Anexperimenttoseewhetherlimpetsaremoreabundantonseafacingorlandfacingrocks

Researchandrationale
Aim:Todeterminewhetherlimpetheightisaffectedbywhethertheyaresituatedonlandfacingorseafacingrocks
Hypothesis:therewillbesignificantdifferencebetweenlimpetheightonseafacingandlandfacingrocks.
NullHypothesis:therewillbenosignificantdifferencebetweenlimpetheightonseafacingandlandfacingrocks
Thepatellavulgata,morecommonlyknownasthecommonlimpetisamarineorganismthatispartoftheMollusca
phylumandthepatellagenus1.Itisfoundinthelowerandmiddleeullitoralzoneontheshore,howevergenerallythey
aremoreevidentinareaswithlargeamountsofalgaeasthisiswhattheorganismfeedson.Thelimpetfeedsby
movingalongthesurfaceoftherockandusesitsradulatoscrapeoffthealgae 2.Furthermore,throughoutthefirstyear
ofthelimpetslifetheyareallneuter,howeverafteryear1roughly34%becomefemalesandtherestbecomemales 2.
Ichosetostudylimpetsduethembeingextremelyabundantonexposedrockyshoresandthereforeitwouldhave
beenabletocollectasufficientamountofdataeasily.Beingabletocollectalotofdataisimportantasthemoreyou
havethemorereliableandrepresentativethedatayoucollectis.Anotherreasonwasduetotheirecological
importancewithintheirhabitat.Limpetsplayavitalroleinstoppinglargeseaweedssuchasbladderwrackbeingable
toestablishthemwithinthehabitat3.Thisisbecauselimpetsfeedonmicroscopicalgae;thereforemeaningitisunable
togrowintothelargerseaweeds3.ThelimpetisknownasaKeystoneSpeciesduetoithaveasignificantrolewithin
thecommunity.Limpetshelppromotethegrowthofbarnaclesasbyremovingalgaetheyconsequentlycreatemore
roomforthebarnaclestogrownon3.
WhydidIreachmyhypothesis?
Thelimpetiscomprisedofahardoutershellandasoftfleshybodyontheinside.Atthebottomofthebodythereisa
large'foot'whichcontractstokeepthelimpetattachedtotherock 4.Thecontractionofthefootcausestheshellto
clampdownbringingthelowerrimoftheshellandtheteethintodirectcontactwiththerockssurface 4.Researchfrom
theUniversityofPortsmouth4hasevensaidthesetinyteeththeyuseto'lock'ontotherockmaywellbethestrongest
naturallyoccurringmaterialintheworld,whichindicatesjusthowdifficulttheyaretoremovewhenintheirhome
scars.Thisisimportantfortworeasons;firstlyispreventsdesiccation(dryingoutofthelimpet)duringlowtideand
secondlyitpreventsthelimpetbeingdislodgedduringharshertidalconditions 4.Furthermore,asthelimpetsettle
downtheyrotatetheirshellresultinginthelimpetgrindingintotherockcausinga'homescar'toform.Thelimpet
alwaysreturnstoitshomescarafteritfeedsduringhightide 4.
Ingenerallimpetswhichareexposedtomorewaveaction(seafacing)willhavegreatershellheight 5.Thisisbecause
its'footmuscle'iscontractedmoreoftenwhichresultsinadomedshellforming,whereasmorerelaxedlimpetshave
aflattershell.Itisnecessaryforitsfoottobecontractedmoreoftenaswithoutthisthelimpetwouldbeeasily
dislodgedduringperiodsofhighwaveandseaaction5.
Howdoesmyinvestigationrelatetotheouterworld?
Duetotheimportanceoflimpetsitisimportanttomaintaintheirpopulations.WithGlobalWarmingnowadaysbeing
ahugeissue,undoubtedlyorganismswillbeunderthreatduetothechangingconditionsalongthecoast.Limpets
usuallyreleasetheirgametesintotheseawhenseatemperaturesdropbelow11degreesCelsius 2andthereforeGlobal
warmingcouldleadtothistimeofyearchanging.Furthermore,NASAhaspredictedthatincreasingseatemperature
willalsoleadtostormfrequencyandintensity6.Thisagaincouldhaveadramaticeffectonthelimpetastheyusually
releasetheirspawninOctoberduetorougherweatherstartingtooccuratthistime,alongwiththetemperature
generallydroppingbelow11degrees.Thiscouldagainleadtothelimpetsreleasingtheirspawnatadifferenttimeas
increasingseatemperaturecausingthesestormstooccurearlier,whichcouldconsequentlyhaveanaffectlimpet
height.
Duetothelimpetsessentialpositionwithinitsecosystem,Iwillaimtoseehowrockaspectaffectslimpetheight.By
knowinghowtheenvironmentaffectslimpetheightandpopulation,whichwillgainmoreofanunderstandingonthe

