Life on the Beach
To the casual observer our beaches may seem devoid of life, but they support a specialised and interesting community of animals and plants. It is a demanding habitat, not only is it covered and exposed by the tide twice daily, but it can also be unstable, the sand disturbed by the wind and the waves.
The intertidal area is largely the domain of marine invertebrates which, depending on their size, either live in burrows in the sand or between the sand particles. This community includes many different types of animals, worms, molluscs (snails and slugs), crustaceans (prawns and crabs), echinoderms (starfish, sea urchins and brittle stars). Most of the time they are hidden from view, but sometimes there are clues to their presence, e,g., worm casts above burrows, seashells or whole animals washed-up on the shore by the tide, particularly after a storm. This will also include pelagic animals such as jellyfish, sea gooseberries (comb jellies), fish and eggcases.
Higher up the beach, in the strandline there will be a mixture of terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates. The flotsam and jetsam of the strandline can support large numbers of sandhoppers and sea slaters which are essentially marine creatures, and at various times of the year large numbers of beetles, flies, spiders, and assorted bugs.
Higher up the beach, in the strandline there will be a mixture of terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates. The flotsam and jetsam of the strandline can support large numbers of sandhoppers and sea slaters which are essentially marine creatures, and at various times of the year large numbers of beetles, flies, spiders, and assorted bugs.
The salt-laden winds, unstable sandy substrate and salt water are also a challenging environment for plants. Apart from the seaweeds which are washed ashore by the tide, the plants are restricted to the strandline and the upper reaches of the beach which are not usually covered by the tide.
Sea Rocket (Cakile maritima), Frosted Orache (Atriplex laciniata) and Sea Sandwort (Honckenya peploides) are the most characteristic strandline plants. At the top of the beach, above the hightide mark and the strandline, the diversity of species increases and includes other species of orache (Spear-leaved Orache A. prostrata, Babbington’s Orache A. glabriuscula), Sea Mayweed (Tripleurospermum maritimum) and Silverweed (Potentilla anserina).