On the rocks

When the tide goes out in Kachemak Bay, you can walk into a world defined by water. By lifting rocks and parting algae, or even just stopping to stare for a while, you begin to see how many animals surround you as you visit the intertidal zone. This is one of the richest marine environments in the world.   

There are worlds within worlds on the beaches of China Poot Bay. Each curve of the shoreline, each change in the size of the rocks, and the wave action each shore receives help define which animals live in a given area. Every tide pool and every rock create shelter for a certain community of creatures.

I know a biologist who measures the amount of life on a beach by picking up a fist sized rock and counting the number of species on that rock. Here, just in front of the lodge, he found a single rock on which he identified over 80 animals.  As you look at the pictures here, try to see how many creatures you can find. Both of these rocks were about a foot wide. Right away, you can see the chitons and the brittle stars. Can you find the urchin, the tube worms, and all of the mollusks? How many more intertidal animals do you think you might find on the adjoining rocks?