Saturday 8 September 2012

Land’s End Peninsula, England, August 2012





Rock pooling destination: Land’s End Peninsula, England, 2012

The bay experiences a dynamic regime, alternating between periods of erosion and deposition. The underlying substrate is boulders, however, variable amounts of sand may be deposited on top, sourced from the sand bar situated offshore. The communities encountered reflect the alternation between these regimes.

At the time of visitation the beach was mainly sand with boulders exposed in the region of the river and amongst out cropping bedrock in the mid to lower shore.

The highest abundances of organism are encountered on the most persistent substrate, which is the hard substrate that does not experience sand deposition, mainly the steep sloping bedrock that forms the base of the cliff and represents the upper shore. This environment is dominated by barnacles, with limpets, periwinkles, whelks and the coral weed Corallina officnalis all of which are characteristic of a high energy regime environment.

The lower shore is more characteristic of a moderate energy regime with focuids and the red seaweed Mastocarpus stellatus covering boulders and bedrock, additionally Rhodothamniella floridula is present where sand scours the boulders.

The hard substrate of the upper shore can broadly be characterised under the habitat classification: LR.HLR.MusB (Mussel and/or barnacle communities) and the hard substrate of the mid and lower shore can be broadly characterised under the habitat classification: LR.MLR.BF (Barnacles and fucoids on moderately exposed shores); whilst the sand can be characterised as LS.LSa (Sublittoral sand).

Below are photographs of some of the organisms
encountered whilst rock pooling in this habitat.

Fresh water influx to the shore.

The sediment type of the beach varies temporally between sand and boulders; the river
has washed away the superficial layer of sand to reveal the boulders that occur across the bay beneath the sand.
Barnacles and Lipets (Patella vulgata).
Habitat classification: LR.HLR.MusB (Mussel and/or barnacle communities)

Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus).
Mastocarpus stellatus

Coralline algae are confined to the crevise where water seeps from a rock pool above.
Limpets (Patella vulgata) attach themselves to a boulder that has been covered by sand.
Strand line of kelp and Ulva spp.
Barnacles and Limpets (Patella vulgata).



Serrated wrack (Fucus serratus). Habitat classification: LR.MLR.BF
(Barnacles and fucoids on moderately exposed shores).

Serrated wrack (Fucus serratus).

Mastrocarpus stellatus and sand binder (Rhodothamniella floridula).
Biotope classification: LR.MLR.BF.Rho (Rhodothamniella floridula on sand scoured
lower eulittoral rock).

Mastrocarpus stellatus and serrated wrack (Fucus serratus).

Codium spp in shallow sand pool of the lower shore.

Beadlet anemone (Actinia equina).


Ulva spp and Cladophora in a sand scoured pool of the lower shore.
These species are able to grow quickly and can persist during the alternating regimes.


Ulva spp and Cladophora in a sand scoured pool of the lower shore.
Grey Atlantic Seals frequent the bay.









Wednesday 5 September 2012

Salthouse- Norfolk- June 2012


Rock pooling destination: Salthouse, Norfolk, June 2012
The shore is comprised of shingle and has a stepped profile. On this occasion hundreds of common starfish (Asterias rubens) had been washed up on the shore; such strandings occur periodically when strong tides and winds wash the starfish off of the mussel beds that lie off the coast.
Habitat Classification: LS.LCS.sh.BarSh (Barren littoral shingle).

 
 
 
Shore comprised of shingle.
Habitat Classification: LS.LCS.sh.BarSh (Barren littoral shingle).

The shore has a 'stepped' profile.


The shore is barren of life, due to the mobile nature of the sediment and its inability
to hold water within the interstitial spaces of the pebbles.

Hundreds of common starfish (Asterias rubens) washed up in the strand line.
Hundreds of common starfish (Asterias rubens) washed up in the strand line.



Sea campion grows sporadically in the upper shore.

Tuesday 4 September 2012

Rocky shore - Coll- The Hebrides


Rock pooling destination: Coll, Scotland June 2012
The upper shore is characterised by steeply inclined rock dominated by lichens.

Habitat Classification:LR.FLR.Lic (Lichens or small green algae on supralittoral and littoral fringe rock).
The steep uppershore is dominated by Lichens.Habitat Classification:
LR.FLR.Lic (Lichens or small green algae on supralittoral and littoral fringe rock).

Sea pinks / Sea thrift

Sea Ivory (Ramalina siliquosa) and orange lichen (Xanthoria parietina).

Orange lichen (Xanthoria parietina).

Orange lichen (Xanthoria parietina).

A lichen

A lichen

Parelle (Ochrolechia parella)
Lichens descend down the shore.
 

Rocky shore - Coll- The Hebrides


Rock pooling destination: Coll, Scotland June 2012

On the shore sandy stretches of beach are bordered by large rock outcrops.
Lichens dominate the upper ‘splash zone’ of the rocky shore, with fucoids forming distinct bands beneath.  Small Coralline pools occur sporadically among the outcrops and sandy pools form within the gullies. The sandy shore is comprised of medium to fine sand.

Habitat classification:
LR.FLR.Lic (Lichens or small green algae on supralittoral and littoral fringe rock); LR.MLR.BF (Barnacles and fucoids on moderately exposed shores); LS.LSa (Littoral Sand).

The sandy shore is bordered by rocky outcrops.

 LR.FLR.Lic (Lichens or small green algae on supralittoral and littoral fringe rock).
Sea Ivory (Ramalina siliquosa)


Tar Lichen (Verrucaria maura) and Orange Lichen (Xanthoria parietina )
Tar Lichen (Verrucaria maura) and Orange Lichen (Xanthoria parietina )

Blackshields (Tephromela atra)
Orange Lichen (Xanthoria parietina)
Small red mite.

Drift wood with Piddock (shipworm) holes.

Drift wood with Piddock (shipworm) holes.

Strandline with sandhopper burrows. Habitat classification:
LS.LSa.St.Tal  (Talitrids on upper shore and strand- line)

Sandhopper
Zonation of the rocky shore - Tar Lichen (Verrucaria maura) below which
a band of channel wrack (Pelvetia canaliculata) forms.

Cladophora grows within a crevice.

Spiral wrack (Fucus spiralis)
Polysiphonia is epiphytic on Egg wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum).


Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus).
Cladophora

Beadlet anemone (Actinia equina).
Anemones in a crevice of a coralline pool.

Different species of seaweed dominate at different heights on the sea shore.


Limpets (Patella vulgata) amongst Spiral wrack (Fucus spiralis).
Chlorophyta

Flat periwinkle (Littorina obtusata).
LS.LSa (Littoral Sand).