Location: Project Oceanology
The rocky shore is a rugged environment, battered by surf and changing seasons, and exposed to dramatic daily swings in temperature, salinity, pH, and other environmental factors. Students will look at patterns of organism abundance along physical gradients. Surveys can focus broadly on diversity, or on specific organisms with a stronger focus on adaptations and form/function.  The following locally abundant organisms are good candidates: asian shore crabs (Hemigrapsus sanguineus), periwinkle snails (Littorina littorea), rockweed (Fucus