Tuesday 4 September 2012

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).

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