What organisms live on rocky shores?
Rocky shore dwellers
- Seaweeds. Most plants found on rocky shores are seaweeds.
- Lichens.
- Microscopic plants and cyanobacteria.
- Grazing snails, limpets and other molluscs.
- Barnacles.
- Sea squirts.
- Anemones.
- Corals.
How would you describe a rocky shore?
A rocky shore is an intertidal area of seacoasts where solid rock predominates. Rocky shores are biologically rich environments, and are a useful “natural laboratory” for studying intertidal ecology and other biological processes.
What are the major biotic factors in the rocky shore?
Biotic factors include; competition and predation (Nielsen). Abiotic factors include temperature, dissolved oxygen, PH, location, and salinity (Bertness). Both abiotic and biotic factors affect the diversity of organisms within a tide pool.
What is the meaning of rocky shores?
What is the difference between sandy and rocky shores?
Rocky shores are a strong contrast with sandy beaches. On sandy shores, the substrate is shifting and unstable. Physical conditions are relatively uniform because waves shape the substrate. On rocky shores, by contrast, the physical substrate is by definition hard and stable.
How are species distributed on a rocky shore?
Ecosystems on rocky shores have bands of different species across the intertidal zone. The distribution of different species across the rocky shore is influenced by biotic and abiotic factors from above high tide to the sub-tidal zone.Different species are adapted to different environmental conditions.
Which is the most diverse area of the rocky shore?
Below the littoral fringe is the most diverse and interesting area of the rocky shore, the intertidal zone. The regular covering and uncovering of the shore by the waves provides a regular income of food and nutrients for plants and animals.
Why are algae important to the rocky shore?
By scraping off algae they maintain the structure and diversity of rocky shore ecosystems by preventing algae from dominating the intertidal zone. The large abundance of food on the rocky shore attracts a number of predators species that prey on the slow-moving grazers and stationary filter-feeders.
What causes the decline of the rocky shore?
Harvesting pressure and disease can cause declines in rocky-shore invertebrates, including abalone, mussels and limpets. The high visitation levels that occur on rocky shores in Southern California have caused changes in the diversity and abundance of intertidal organisms.