Featured Creatures

Rogues Gallery | Identification Guide

The pattern of colonization for the Inner Harbor area may follow a trend similar to that in an old abandoned farm field. At first there will be a great diversity of weeds, wildflowers, small seedlings, and grasses. In time the seedlings with rapid growth will begin to take over as small shrubs and trees appear. These plants will compete for space more efficiently and "weed out" their neighbors. After a few seasons the larger trees will dominate the landscape and the diversity will decline to a number of well-adapted species. This process is known as succession and occurs in many ecosystem populations. The succession of the biofilms in the Inner harbor will be more rapid as it is mainly invertebrate animals competing for limited space on a plexiglass discs during the optimal time for growth in the summer and fall. This competition in the farm field is no less intense only slower. The biofilm community on the disc will eventually become dominated by larger invertebrates like mussels, barnacles, mud worms, and anemones and limit the space of those species without the "backbone" to compete effectively.

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Rogues Gallery

Here are some of the not so familiar faces that you may encounter in this activity. Click on word or picture and an new window will open to reveal photo and description from the dichotomous key activity (also check our "biofilm identification guide"):

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Biofilm Identification Guide

Now that you've met some of our featured organisms, it is important to understand something about their taxonomy. This will help you identify the organisms you see living on the disc. Be sure to check out the pictorial guides.

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