speciesthusallowingustoactquicklytostopthespeciesbeingtoogreatlyaffectedbythechangingenvironmental
conditions.

PilotStudies
BeforeIcarriedoutmymaininvestigationtherewerecertainaspectsofmymethodthatIwasunsureaboutand
thereforebeforeIstartedtocarryitout,Ifeltitwasnecessarytocomplete2pilotstudiesinordertomakesuremy
methodwassuitableforachievingaccurateresultsinasafemanner.
PilotInvestigation1:
Firstly,Iwasuncertainwithwhatheightabovesealevelwastheoptimalinordertobeabletogatherasufficient
amountofdatainordertomakemyresultsasrepresentativeaspossible.ThereforeinordertodeterminethisheightI
completedthefollowingexperiment:
1)Setupaverticalsamplinglinefromsealeveltotheupperzoneofthen
shore.
2)Fromsealevel,usinga0.6mcrossstaff,gouptheshorein0.6mvertical
increasesandateachpointmarkthelocationusingchalk(seeFig1.1).
3)Afteryouhavereachedtheuppershore,gobacktoeachmarkandplacea
0.5mquadratoveritmakingsurethemarkisinthenmiddleofthenquadrat.
4)Thencountthennumberoflimpetsyouseewithinthequadrat.
5)Repeatuntilyoureachtheuppershore.

Results
HeightaboveSealevel
(m)
3

Numberoflimpetspresent

3.6

29

4.2

43

4.8

30

5.4

17

23
Figure 1.1- showing how I used the
cross staf

FrommyresultsIsawthat4.2metresabovesealevelseemedtobethebestheighttomeasurethelimpets,asthey
weremoreabundantthere.Thisinformedmethat4.2metresabovesealevelwouldbetheoptimumheightformeto
collectasufficientamountofdatainordertomakeitrepresentative.
PilotInvestigation2:
AnotheraspectofmymethodIwasunsureofwasthesamplingtechniqueIwasgoingtousewhenchoosingwhich
limpettomeasurealongmysamplingline.Iconductedaminiinvestigationtoseewhetheraquadratwouldbemore
suitablethansimplymeasuringtheclosestlimpettoeachinterval.

1)Locatearockatanyheightandfacingeithertheseaorthelandandsetupa4mtransectusingatape
measurealongthetopofit.
2)Every40cmlocatetheclosestlimpettotheintervalandmeasureitsheightusingacalliper.
Continuealonginregularintervalinasystematicmanner.
OR

Every50cmplacethe0.5mquadratdownandmeasuretheheightofeverylimpetusingthecalliperswithin
the
Distancealongtransect(cm)
LimpetHeight(mm)
Middle
40
11.2
Square
80
6
ofthe
120
15.3
quadrat.
160
9.5
200
7.4
240
7.5
280
7.9
320
Quadrat
AverageHeightoflimpetinmiddlesquare(mm)6.3
360
9.5
1
7.9
Results:
400
6.3
2

