Southern California beaches offer an incredible opportunity to observe different types of algae, and a great diversity of invertebrate animals as well as some vertebrates. This semester, instead of actually going to the tidepools, and to Cabrillo Marine aquarium, we will use a videos and visual material to explore the rich and interesting life of these creatures.

Your assignment going to be done in two parts and is designed to help you study invertebrate classification, and to identify the characteristics of the each group to the levels of: phylum, sub-phylum (Arthropods only), and classes.

Part 1 – Make a list of all the invertebrates observed and identify them to the levels above, include the characteristics that helped you classify. Use the gallery to find invertebrates and complete the worksheet in the link below it. Do not use other sources to classify, but after you are done, you may check your answer using available on-line resources. The goal is to test yourself to see if you are able to determine the group without externalsupport. This is a good test prep!

S. California Tidepool Organisms Galery (Links to an external site.)

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Tidepools Virtual Visit.docx

Use this guide Southern_California_Tidepool_Organisms_ID_sheet.pdf (Links to an external site.) and all the material that was given to you during the field trip to identify the organisms we saw.

Intertidal Life of Orange County.docx (Links to an external site.)

Tidepool Zones.gif (Links to an external site.)

Part II – Choose 2 invertebrates from two different phyla to research. Read about them and summarize in 1-2 paragraphs (each) the following information:

1. What part of the tide zone they normally occupy?

2. What are the challenges they face in this habitat?

3. What are their special structural, physiological and behavioral adaptations to deal with those challenges?