Blog Post 1#: Second Quarterly Project, The Effect of Tides on Marine Biology

Our project will explore the effect ocean tides have on the organisms that live in it, the marine environment and it’s occupants. The ocean’s tides, as some of us may know, have an effect on us through our interaction with water. Boating and swimming are some of the most known relationships we have with tides. Have you ever seen a sign on a beach warning of rip tides or something similar? These powerful tides are almost unseen but can rip a person from the beach out into deep, open water. But some of you may ask, what really is a tide? A tide is “the alternate rising and falling of the sea, usually twice in each lunar day at a particular place, due to the attraction of the moon and sun.”- quoted from Google. Due to the gravitational pull on the Earth, the oceans around the world rise and fall as the Earth and Moon perform rotations around one another and the Sun. The rising and falling of these tides has a major effect on marine biology. Many organisms have thus evolved to use the rising and falling of tides to their advantage, to the point that if the tides ceased to exist- so would they. For example, in Mangrove forests a type of fish called the Mud-skipper resides. But it’s no ordinary fish for not only can it live in water- but it can also live on land (for a short period of time though). Most fish in inter-tidal environments survive the retreat of the tide by living in tidal pools or hiding under wet vegetation. But Mud-skippers have adapted to the retreat of the tide by evolving into a completely amphibious fish, feeding and interacting even when out of the water.  
Picture of a Mud-skipper: