marine in character.
What is the difference between primary and secondary succession?
Primary succession occurs following an opening of a pristine habitat, for example, a lava flow, an area left from retreated glacier, or abandoned strip mine. In contrast, secondary succession is a response to a disturbance, for example, forest fire, tsunami, flood, or an abandoned field.
What are the two types of intertidal zones?
The intertidal zone can be further divided into three zones: high tide, middle tide, and low tide. The high tide zone is only submerged at high tide and is hotter and drier as a result. The middle tide zone is submerged and exposed for equal amounts of time.