7.6

6.7

6.6

Selectinglimpetclosestto
intervalmethod

Quadratmethod

Althoughbothofthesemethodsmademeobtainconsistentandvaliddata,afterthetrialmethodIdecidedtousethe
selectingmethodduetoitbeingmorepracticalandhavinglesssubjectivity.Forexample,oncertainpartsoftherocks
itwasunabletoplacethenquadratcompletelyflatandthereforeoftenitwashardtoknowwhichlimpetsfellwithin
theMiddleSquareofthequadrat.Furthermore,itwascommonforsomelimpetstofallontheboundaryofthemiddle
squareandthereforeagainitwassubjectivetodecidewhichonescountandwhichonesdonot.
Modifications
Intervalspacing
FrommypilotstudyIdecidedtousesmallerintervalsalongmysamplingline,aswhenIused40cmintervalsIfelt
thendataIwouldhavecollectedwouldn'thavebeenrepresentativeastherecouldhavebeenmajoranomalies

withineachinterval.FromthisIdecidedtouse10cmintervalssothatfirstlyIcouldcollectasufficientamountof
dataandalsosothatitwasrepresentative.

Whichlimpetsnottochoose
FrombothmethodsIrealisedthatitiscommonforlimpetstobesituatedin
crevasses(seeFig1.2).FromthisIrealisedthatinmymaininvestigationI
mustdiscardtheselimpetsandnotmeasurethemeveniftheywereclosestto
thenintervals,astheywouldhavehadadifferentaspecttowhatIwantedto
investigate.Forexampleoftenthenlimpetswouldbefoundonthenwallof
thencrevassesanthereforewereneitherseafacingorlandfacing.

Choosinglimpetsclosesttointervalinsteadofquadrat

Fig 1.2

Ichosethechoosingmethodinsteadofusingaquadratdueto3mainreasons.
Thesewere:

1. Therewastoomuchsubjectivityassometimesthenquadratcouldnotbelaidflatanthereforeitwasdifficultto
knowwhetherornotthenlimpetfellbetweenthemiddlesquare.
2. Quadratoftensliddownrockandthereforeitwashardtomeasureallthelimpetsinonego.
3. Sometimeslimpetswerehalfinthemiddlesquareandconsequentlytherewassubjectivityoverwhichlimpets
tomeasure(seeFig1.3).

Fig 1.3
RiskAssessment
Therockyshoreisundoubtedlyanarea,whichdoeshavesafetyrisks.Theseriskscanbeavoidedorminimisedifthe
appropriateactionsaretaken.
Risk

Actionstakentominimiseoravoidrisk

Drowning

Checktidetimesbeforegoingintothefieldsoyouknow
howtheyaregoingtoprogress.Alsokeepcheckingto
seehowtheseaisbehaving.
Followtheroutethattheguidetakes,andalsowear
sturdybootswithahardsole.
Checkwhattheweatherispredictedtobelikeanddress
accordingly.Wearwaterproofjacketsandtrousersifitis
predictedtorain.
Followtheguideatalltimesandmakesureyoucansee
him/her.
Whererubbergloveswhenhandlingthem.

Tripping
Hypothermia
Gettinglost
Cuttinghandsonlimpets

Riskrating
Yougeneratetheriskratingbymultiplyingtheworstcaseoutcomescorebytheprobabilityscore.Ifthevalue
generateisgreaterthan12thenthefieldworkshouldnotbeconducted.AsyoucanseewithmyRiskAssessmenttable
thehighestscoreisjust6,andthereforeIconcludedthatmyinvestigationwassafetocarryout.

