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The Shore Thing Project

The Shore Thing Project. www.marlin.ac.uk/shore_thing. ROCKY SHORE ECOLOGY. Tides. Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun There are generally two tidal cycles in 24 hrs The rise and fall of the tide varies depending on whether it is a neap or spring tide

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The Shore Thing Project

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  1. The Shore Thing Project www.marlin.ac.uk/shore_thing

  2. ROCKY SHORE ECOLOGY

  3. Tides • Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun • There are generally two tidal cycles in 24 hrs • The rise and fall of the tide varies depending on whether it is a neap or spring tide • Tidal range varies around the UK coast.

  4. The Rocky Shore Environment • All species specially adapted • Marine and terrestrial • Exposure high • Changing conditions • Different zones on the shore • Location important for identification

  5. Environmental Variations Feeding time Exposure Light Temperature variation Salinity variation Upper shore Desiccation Lower shore

  6. ‘Splash’ Zone • Extremely exposed • Salt spray • Conditions extremely variable • Dominated by lichens • Rarely submerged

  7. Upper shore • Very exposed • Conditions very variable • Diversity low dominated by channelled wrack and small periwinkles • Submerged for short periods • Exposed for long periods

  8. Middle shore • Moderately exposed • Conditions moderately variable • Dominated by fucoids, barnacles, molluscs and gastropods • Species depends on exposure • Submerged and exposed every tide

  9. Lower Shore • Less exposed • Conditions relatively stable • High diversity of specially adapted marine species • Dominated by kelps, red algae, sea squirts and sponges • Submerged most of the time, only exposed on low spring tides

  10. Rocky Shore Identification Major groups/phylum of species are: • Algae (seaweeds) • Lichens • Marine Invertebrates (animals without backbones) • Porifera (sponges) • Cnidaria (anemones/jellyfish/hydroids) • Crustacea (crabs/barnacles) • Mollusca (top shells/limpets) • Echinoderms (sea urchins/starfish) • Marine Chordates (animals with backbones) • Tunicates (sea squirts) • Fish

  11. Marine Algae • Brown – Wracks and Kelps • Green • Red – includes encrusting algae • Flowering plants such as seagrass

  12. Lichens • Fungus and algae living together in symbiosis • Often an encrusting layer on rocks • Found in the splash zone

  13. Marine Invertebrates (animals without backbones) • Porifera - Sponges • Attached to surfaces • Very simple animals, covered with pores • Rounded or branched forms • Often need microscope to identify them

  14. Cnidaria - Anemones, corals, hydroids and jellyfish • ‘Mouth’ surrounded by tentacles • Attached and free swimming forms • Sometimes forming large colonies

  15. Crustacea - Crabs, lobsters, shrimps etc. • Segmented body covered in hard plates • Divided into three segments • Jointed limbs • Adapted to live in every marine environment

  16. Mollusca - Snails, bivalves, chitons, limpets, sea slugs etc. • Largest most diverse group • Gastropods have large muscular foot • Bivalves body surrounded by two shells held together with a hinge

  17. Echinoderms - Starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers and brittlestars • Tube-feet, internal skeleton of bony plates • Often external skeletons

  18. Marine Chordates (animals with backbones) • Tunicates – Star of ascidian and sea squirts • Larval stage has a backbone • Two openings body covered in ‘tunic’ of jelly • Colonies sometimes confused with sponges

  19. Fish – Shanny, blenny, rockling, clingfish etc. • Divided into two main groups, elasmobranchs (sharks, rays etc) and teleosts (bony fish) • Elasmobranchs have a skeleton of cartilage • Teleosts skeleton is bony

  20. Key Features 1 2 3 4

  21. Species No. 1 Cone shaped shell, up to 2.5 cm high Tooth on inside of mouth opening Shell grey-green Shiny ‘mother of pearl’ inside shell opening H Osilinus lineatus

  22. Species No. 2 Bushy brown seaweed Covered in what looks like small leaves and tiny round floats Very dense, feels coarse and wiry May form long lengths (like a washing line) D Sargassum muticum

  23. Species No. 3 Prominent midrib Pairs of almost spherical gas bladders Dark olive brown Up to 1 m long F Fucus Vesiculosus

  24. Species No. 4 Small round hole on underside of the shell Dull greenish in colour with reddish-purple broad diagonal stripes Small top shell 1.6 cm high. 2.2 cm across C Gibbula umbilicalis

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