Rockpooling destination: South-west Shetland, September 2014

The large South-Westerly facing sandy bay is flanked by rocky headlands and is relatively barren of life. That which does occur is concentrated around the strandline.

Habitat classification:

Substrate	LS (Littoral substrate)
Habitat	LS.LSa (Littoral sand)
Biotope complex	LS.LSa.Mo.Sa(Barren and amphipod dominated mobile sand shores)	LS.LSa.St (Strandline)
Biotope:		LS.Lsa.St.Tal (Talitrids on the upper shore and strand-line)

Below are images of some of the organisms you may encounter in this habitat:

   The shore is comprised of mobile barren sand with strandlines at the successive tide marks. Habitat classification: LS.LSa.Mo.Sa(Barren and amphipod dominated mobile sand shores) and LS.LSa.St (Strandline).

    Clean mobile sand with amphipod burrows extend over vast expanses of the shore. Habitat classification: LS.LSa.Mo.Sa(Barren and amphipod dominated mobile sand shores).

    During the autumn migration many wades come to feed on sandy shores and amongst strandlines. Here the evidence of such feeding can be seen.

Fresh seaweed and jelly fish are washed up to form the strandline, among which the burrows of talitrids occur. Habitat classification: LS.Lsa.St.Tal (Talitrids on the upper shore and strand-line).

Jelly fish are washed up in the strandline during the summer months.

Strong waves wash up kelp (Laminaria sp) from the subtidal; on the kelps stipe and holdfast is a community of epiphytic organisms, including bivalves, red seaweeds, bryozoans and polychaetes.

Laminaria sp with a stipe covered by a variety of red seaweeds.

Laminaria sp with a stipe covered by a variety of red seaweeds and bryozoans.

Furbellows (Saccorhiza polyschides)

Sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima)

Thong weed (Himanthalia elongata)

Egg wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) covered in bryozoa, blue common mussels (Mytilus edulis).

Egg wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) covered in bryozoa, blue common mussels (Mytilus edulis).

Egg wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) covered in bryozoa, blue common mussels (Mytilus edulis).

Egg wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) covered in bryozoa.

Egg wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) covered in bryozoan with a goose barnacle.