Monday 27 October 2014

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.


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