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    Concise Seashore Wildlife Guide
    Concise Seashore Wildlife Guide
    Concise Seashore Wildlife Guide
    Ebook321 pages1 hour

    Concise Seashore Wildlife Guide

    By Bloomsbury

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    About this ebook

    This practical field guide, published in association with the Wildlife Trusts, includes nearly 180 species that live in the area between land and sea called the intertidal, or littoral, zone.

    Home to plants and animals that are usually very different in form from their land-based relatives, the seashore is unlike any terrestrial habitat. This guide includes all the most common molluscs, crustaceans, seaweeds, fishes, spiny creatures such as starfishes and sea urchins, mammals and many other species found here, and is invaluable for anyone wanting to find out more about the fascinating shells and other objects they may pick up on our shores.

    Each species account includes accurate artworks and a concise written account that covers essential details such as size, general description, habitat, ecology, and distribution in Britain and the near Continent.

    The easy-to-follow layouts and illustrations aid quick and precise identification, making this book an indispensable reference in the field as well as at home.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateNov 6, 2014
    ISBN9781472918406
    Concise Seashore Wildlife Guide

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      Book preview

      Concise Seashore Wildlife Guide - Bloomsbury

      There are 47 individual Wildlife Trusts covering the whole of the UK and the Isle of Man and Alderney. Together The Wildlife Trusts are the largest UK voluntary organization dedicated to protecting wildlife and wild places everywhere – at land and sea. They are supported by 791,000 members, 150,000 of whom belong to their junior branch, Wildlife Watch. Every year The Wildlife Trusts work with thousands of schools, and their nature reserves and visitor centres receive millions of visitors.

      The Wildlife Trusts work in partnership with hundreds of landowners and businesses in the UK. Building on their existing network of 2,250 nature reserves, The Wildlife Trusts’ recovery plan for the UK’s wildlife and fragmented habitats, known as A Living Landscape, is being achieved through restoring, recreating and reconnecting large areas of wildlife habitat.

      The Wildlife Trusts also have a vision for the UK’s seas and sea life – Living Seas, in which wildlife thrives from the depths of the oceans to the coastal shallows. In Living Seas, wildlife and habitats are recovering, the natural environment is adapting well to a changing climate, and people are inspired by marine wildlife and value the sea for the many ways in which it supports our quality of life. As well as protecting wildlife, these projects help to safeguard the ecosystems we depend on for services like clean air and water.

      All 47 Wildlife Trusts are members of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (Registered charity number 207238). To find your local Wildlife Trust visit wildlifetrusts.org

      Contents

      Introduction

      Seaweeds

      Flowering Plants

      Lichens

      Sponges

      Jellyfishes

      Sea-anemones

      Bristle Worms

      Molluscs

      Crustaceans

      Insects

      Sea-spiders

      Echinoderms

      Fishes

      Birds

      Mammals

      Introduction

      The Concise Seashore Wildlife Guide is a simple colour guide to 180 species of plant and animal that are likely to be seen mainly in the intertidal areas (also called the littoral zone) around the coasts of northern Europe. Many species occur within this narrow band where land meets the sea, so the book is selective. Mobile species such as birds have been given minimal coverage (here), and rarities and species that are difficult to identify have been excluded. The selection represents a good range of species that are likely to be found and identified. A few terrestial plants that thrive on seashores just above the tide line are also included.

      Characteristics of Seashore Wildlife

      The seashore is unlike any terrestial habitat, and the plants and animals that occur on it are usually very different in form from their land-based relatives. Many of the straightforward structural and behavioural differences that allow plants to be distinguished from animals break down on the seashore. Plants are no longer just green, but all sorts of colours; there are animals that look like plants, and vice versa; and complex colonies of creatures of which the basic units are quite obscure to the casual observer. For this reason a whole habitat, rather than a single biological group like birds, insects or flowers, is covered here. The species are laid out in taxonomic order within their groups, with related species together.

      Zonation of Seashore Life

      Because of the regular way in which tides move in and out, exposing different parts of the shore for different times, there is a clear zoning of seashore life according to how tolerant different species are of exposure to air and sunlight. The zonation is not always clearly visible, especially on sandy shores and irregular shores with variable changes in level. At other times, particularly on evenly sloped rocky shores, it can be very well marked, with clearly visible bands of differently coloured plants extending down to the shore. Because many species are quite precise in their requirements, a knowledge of this zonation can help in identification. It does not, of course, apply to washed-up or dislodged plants or animals, which can occur at any level.

      Splash Zone

      This is the highest zone. It is above the levels of the highest tides, but is strongly affected by salt spray, especially on exposed coasts, and the resident life is directly influenced by this. Black and orange lichens are particularly characteristic of this zone, together with salt-tolerant flowering plants such as Thrift, but no seaweeds normally occur here.

      Upper Shore

      This is the highest zone that is regularly inundated, although it is usually defined as the area above mean high water, but below the line reached by the highest spring tides, so it is not inundated by every high tide. It has relatively limited seashore life, but includes limpets, barnacles and other molluscs, as well as shore wracks and much strand-line debris. Although this zone is poor in species, what there is may occur in large numbers.

      Middle Shore

      The extensive area of shore between the average high-water level and the average low-water level is known as the middle shore. It is covered and uncovered by every tide, and makes up the bulk of what is thought of as the shore. Most of the typical seashore plants and animals occur here, often in great abundance, and there is a certain amount of zoning within this section, although it is not always visible.

      Lower Shore

      Below the average low-water level, there is a further area of shore that is accessible only at spring tide lows – that is, when the tide is unusually low. This is the lower shore. It is not accessible every day, but does support a fascinating range of wildlife, including many delicate species, such as sea urchins and anemones, which cannot withstand much exposure. It is the closest you can get to seeing true marine life without diving. There is also a submerged zone, which is home to bottom-dwelling animals such as lobsters, gobies, crabs and flounders.

      Seashore Habitats

      Seashores vary enormously in character, from exposed rocky coasts to sheltered estuaries or salt marshes. Each type of coast supports a different range of organisms, although the divisions between habitat types are not always clear cut, and some mobile or adaptable species may occur in more than one shore type. The main shore types that can be recognized are: rocky shores, sandy shores, shingle shores and muddy shores. These relate to the underlying geology of the coast, the degree of exposure of wave action, and the offshore current and sediments.

      Rocky Shores

      These can be divided into exposed and sheltered areas, although of course there is overlap between the two. Very large numbers of species occur, often in great abundance, on sheltered rocky shores. Relatively small changes in alignment can mean the difference between an area being sheltered or exposed, and the two types can often occur in close juxtaposition. They may often have sandy beaches in

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