Mainmethod

GotoAnglepointexposed(gridreference:51.687758,5.110952).
Choosetworocks,oneseafacingandonelandfacing.Itispivotal
thattheseafacingrockisdirectlyinfrontoftheseaandisnot
obstructedbyanotherrock,asifthiswerethecasethenyouwould
beinvestigatingthehypothesis.
Nextusingacrossstaffandknowntideheightslocatethepointon
therockwhichis4.2metresabovesealevel (itiscriticalto
remembertheheightthesealevelwasalreadyatasitcanneverbe
0m).
Whenyouhavefoundthisheightmarkitwithchalkandplacetape
measurealongthefaceoftherock.
Setupa4.5msamplingline.Itdoesn'tmatteronwhichpartofthe
rockaslongastheheightremainsconstantat4.5m
Fig 1.4
Nextworkalongthesamplinglineinintervalsof10cm.
Ateachintervalyoushouldmeasuretheheightofthelimpetusingcallipers
(SeeFig1.4).
Wherethereisdoubtohwhichlimpetisclosertotheintervalitmaybenecessarytousea30cmrulerto
accuratelydeterminewhichlimpetyoushouldmeasure.
Furthermorediscardlimpetsincrevassesforreasonsstatedabove.
Youshouldcollectenoughdatasothatyouhaveastablerunningmean( i.e.eachmeaniswithin2.5%ofthe
meancollected5samplesago,oncethishasoccurredyoushoulddoublethenumberofsamplesyouhave
collected).
Completethisprocessonboththeseafacingandlandfacingrock.

StatisticalTest

ThemostsuitableStatisticalTestformetouseonmydatawasaZTest.Thistestisusedwhenyouwishtotestfora
statisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenthe
LandFacingrockAverage
SeaFacingrockAverage
meansofdatatakenfromdifferentareas.Ihad
Height(mm)
Height(mm)
touseaZtestinsteadofaTtestbecausemy
samplesizewasgreaterthan30.WithmyZ
valueobtained,Icancompareittothecritical
4.76
8.4
valuetoseeifthereisanystatisticaldifference
betweenmyresults.IfthereisthenIcanaccept
thehypothesisandrejectthenullhypothesis.
Workingsout:

