Flow in the Subtidal Zone: How fluid flow might determine organism distribution in microhabitats of the San Juan Channel.

Abstract

My research will seek to look at how fluid flow might determine the distribution of Strongylocentrotus franciscanus, to determine where it can be found in microhabitats of the San Juan Channel based on fluid velocity measurements at several sites. To evaluate relative flow speeds around the San Juan Channel we deployed uniform blocks of alabaster (Muus, 1968; Doty 1971; Eckman et. al., 1989), a soft stone, and measured dissolution rates over the course of a month long tidal cycle