Introduction: The ecological niche of the shrimp Palaemon Affinis
The Palaemon has the following taxonomic position
The Palaemon Affinis (Affinis) is a very common almost transparent shrimp that is found all over New Zealand. The transparency is a brilliant approach that is, in view the ultimate camouflage. Instead of colouring itself like its environment it is see-through. From personal experience they are very hard to spot when stationary. According to Kirkpatrick a small Affinis is 7-12mm a medium is 13-17mm while a large Affinis is 18-26mm. The Affinis is able to swim back and forth with its abdominal limbs and in quick bursts backwards with strokes of its curved tail. The quick swing of its tail is an ability that allows it to quickly retreat into a less exposed crevice. When not threatened it attempts a half walk half swim I would call a swalk thus
Currently there is a lot of worry over Global Warming. The media claims the average world temperature is rising year after year. This increase could have a massive effect on the Affinis. When not directly in the suns rays the shrimp will become the same temperature as its environment. This means it will have to adapt to not only the actual temperature but the environmental extremes mentioned above. One aspect of this would be the decrease in oxygen. I believe this would mean respiration rates would have to increase and stresses would be put on the shrimp. This leads me to what I want to investigate; the effect of temperature on the respiratory rates of an Affinis. This will be possible thanks to the Affinis camouflage technique. Its transparency means its heart is visible with out vivisection.
Found in the majority of rock pools are many types of algae, hydroids, polyzoans, gastropods and crustaceans. These all exist in a microclimate that has its own ecological hazards. During high tide the pools experience a f
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