Rockpooling destination: South-west Shetland, September 2014

The large South-Westerly facing sandy bay is flanked by rocky headlands and is relatively barren of life. That which does occur is concentrated around the strandline.

Habitat classification:

Substrate	LS (Littoral substrate)
Habitat	LS.LSa (Littoral sand)
Biotope complex	LS.LSa.Mo.Sa(Barren and amphipod dominated mobile sand shores)	LS.LSa.St (Strandline)
Biotope:		LS.Lsa.St.Tal (Talitrids on the upper shore and strand-line)

Below are images of some of the organisms you may encounter in this habitat:

   The shore is comprised of mobile barren sand with strandlines at the successive tide marks. Habitat classification: LS.LSa.Mo.Sa(Barren and amphipod dominated mobile sand shores) and LS.LSa.St (Strandline).

    Clean mobile sand with amphipod burrows extend over vast expanses of the shore. Habitat classification: LS.LSa.Mo.Sa(Barren and amphipod dominated mobile sand shores).

    During the autumn migration many wades come to feed on sandy shores and amongst strandlines. Here the evidence of such feeding can be seen.

Fresh seaweed and jelly fish are washed up to form the strandline, among which the burrows of talitrids occur. Habitat classification: LS.Lsa.St.Tal (Talitrids on the upper shore and strand-line).

Jelly fish are washed up in the strandline during the summer months.

Strong waves wash up kelp (Laminaria sp) from the subtidal; on the kelps stipe and holdfast is a community of epiphytic organisms, including bivalves, red seaweeds, bryozoans and polychaetes.

Laminaria sp with a stipe covered by a variety of red seaweeds.

Laminaria sp with a stipe covered by a variety of red seaweeds and bryozoans.

Furbellows (Saccorhiza polyschides)

Sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima)

Thong weed (Himanthalia elongata)

Egg wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) covered in bryozoa, blue common mussels (Mytilus edulis).

Egg wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) covered in bryozoa, blue common mussels (Mytilus edulis).

Egg wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) covered in bryozoa, blue common mussels (Mytilus edulis).

Egg wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) covered in bryozoa.

Egg wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) covered in bryozoan with a goose barnacle.

Rockpooling destintation: North Shetland, September 2014

The rocky shore comprises exposed bedrock outcrops with boulder filled gullies, crevices and rock pools.

Lichens occur throughout the littoral fringe and upper shore interspersed with shallow rockpools.  The extensive Verrucaria maura biotope is the defining feature of this shore. Faunal diversity is low and sparse being confined to the sheltered rock sides, crevices and gullies. Periwinkles are found throughout the shore, whilst seaweeds and other mobile fauna are found within the rockpools and gullies. The rockpools of the shore vary depending on their relative altitude and wave exposure. Coralline rockpools occur in the mid shore and deeper species rich rockpools of the lower shore gullies.

Habitat classification:

Substrate
Habitat	FLR (Features of littoral rock)
Biotope complex	LR.FLR.Lic (Lichens on supralittoral rock)		LR.FLR.Rkp (Rockpools)
Biotope	LR.FLR.Lic.YG Yellow and grey lichens on supralittoral rock	LR.FLR.Lic.Ver (Verrucaria maura on littoral fringe rock)	LR.FLR.Rkp.G        (Green seaweeds (Entomorpha spp. and Cladophora spp.) in shallow upper shore rock pools)	LR.FLR.Rkp.Cor (Coralline crust dominated shallow eulittoral rockpools)	LR.FLR.Rkp.FK Fucoids and kelp in deep eulittoral rockpools

Below are images of organisms you may encounter whilst rockpooling in these habitats:

  The rocky shore comprises bedrock outcrops with boulder filled gullies, crevices and rockpools. Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Lic (Lichens on supralittoral rock) and LR.FLR.Rkp (Rockpools).

Sea pinks occur in crevices amongst Yellow and grey lichens in the littoral fringe. Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Lic.YG (Yellow and grey lichens on supralittoral rock).

Lichens in the littoral fringe.

 A shallow rock pool dominated by green algae and surrounded by lichens. Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Rkp.G (Green seaweeds (Entomorpha spp. and Cladophora spp.) in shallow upper shore rock pools).

