dc.description.abstract | Although tidepools are conspicuous components of rocky intertidal shores, their biotic
communities have not been studied as extensively as those on emergent substrata. We examine
processes regulating the structure of tidepool communities for comparison with emergent substrata.
The physical environment of tidepools is highly regulated by the tidal cycle, although fluctuations
in physical factors are smaller in tidepools, and the organisms remain submerged for the entire
tidal cycle. As a result, the upper limits of the distribution of organisms are extended in
tidepools and some species either tend to aggregate in pools or avoid them. The vertical zonation of
organisms is not as pronounced in tidepools as on emergent substrata. Herbivory has been shown to
influence the distribution and abundance of algal species in tidepools, but the effect of predation
in regulating community structure has been less well documented. The importance of interspecific
competition has been consistently shown in tidepools, particularly among algal species, which
usually are the dominant space occupiers. Although the introduction of most species into tidepools
depends upon recruitment from the surrounding water, the effects of variation in the supply of new
individuals has not been examined. Aspects of the physical regime such as habitat complexity and
wave exposure affect the community structure of tidepools, as they do communities on emergent
substrata. However, the specific characteristics of tidepools such as pool depth, volume,
orientation, shading and flushing rate make individual pools unique, resulting in large spatial
variability in tidepool community structure. For this reason, replication in tidepool studies should
be carefully selected. Because of their variable characteristics, well-defined boundaries and
tidepools of manageable size can serve as experimental mesocosms to test general ecological theories
about community organization. | en_US |