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The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various species of life , such as sea stars , sea urchins , and many species of coral with regional differences ...
Marine protected areas: Many intertidal areas are lightly to heavily exploited by humans for food gathering (e.g. clam digging in soft-sediment habitats and snail, mussel, and algal collecting in rocky intertidal habitats). In some locations, marine protected areas have been established where no collecting is permitted.
The intertidal or littoral zone: area between the high and low-tide marks. Can be further divided into high, mid, and low intertidal zones, which are explained below in more depth. [4] The sublittoral or subtidal zone: area below the low-tide mark. The presence and abundance of flora and fauna vary between zones along the rocky shore.
The main types of intertidal wetlands are mudflats (e.g., mangrove swamps) and salt marshes. The mangrove swamps are encountered along tropical shores and are characterized by tree vegetation, while salt marshes are mostly found in temperate zones and are mostly grass ecosystems. [1] Intertidal wetlands are commonly encountered in most estuaries.
Original - Marine biologists and others divide the intertidal region into three zones (low, middle, and high), based on the overall average exposure of the zone. The low intertidal zone, which borders on the shallow subtidal zone, is only exposed to air at the lowest of low tides and is primarily marine in character.
Intertidal zones, those areas close to shore, are constantly being exposed and covered by the ocean's tides. A huge array of life lives within this zone. Shore habitats range from the upper intertidal zones to the area where land vegetation takes prominence. It can be underwater anywhere from daily to very infrequently.
Between the high and low-tide marks is the intertidal or littoral zone. Below the low-tide mark is the sublittoral or subtidal zone. The presence and abundance of different animals and algae vary in different zones along the rocky shore due to differing adaptations to the varying levels of exposure to sun and desiccation along the rocky shore.
Within the intertidal zone, different species of barnacles live in very tightly constrained locations, allowing the exact height of an assemblage above or below sea level to be precisely determined. [8] Since the intertidal zone periodically desiccates, barnacles are well adapted against water loss.