Rocky shore
A rocky shore is an
Marine life
Many factors favour the survival of life on rocky shores. Temperate coastal waters are mixed by waves and convection, maintaining adequate availability of nutrients. Also, the sea brings
Despite these favourable factors, there are also a number of challenges to marine organisms associated with the rocky shore
Ballantine Scale
The
Zonation
Tidal movements of water creates zonation patterns along rocky shores from high to low-tide.[4] The area above the high-tide mark is the supralittoral zone which is virtually a terrestrial environment. The area around the high-tide mark is known as the intertidal fringe. Between the high and low-tide marks is the intertidal or littoral zone. Below the low-tide mark is the sublittoral or subtidal zone. The presence and abundance of different animals and algae vary in different zones along the rocky shore due to differing adaptations to the varying levels of exposure to sun and desiccation along the rocky shore.
Pollution
Rocky shores are exposed to many forms of pollution, in particular pollution related to
See also
References
- ^ J H Connell, Community Interactions on Marine Rocky Intertidal Shores. 1972. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematic Vol. 3: 169-192
- ^ J. Harrison Stark (1964). The Ecology of Rocky Shores. English Universities Press, London.
- ^ Ballantine (1961) page 1.
- ^ Adam, Purcell. "Rocky Shore". Basic Biology.
- ^ Southward, AJ and Southward, EC. 1978. Recolonization of Rocky shores after the use of toxic dispersants to clean up the Torrey Canyon spill. J. Fish. Res. Board. Can 35:682-706.
- ^ Seip, KL. 1984. The Amoco Cadiz Oil spill- at a glance. Mar. Poll. Bull. 15 (6) 218-220
Further reading
- Cruz-Motta J. J., Miloslavich P., Palomo G., Iken K., Konar B., et al. (2010). "Patterns of Spatial Variation of Assemblages Associated with Intertidal Rocky Shores: A Global Perspective". .