Because of these severe conditions, there are only few species that can cope with these extreme conditions.Ĭommon organisms are lichens. Organisms are exposed to the drying heat of the sun in the summer and to low temperatures in the winter. It is moistened by the spray of breaking waves and it is only covered during the highest tides and during storms. This upper region is called the supratidal or splash zone.
The organisms in this region are subject to severe stresses related to respiration, desiccation, temperature changes and feeding. The upper regions around the high-tide mark are exposed to air during most of the time. It is a nearly universal feature of the intertidal zone. Distinct horizontal bands or zones on the rocks are populated with specific groups of organisms this is called vertical zonation. For this reason, they must be able to tolerate extreme changes in temperature, salinity, moisture and wave action to survive.īecause the physical conditions and associated stresses differ greatly for different elevation zones, there are also major differences in the species composition for different elevation zones. Organisms that live in this area experience large daily fluctuations in their environment.
Together with the wind, sunlight and other physical factors it creates a complex environment, see Rocky shore morphology. Because of the permanent action of tides and waves, it is characterized by erosional features. Rocky intertidal areas are a biologically rich environment that can include several distinct habitat types like steep rocky cliffs, platforms, rock pools and boulder fields.
0 kommentar(er)