AnalysisandConclusion
Results

Temperature
WindSpeed
LightIntensity
Humidity
Graph
Seeattached.
Conclusion

Landfacingrock

Seafacingrock

14.4
1.4
1974
97

14.4
2.4
1974
97

AsyoucanseefromlookingatmyZtestworkingsout,myresultsgeneratedaZvalueof8.84.Straightawaythis
highfiguresuggestedthattherewasasignificantdifferencebetweenthetwosetsofdata,howevertobecompletely
certainitwasthennecessarytocomparethisvaluetotherelevantcriticalvalue.TofindoutthecriticalvalueinaZ
testyouneedtoworkoutthedegreesoffreedom(totalnumberofdata2).Thereforeformyinvestigationthisvalueis
88,andthecorrespondingcriticalvaluewas2.000atp=0.05.SincetheZvaluewasgreaterthanthecriticalvalue,we
canrejectthenullhypothesisandacceptourhypothesisthatthereisastatisticallysignificantdifferencebetween
limpetheightonseafacingandlandfacingrocks.Furthermoreasthevaluewasgreateratp=0.05itmeansthatwe
canbe95%certainthattheresultsdidnotoccurduetochance.
Fromlookingatmyresultstableandmygraphthereweresomeclearobservationstobemade.Justbylookingatthe
tableofaveragesyoucanseethatlimpetsonseafacingrockshaveamuchlargerheightthanlimpetsonlandfacing
rocks.Thereforewecanconcludethattheindependentvariable(rockaspect)doeshaveanaffectonourdependant
variable(limpetheight).
Theseconclusionscanbeexplainednotonlybytheincreasetowaveexposurebutotherfactorstoo.Asstatedinthe
researchandrationale,Ipredictedthatlimpetsonseafacingrockswouldhavealargerheightthanthoseonland
facingrocks.Thiswasbecausegenerallyseafacingrocksareexposedtoharshertidalconditions,thusmeaningthe
probabilityofthembecomingdislodgedduringtheseharshconditionsisincreased.Inordertocombatthisriskthe
limpetconsequentlywillcontractitsfootmusclemorefrequently,whichinturnleadstoadomedshellforming
ratherthanaflattershell.Anotherexplanation,whichcanbeusedtoexplainmyconclusion,isthemigratorypatterns
oflimpets.Largerlimpettendtomigratefurtheruptheshoreinordertoreducecompetition,asoftentheyounger
limpetsstayinareaswhichareimmersedforlongerperiodsoftime(lowershore) 7.WhenIconductedthis
investigationitwasobvioustomethat,althoughonbothrocksmysamplinglinewasatthesameheight,therewas
stillsubstantiallymorelimpetsonthelandfacingrockthantheseafacingrock.Duetoonlythestrongestlimpets
beingabletosurviveonseafacingrocksthereissubstantiallylesscompetition,aslimpetabundanceisfarfewerhere.
Consequentlyduetothebiggerlimpetbeingsabletosurviveontheserocks,iftheycan,theywillrelocatetherein
ordertoseeoffcompetition.Thistheoryofthelimpetsmigratingelsewherehoweverisdisputed,asitconflictswith
anotherknownaspectoflimpetbehaviour,ofthemreturningtotheirhomescarsafterfeeding.Anexperiment
conductedonlimpethomingshowedthatitis95%successful 7,whichthereforecontradictstheideaoflimpet
migratingintospace.However,onepossibleexplanationforhomingtobethenormupuntilacertaintime,isthatas
thelimpetgrowsinitshomescaruntilitbecomestoosmallandtherenotbeingenoughroomforittoexpand,
meaningthelimpetneedstorelocateinordertofindasuitablelocationtoformanewone.
Discussion
OnceIhadgatheredenoughdatatoproduceastablerunningmean,thefirstthingIcheckedforwasanomalies.
Althoughatfirstglanceitmayseemasiftherewerevariousanomalies(14.4mmheight30cmalongseafacingrock),
actuallyafterdoingsomeresearchIfoundthatlimpetscangrowfromanywherebetween2mmto25mminheight
dependingonexternalconditions.Therecouldbeanumberofreasonswhyresultshavearisenwhichdidntfitthe
generaltrend.Firstly,thereisapossibilitythatsomeofthelimpetsImeasuredwerenotactuallythepatellavulgata
butthatofadifferentspecies.Thiscouldsuggestareasonwhytheoccasionallimpetmeasuredwasabnormallylarge.
Inthefielditwastoodifficulttodistinguishthedifferentlimpets,asitisnearimpossibletodosowithoutlooking
insidetheshell.However,removingthelimpetfromtheirsubstrateinunethicalasbydoingsothereisahigh
possibilitythatthelimpetwouldbekilled,furthermore,sometimesevenexpertsfinddistinguishingthedifferent
speciesverydifficultasthedifferencesareminimal.ThisisthereasonthereforewhythroughoutmyinvestigationI
havenotbeenspecifictowhichtypeoflimpetIwasmeasuring.Furthermore,anotherimprovementIcouldhavemade
tomyinvestigationwouldhavebeentocontroltheageoflimpetIwasmeasuring.Although,Itriedtolimittheeffect
oftheageofthelimpetsontheiragebymeasuringatconstantheightonbothrocks,itisstillapossibilitythatinfact
someofthelimpetsthatImeasuredwerestilljuvenile.Thiswouldhavehadadirecteffectonmyresultsasitwould
beexpectedthattheyoungerlimpetswouldbesmallerinheightduetothemhavinghadlesstimetogrow.
AnotherissueIhadwhichcouldhaveaffectedtheaccuracyofmyresultsandthereforetheirreliabilitywasthaton
bothrocksthelimpetsformtheirhomescarsbyabrasion.Thusmeaningthelimpetshellwasslightlyindentedintothe
rock.Thismademeasuringtheexactheightofthelimpetshellverydifficultasitwashardtogetthebottomofthe
calliperintothesehomescars.Wecouldthereforeexpectthelimpetsheighttobeacouplemoremmhigherifwe
weretoincludethepartoftheirshellwhichwasactuallyintheirhomescar.OnelastdifficultyIhadwithmeasuring
theirheightwasthatduetothenatureoftheexposedshoreoftenitwashardtoaccuratelyrecordtheirheightsusing

