UC Santa Barbara

The rocky intertidal zone is a paradigmatic ecosystem found along the coastline where the land meets the sea. It holds a plethora of unique animals that fill various niches, creating an atmosphere of constant interactions among both biotic and abiotic factors. The intertidal sea anemone, Anthopleura sola, (A. sola) is dispersed throughout our coastline, making it a widely abundant animal with — surprisingly — limited research done on the species. Our research proposes to examine the ecology of intraspecific aggression among A. sola and how their behaviors influence biological organization at both the individual and population levels. To further understand how habitat-specific factors influence spatial distribution, we will investigate agonistic behaviors that are likely to occur across two different habitats: cobble and bench. We define a cobble habitat as being of loose cobblestone and a bench habitat as a flat, continuous rock substrate. Previous analysis of these habitats from Coal Oil Point, Santa Barbara County, California, suggests that the spatial distribution is influenced by environmental factors and other population-specific characteristics (e.g. density) which may contextualize behavioral traits. A comparative analysis of agonistic behaviors and dietary components will be conducted to better understand how resource availability influences spatial competition. With this information, our study can provide ways to better mitigate the intertidal ecosystems as we experience an increase in environmental changes.

This poster was presented at UCSB's 2024 undergraduate research symposium for the department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, and received a best poster award.