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For my initial observations, I explored a section of intertidal zone (ITZ) on a beach at the north of Vancouver’s West Side. Oysters did not seem to be evenly distributed on the intertidal zone, and at I observed that they were more prevalent near rocks. The ITZ is subject to wave action from tides, weather, and frequent boat activity moving through this busy stretch of water. Rocks are able to act as breakwaters to absorb some of the kinetic energy of the water movement. (Dodaran and Park 2019) Oysters are fairly hardy, but they are still susceptible to the stresses of hydrodynamic force. (Wall et al 2005, Theuerkauf et al 2017) Relevant ecological processes that my study touches on are interactions between abiotic and biotic factors (water movement and oyster resilience) and ecological stressors (tidal action, wave energy).
From this theoretical basis, I hypothesized that oysters in the intertidal zone receive protection from rocks, which interrupt wave action and therefore reduce the force of water movement. To test this hypothesis, I observed oysters in the ITZ at four different sites between Kitsilano and Jericho beaches. For each oyster, I recorded whether it was behind or to the left or right of a rock (within a “shadow” the length of the rock’s height), or if it was not in any rock shadow (either because it was not near a rock or if it was in front of or on the front or top faces of the rock).
Key words: oysters, hydrodynamics, intertidal zones