thecallipersandthereforetherecouldhavebeensomeinaccuraciesduetohumanerror.OnewayIcouldimprovethis
investigationinthefuturewouldbebyusingdigitalcallipers.
AlthoughmyresultsshowedastatisticaldifferencebetweenlimpetheightonseafacingandlandfacingrockswhichI
believedwasdowntothelimpetstherebeingexposedtomoreseaaction,thereisapossibilitythatothervariables
involvedcouldhavehadanimpactto.WheninthefieldImeasuredothervariablessothatwhenanalysingmyresults
Icouldusetheotherdatacollectedinordertoexplainmyfindings.Theonlyvariablewhichseemedtobe
significantlydifferentbetweenthetworockswaswindspeed(2.4m/sonseafacingand1.4m/sonlandfacing).As
thesevariablewerentkeptconstantthereisapossibilitythatwindspeedhasaprofoundeffectonlimpetshellheight.
Thereasonforthiscouldbebecauseasthelimpetsareexposedtostrongerwindstheyhavetokeeptheirmust
musclecontractedmoreofteninordertoavoiddesiccation.Similarlytowaveexposure,theincreaseintimethatthey
havetheirfootmusclecontractedwillresultsinamoreconicalshellforming,thusincreasingthelimpetsshellheight.
ThereforealthoughIbelievewaveexposurehasthegreatesteffectonlimpetshellheightIcannotbecertainthatitis
theonlyconditionwhichhasanimpactaswindspeedwasnotconstantbetweenthetworocks.

Bibliography
1.
http://www.marlin.ac.uk/biotic/browse.php?sp=4220
2.
http://www.theseashore.org.uk/theseashore/SpeciesPages/Limpets.

jpg.html
3.
http://www.asnailsodyssey.com/LEARNABOUT/LIMPET/limpComp.php
4.
http://britishseafishing.co.uk/limpets/
5.
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/236946487_Body
size_variation_exhibited_by_an_intertidal_limpet_Influence_of_wave_exposure_tidal_height_
and_migratory_behavior
6.
http://climate.nasa.gov/effects/
7.
http://naturcymru.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/countingandmeasuringlimpetsin.html

Distance along
sampling line

Land facing rock (mm)

Running mean

Sea facing rock (mm)

Running mean

2.40

2.40

5.00

5.00

10

4.60

3.50

5.10

5.05

20

4.50

3.83

4.70

4.93

30

7.60

4.78

14.40

7.30

40

6.10

5.04

4.00

6.64

50

6.20

5.23

5.40

6.43

60

5.90

5.33

11.00

7.09

70

4.60

5.24

9.00

7.33

80

4.80

5.19

4.90

7.06

90

6.00

5.27

5.00

6.85

100

4.40

5.19

9.20

7.06

110

4.00

5.09

12.00

7.48

120

5.60

5.13

11.40

7.78

130

2.90

4.97

9.00

7.86

140

5.20

4.99

5.60

7.71

150

4.40

4.95

10.00

7.86

160

5.20

4.96

6.00

7.75

170

5.00

4.97

7.70

7.74

180

5.50

4.99

8.00

7.76

190

4.20

4.96

9.20

7.83

200

3.30

4.88

6.70

7.78

210

3.60

4.82

12.70

8.00

220

5.30

4.84

8.00

8.00

230

3.00

4.76

10.70

8.11

240

6.10

4.82

10.40

8.20

250

4.90

4.82

7.30

8.17

260

4.20

4.80

11.40

8.29

270

3.70

4.76

8.30

8.29

280

4.00

4.73

7.90

8.28

290

4.20

4.71

11.10

8.37

300

6.00

4.75

6.90

8.32

310

5.30

4.77

9.30

8.35

320

3.90

4.75

11.70

8.45

330

4.20

4.73

7.80

8.44

340

4.10

4.71

6.40

8.38

350

4.80

4.71

8.90

8.39

360

4.50

4.71

6.50

8.34

370

5.10

4.72

9.50

8.37

380

6.00

4.75

7.00

8.34

390

5.20

4.76

8.30

8.34

400

4.10

4.75

11.10

8.40

410

5.50

4.76

8.70

8.41

420

4.90

4.77

7.90

8.40

430

4.60

4.76

8.10

8.39

440

4.30

4.75

6.90

8.36

450

5.10

4.76

10.10

8.40

Averages

4.76

8.40