  A shallow rock pool in the upper shore that has become increasingly stagnant, through the decomposition of ephemeral green seaweed.

Tar lichen (Verrucaria maura) covers the majority of the rocky shore. Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Lic.Ver (Verrucaria maura on littoral fringe rock)  

  Rough periwinkles (Littorina sp) are sparesly distributed throughout the V. maura biotope.

  A shallow rock pool with Ulva sp (previously Entomorpha )within the V. maura biotope. Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Rkp.G (Green seaweeds (Entomorpha spp. and Cladophora spp.) in shallow upper shore rock pools).

   A shallow rock pool with Ulva sp (previously Entomorpha )within the V. maura biotope. The rockpools of the upper shore experience fluctuations in salinity and temperature that restrict gastropod density allowing the prolific growth of ephemeral green seaweeds.

    In the sheltered gullies, channel wrack (Pelvetia canaliculata) grows within the V. maura biotope.

   A coralline rock pool within the mid shore with Corallinaceae crusts, coral weed (Corallina officinalis) limpets (Patella sp), periwinkles, common blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and the green seaweed Codium sp. Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Rkp.Cor (Coralline crust dominated shallow eulittoral rockpools)

   Limpets (Patella sp) covered by filamentous greens in a coralline rock pool.

Limpets (Patella sp) and filamentous seaweeds in a coralline rock pool

Corallinaceae crusts and barnacles within a coralline rock pool.

A rock pool of the lower shore gullies with Spiral wrack (Fucus spiralis), Serrated wrack (Fucus serratus), Ulva sp, Corallinaceae crusts and limpets (Patella sp). Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Rkp.FK Fucoids and kelp in deep eulittoral rockpools.

Codium sp

A shore crab (Carcinus maenas) within a rich seaweed rock pool.

Rockpooling destination: North Shetland, September 2014

On exposed shores the salt water spray can reach far up the shore, resulting in an extended splash zone (supralittoral zone), that is characterized by yellow and grey lichens. Terrestrial plants also occur within crevices of the rock.

Habitat classification:

Substrate
Habitat	FLR (Features of littoral rock)
Biotope complex	LR.FLR.Lic (Lichens on supralittoral rock)
Biotope	LR.FLR.Lic.YG Yellow and grey lichens on supralittoral rock

 EUNIS habitat: Yellow and grey lichens on supralittoral rock (code: B3.111)

Below are images of organisms you may encounter in this haitat:

The rocky out crop at the top of the shore, receives enough salt water spray to support a community of lichens and sea pinks.Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Lic.YG Yellow and grey lichens on supralittoral rock

   Yellow, grey and the black lichen Verrucaria maura cover the rock, whilst sea pinks grow in the crevices.

A grey lichen, black shields(Tephromela atra)

 A grey lichen, black shields (Tephromela atra)

The yellow lichen, Xanthoria parietina

   A grey lichen, possible Parelle (Ochrolechia parella)

   A grey lichen, possible Parelle (Ochrolechia parella)

   Grey lichens of the supralittoral

Lichens of the supralittoral

A brown lichen

Rockpooling Destination: North West Shatland, September 2014 river

The exposed cove is comprised of cobbles and boulders and slopes steeply  with a  deep cut river that flows out to the low water mark. Strandlines of washed up seaweed and debris mark the successive high tide marks.

Fauna is sparse, concentrated within the strandline. 

Habitat classification: Strandline (LS.LSa.St) and High energy littoral rock (LR.HLR ) i.e boulder shores.

The shore is comprised of cobbles and boulders  and slopes steeply  with a  deep cut river that flows out to the low water mark. Habitat classification:LR. HLR (High energy littoral rock).

A river flows onto the shore 

Succulent plants grow on the terrestrial edge of the shore

Insects scurry across the cobbles 

Insects scurry across the cobbles

Species diversity increases within the strandline where amphipods and insects. Habitat classification: Strandline (LS.LSa.St)

The insects and amphipods feed upon the decomposing seaweed and in so doing play a vital role in the recycling of nutrients on the shore.