INTRODUCTION TO ROCKY SHORES AND KELP FORESTS

The shore is the transition between marine and terrestrial environments, but because of water movement associated with rides, waves, and spray, the transition is gradual, creating a habitat in which neither fully marine nor fully terrestrial organisms can prosper. Organisms that live in this area experience daily and seasonal fluctuations in their living environment. For this reason, they must be able to tolerate extreme changes in temperature, salinity, moisture and wave action to survive. Some of the common animal groups inhabiting rocky shores are algae, lichens, sponges, sea anemones marine worms, crustaceans, molluscs, echinoderms and some fishes.

Rocky shore ecosystems are coastal shores made from solid rock. They are a tough habitat to live on yet they are home for a number of different animals and algae. They are governed by the tidal movement of water. The tides create a gradient of environmental conditions moving from a terrestrial (land) to a marine ecosystem. The different sections of the rocky shore are exposed to varying amounts of stress. Stress may be caused by an increased time out of water and in the Sun, more pressure from predation or grazing, or other factors that change across the intertidal zone. As the conditions are changing over the rocky shore ecosystem, various bands of different organisms are found along the intertidal zone.

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. Some organisms can withstand being exposed to the sun for most of the day and live in the upper parts of the rocky shore. Other organisms need to be covered by the tide for most of the day and are only found lower on the rocky shore.

The different sections of the rocky shore are exposed to varying amounts of stress. Stress may be caused by an increased time out of water and in the Sun, more pressure from predation or grazing, or other factors that change across the intertidal zone. As the conditions are changing over the rocky shore ecosystem, various bands of different organisms are found along the intertidal zone.

1. ROCKY SHORES AND KELP FORESTS MARINE ECOLOGY

2. OBJECTIVES Define Rocky Shores Rocky Shores Patterns and Determinants of Zonation Zonation of Macroalgae and Animals Population Ecology and its Community Structure Define Kelp Forest Zonation and Population Ecology Community Structure and its Productivity

3. Rocky Shores Biologically rich U seful "natural laboratory" for studying intertidal ecology and other biological processes.

4. PATTERNS OF ZONATION

5. P hysical factors that influenced the extent of suitable microclimates for sedentary organisms The slope of the shore will determine the amount of suitable rock surface; the flatter the shore the greater the width of substratum lying between a given interval of tidal height. Tidal amplitude will be of great importance. The average amount of wave action will influence the degree of wetting a substratum receives at a given tidal height; the greater the exposure to wave action the further the zonal boundaries are pushed upshore. The aspect of the shore will affect the amount of drying out at low tide; on shaded slopes surfaces will remain damp for longer than on sunny slopes, so that other things being equal upper zonal limits should be somewhat higher.

6. Zonation of Macroalgae and Animals

7. Population Ecology and Community Srucrture

8. Community Structure

9. https://basicbiology.net/environment/marine/rocky-shore

10. Kelp Forest Grow in dense groupings much like a forest on land.

11. Zonation

12. Population Ecology Kelp forests are home to many different species, including fish, sea urchins and other marine animals, invertebrates, such as snails, and sea otters