Sea stars prey on mussels and are eaten by gulls themselves. Gulls pick up and drop sea urchins to break them open. Waves can dislodge mussels and draw them out to sea. Hazards include waves, strong currents, exposure to midday sun and predators. Inhabitants must be able to deal with a frequently changing environment: fluctuations in water temperature, salinity, and oxygen content. Tide pools provide a home for hardy organisms such as sea stars, mussels and clams. This area is also relatively protected from large predators because of the wave action and shallow water. These creatures can grow to larger sizes because there is more available energy and better water coverage: the water is shallow enough to allow additional sunlight for photosynthetic activity, with almost normal levels of salinity. Low tide zone organisms include abalone, anemones, brown seaweed, chitons, crabs, green algae, hydroids, isopods, limpets, mussels, and sometimes even small vertebrates such as fish. Organisms in this zone do not have to be as well adapted to drying out and temperature extremes. It often teems with life and has far more marine vegetation, especially seaweeds. Low tide zone in a tide pool Low tide zone Īlso called the "lower littoral zone", this area is mostly submerged and is exposed only during unusually low tide. The same waves and currents that make life in the high tide zone difficult bring food to filter feeders and other intertidal organisms. Marine algae provide shelter for nudibranchs and hermit crabs. This zone is predominantly inhabited by seaweed and invertebrates, such as sea anemones, sea star, chitons, crabs, green algae, and mussels. Organisms must survive wave action, currents, and exposure to the sun. The high tide zone is flooded during each high tide. These plates also protect against predation. Their calcite shells are impermeable, and they possess two plates which they slide across their mouth opening when not feeding. These animals, therefore, need to be well adapted to water loss. The intertidal zone is periodically exposed to sun and wind, conditions that can cause barnacles to become desiccated. Different barnacle species live at very tightly constrained elevations, with tidal conditions precisely determining the exact height of an assemblage relative to sea level. Few organisms can survive such harsh conditions. At other times the rocks may undergo other extreme conditions, baking in the sun or exposed to cold winds. Tide pools exist in the "intertidal zone" (the area within the tidal range), which is submerged by the sea at high tides and during storms, and may receive spray from wave action. The presence and abundance of animals and algae vary between zones along the rocky shore due to niche adaptations in response to the varying levels of tidal and solar exposure. Below the low-tide mark is the sublittoral or subtidal zone. Between the high and low-tide marks is the intertidal or littoral zone. The area around the high-tide mark is known as the intertidal fringe. The area above the high-tide mark is the supralittoral zone which is virtually a terrestrial environment.
Tidal movements of water creates zonation patterns along rocky shores from high to low-tide. The rocky shoreline exhibits zonation as a feature of the shoreline. Tide pools in Santa Cruz, California from spray/splash zone to low tide zone
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