Mr. Rick's Science Pages

Rosario Beach Project

Table of Contents:

  1. Work Expectations (pre-, post-, and during the FT)
  2. Guidelines for Beach Protection
  3. Map of Rosario Beach Park
  4. Data Sheet on Abiotic Factors
  5. Study and Analysis of Beaches Sketches and Descriptions of the North Beach Sketches and Description of the South
  6. Beach Analysis - Compare and Contrast
  7. Study and Analysis of Tide Pools
  8. Intertidal Zones Diagram with Marker Organisms
  9. Rocky Shore Community Diagram
  10. Sketch and Study of a Tide
  11. Pool Other Marine Organisms Observed and Identified
  12. Field Guide to Marine Organisms
  13. Study and Analysis of Headland Vegetation
  14. General Description and Sketches of a Flower
  15. Vocabulary
  16. Extension Activities
  17. Reflective Writing.

WORK EXPECTATIONS - PRE-FIELD TRIP

  1. become familiar with marine organism phyla
  2. complete the tide and sunrise/sunset portion of the data sheet
  3. study and color the field guide packet
  4. study and color the "rocky shore community" diagram
  5. learn how to identify tide zones by completing and coloring the Intertidal Zones diagram
  6. study the map of Rosario Beach
  7. define the vocabulary needed to help you understand and recognize marine organisms
  8. understand how wave refraction works

WORK EXPECTATIONS - DURING THE FIELD TRIP

  1. work by yourself and/or with your group (only two others)
  2. complete the Data Sheet on Abiotic Factors
  3. North and South Beaches. For each beach:
    1. walk the beach from the center of the beach to where it ends at the headland
    2. write a general description of the beach
    3. sketch an aerial view of the beach showing: water/wave patterns and trends, locations of sediments of different sizes, sediment patterns, locations of logs, slope changes, etc.
    4. sketch a side view (cross-section) of the beach showing:water/wave patterns and trends, locations of sediments of different sizes, sediment patterns, locations of logs, slope changes, etc.
  4. Tide pools:
    1. review the guidelines for beach protection and make sure you follow them
    2. walk from the base of the cliff to the water's edge looking for the marker organisms you learned about before the field trip (use the Intertidal Zones diagram to help you)
    3. find a small tide pool to study IN DETAIL; be still, quiet, and observant it takes time to notice all the different organisms in even the smallest tide pool; sketch your tide pool and estimate (using your group's "string meter stick") the length of each "side" of your tide pool; identify the different organisms you see as best as you can; count the number of each organism type; display all this information in a diagram and in words
    4. make notes about the other organisms you noticed but that did not show up on your detailed tide pool study
  5. Headland
    1. walk around the headland on the main trail ONLY, taking great care by the cliff edges
    2. write a general description of the vegetation you see on your walk (notice the many different types of deciduous and coniferous trees, grasses, mosses, lichens, and herbaceous plants)
    3. find and carefully draw one flower (your teacher should be able to identify the flower from the drawing!)
  6. Time for Reflective Writing
    1. find a quiet spot and sit silently and alone for about ten minutes
    2. describe the non-human sights, sounds, and smells you notice

WORK EXPECTATIONS - POST FIELD TRIP

  1. compile and organize the information you learned before and during the field trip
  2. write a compare and contrast essay on the two beaches
  3. create an informative visitor's guide to Rosario Beach using all you learned (more info on this later)
  4. open note questions/exam on the field trip information

MAP OF ROSARIO BEACH PARK

At Rosario Beach, waves refracting around the headland produce shore drift as depicted in the diagram below. The waves lose energy as they are refracted, or bent, around the headland. A weak longshore current (current moving along the shore) is the result of this refraction. The energy of the waves and amount of drift decrease down the beach (toward the headland). Note how the shape of the beaches associated with wave-refracting headlands often approximates that of a log-spiral curve ( ). Rosario is a good example of what is termed a "headland-bay-beach." DATA

SHEET ON ABIOTIC FACTORS

High tides: height: time: height: time: Low tides: height: time: height: time: Sunrise: Sunset: Weather: wind (strength and direction): weather (cloud cover and ppt): air temperature over beach: Water: beach water temperature: tide pool water temperature: water color (clear/cloudy): water surface (calm/ripples/waves/whitecaps): estimated wave height (just prior to breaking): number of waves per minute:

VOCABULARY

(definitions and example organisms)
  1. filter feeder
  2. predator
  3. prey
  4. herbivore
  5. grazer
  6. scavenger
  7. carnivore
  8. plankton
  9. colony
  10. solitary
  11. sessile
  12. mobile
  13. intertidal
  14. bilateral symmetry
  15. radial symmetry
  16. invertebrate
  17. exoskeleton
  18. hermaphrodite
  19. external fertilization
  20. internal fertilization
  21. budding
  22. sexual reproduction
  23. asexual reproduction

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

North Beach Logs near Tide Pool Area

There are several logs on the upper beach near the main tide pool area that have a number of small holes "drilled" into the sides. Draw a 0.5 meter segment of one of the logs and write an explanation for the origin of the holes.

North Beach Cliff near Tide Pool Area

There are unconsolidated sediments at the top of the beach near the main tide pool area that form a 2-3 meter cliff. The sediments were left by glaciers thousands of years ago. We know this because the sediments are poorly sorted. In other words, they are a disorganized mix of rocks and smaller sediments. At the top of the lighter sediment layer is a dark, almost black, layer that constitutes a "midden." A midden is a refuse heap. Who do you think made this midden and what is in it?

South Beach Cliff Erosion

At the pier end of the south beach there are a couple of different types of evidence of erosion. Sketch the portion of the cliff that is eroding and describe the evidence you see.

Headland Erratic

At the far end of the headland, about half way along the path at the point, there is a large boulder in a small grassy field. The rock type does not quite match with the rock making up the rest of the headland. Explain what the rock is and how it got there.

INTERTIDAL ZONES

A profile (side view) of a rocky beach is shown below. Using your knowledge of marker organisms, draw in lines to separate the intertidal zones. Label the zones. Watch out for stray organisms!
ecor_beach_proj_1.htm   |  revised 8/26/2003