Strand line Tiree- The Hebrides

Rock pooling destination: Tiree, The Hebrides, Scotland, June 2012

The strandlines of Tiree vary, with huge kelp strandlines on high energy cobble beaches and smaller strandlines on sandy beaches.

Below are photographs of the different strandlines and what can be found amongst them:

Strandline of kelp.

Strandline of fucoid seaweed and shells.

Feeding marks of birds, often many sand hoppers and flies,
which birds eat, can be found beneath the strandline.

Razor shell (Ensis ensis)

Green shore crab (Carcinus maenas) with encrusting barnacles on its carapace.

Bryozoa colonise the crabs legs.

Barnacles and encrusting red seaweeds colonise the crabs carapace.

Red seaweeds grows on the crabs mouth parts.

Rocky shore of Tiree- The Hebrides

Rock pooling destination: Tiree, The Hebrides, Scotland, June 2012

On the shore stretches of sandy beach give way to large rock outcrops which alternate with aggregations of boulders, amongst which are numerous crevices and rock pools.

Barnacles dominate with fucoids occurring in patches, other seaweeds and fauna such as whelks, winkles, limpets and mussels are confined to the crevices and rock pools.

Below are photographs of some of the organism you may come across in this habitat:



Rocky shore at Tiree. Habitat classification:

Habitat classification: LR.MLR.BF.FspiB (Fucus spiralis on exposed to moderately exposed upper eulittoral rock)




Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) in crevice.

Rough periwinkle (Littorina sp)

Barnacles and Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) in crevice

Barnacles

Spiral wrack (Fucus spiralis)



Dog whelk (Nucella lapillus)

Polysiphonia growing on fucoid wrack

Cladophora and common limpets (Patella vulgata)

Ephemeral green seaweed dominates pools in summer -
Enteromorpha intestinalis /Ulva spp

Ephemeral green seaweed dominates pools

Coralline crust dominated rock pool. Habitat classification:
 LR.FLR.Rkp.Cor (Coralline crust-dominated shallow eulittoral rockpools)

Coralline crusts dominate the rock pool, whilst barnacles dominate above.

Coralline crusts dominatethe  rock pool with barnacles and fucoids
covering the edges.

Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and Beadlet anemone (Actinia equina)
in a coralline pool.

A limpet (Patella sp) and Rough periwnkle (Littorina sp)
in shallow pool.

Blenny hides behind weed.

Coral weed (Corallina officinalis) in shallow pool.

Serrated wrack (Fucus serratus) and Sea oak (Halidrys siliquosa) are confined
within the coralline pool, whilst barnacles and common limpets (Patella vulgata) occur above.

Sea oak (Halidrys siliquosa) dominates a coralline pool on the lower shore.



Seaweed diversity within the coralline pools increases down the shore.

Reproductive organs of serrated wrack (Fucus serratus).



Sand binder (Rhodothamniella floridula) occurs on rock through out the
 lower shore where it out crops adjacent to sand.

Edible periwinkle (Littorina littorea).



Worm cast of a Lug worm (Arenicola marina).