From the Desert to the Sea:
Major Habitats of Southern California
By: Cathy Jacobs, PH.D, Dept. of Biology
California State University Dominguez Hills
Click on pictures to enlarge
By: Cathy Jacobs, PH.D, Dept. of Biology
California State University Dominguez Hills
Click on pictures to enlarge
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Rocky intertidal zone In areas of rocky seashore, the dominant organisms are invertebrate organisms such as California mussels, chitons, starfish, sea anemones, barnacles, snails, crabs, and limpets. Algae such as small kelps such as rockweeds, and green algae such as sea lettuce are found here. These organisms must be able to withstand drying out during high tide, and must be able to cling to the substrate to withstand the pounding of the waves. The intertidal is zoned into areas depending on the relative amount of time they spend out of the water during the tidal cycle. The organisms within each zone are characteristic. These zones are, from top to bottom, the splash zone, the high intertidal, the middle intertidal, and the low intertidal. Space on the rocks is limited, and organisms compete for a place to fasten themselves. Many of these organisms are sessile, and others have specialized structures for strongly grasping the rock.