i3zacharycoo's Journal

Adaption is utterly important for organisms to survive in an environment. The three types of adaptation are adaptations to accommodate to the environment, adaptations to secure food and avoid being eaten, and adaptations to ensure successful reproduction. One example of an organism in the Matanzas River to Sea Preserve is the Blue Crab.
The Blue Crab adapts to accommodate to the environment by digging in the sand. By doing this, the Crab is changing the environment so that it has shelter. Without this, the Blue Crab would not be protected from things such as weather and predators.
The way the Blue Crab uses the second type of adaptation is extremely advanced. To secure food, the Blue Crab stores water inside of its body so that it can travel on land for longer periods of time. Without this, the Blue Crab could not search for food on land and would most likely starve.
The final type of adaptation is ensuring successful reproduction. The Blue Crab uses its pincers to attract mates. By clicking them, other crabs know this as a sign of reproduction. Without this, the Blue crab would not reproduce.

Symbiosis is defined as the interaction between two different organisms and how they physically affect each other. The three types of Symbiosis are Mutualism, Parasitism, and Commensalism. Mutualism is where the two organisms are benefited from the relationship. An example of Mutualism is The Honey Bee and the flower. When a Bee pollinates a flower, it transfers the pollen from another flower into the current flower. Pollination allows for the formation of seeds, which lets more flowers grow. The Bee benefits because the pollen received can be used as food, and give nutrition to the bees. The next type of Symbiosis is Parasitism. This symbiotic relationship is when one organism is benefited while the other is harmed. An example of Parasitism is the Tapeworm and whatever its host may be. The Tapeworm lives in the intestines of other organisms and feeds off of whatever food may travel through there. This gives the Tapeworm nutrients. However, the host is harmed because the Tapeworm steals the food, disallowing nutrients to the host. The final type of Symbiosis is Commensalism. Commensalism is where one organism is benefited and the other is unaffected. An example of Commensalism is when Atlantic Puffins use empty rabbit holes as shelter. Rabbits create burrows and eventually abandon them. The Puffins then use these empty holes as shelter from weather and predators. The Puffins are benefited and the Rabbits are unaffected.

There are two main components that have an effect on an ecosystem. These influences are abiotic and biotic factors. A biotic factor is a living organism that affects other living organisms. These include but are not limited to fish, mammals, and insects. Two examples of biotic factors present in the River to Sea Preserve are the Cannonball Jellyfish and the Horseshoe Crab.

Both the Cannonball Jellyfish and the Horseshoe Crab are affected by abiotic factors. An abiotic factor is a non-living chemical or physical part of an environment that affect the living organisms and the functioning of the ecosystem. The Cannonball Jellyfish is affected by water. Water is a simple abiotic factor but absolutely imperative to the survival of this species. Water serves as the Jellyfish' home, feeding grounds, and mating grounds. This relates to the River to Sea preserve because this preserve has a severely large abundance of water. The Horseshoe crab is affected by sand. Sand is also a quite simple factor but still very important to the Horseshoe Crab's survival. The crab burrows into the sand, using it for different purposes such as, shelter. It also digs into the sand to wait for prey, since it is not easily spotted. This is relevant to the River to Sea Preserve because the preserve also has a large abundance in sand in both the river and sea side.