Rockpooling Destination: Newlyn, Cornwall September 2014

The shore forms part of the larger, sheltered, Mount's Bay and is a shelving pebble and cobble beach that extends into a bedrock outcrop, with crevices and rockpools. 

The unstable cobbles and pebbles of the upper shore are barren, whilst in the mid and lower shore they are covered in periwinkles and barnacles. The stable bedrock of the outcrop supports a barnacle community with periwinkles, limpets, topshells, dog whelks and occasional seaweeds.


Habitat classification:

Substrate	LR (Littoral rock)
Habitat	LR.HLR (High energy littoral rock)	LR.FLR (Features of ilttoral rock)
Biotope complex	LR. HLR.MusB (Mussels and/or barnacles on high energy littoral rock)	LR.FLR.Rkp (Rockpools)		LR.FLR.Eph (Ephemeral green or red seaweed communities
Biotope		LR.FLR.Rkp.Cor (Coralline crust-dominated shallow eulittoral rockpools)	LR.FLR.Rckp.SwSed (Seaweeds in sediment- floored eulittoral rockpools).	LR.FLR.Eph.BLitX (Barnacles and Littorina spp. on unstable eulittoral mixed substrata)

Below are images of organisms you may encounter whilst rockpooling within these habitats:

The shore is a shelving pebble and cobble beach that extends into a bedrock outcrop with crevices and rockpools. Habitat classification: LR.HLR.MusB (Mussel and/or barnacle communities on littoral rock) ENIS: A1.11 , LR.FLR.Rkp (Rockpools) EUNIS: A2.41 and LR.FLR.Eph.BLitX (Barnacles and Littorina spp. on unstable eulittoral mixed substrata) EUNIS: A2.431.

Edible periwinkles (Littorina littorea ) and barnacles occur across the cobbles and pebbles of the mid and lower.  Habitat classification:   LR.FLR.Eph.BLitX (Barnacles and Littorina spp. on unstable eulittoral mixed substrata) EUNIS: A2.431.

Juvenile Edible periwinkles (Littorina littorea) on cobbles of the mid to lower shore.

The stable bedrock supports a barnacle community with Thick topshells (Osilinus lineatus), Dog whelks (Nucella lapillus),  Limpets (Patella sp.) Spiral wrack (Fucus spiralis). The barnacles and dog whelks are most prolific on the uppermost bedrock, whilst the spiral wrack occurs occasionally within crevices and the other gastropods aggregate in the leeward side of bedrock crevices and steps. Habitat classification|:LR.HLR.MusB (Mussel and/or barnacle communities on littoral rock) ENIS: A1.11.

A periwinkle and barnacles (Most of which are dead).

Dog whelks (Nucella lapillus) occur among the barnacles upon which they feed.

Thick top shells (Osilinus lineatus), flat topshells (Gibbula umbilicus) and limpets aggregate in the leeward steps of the bedrock.

Shallow sediment filled rockpools are interspersed across the bedrock outcrop.These shallow rockpools support seaweeds such as Cladophora sp that are tolerant of sand scour. Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Rckp.SwSed (Seaweeds in sediment- floored eulittoral rockpools) EUNIS:A1.413.

Small corraline rockpools also occur across the outcrop. Corallina officialis within a coralline rockpool. Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Rkp.Cor (Coralline crust-dominated shallow eulittoral rockpools) EUNIS: A1.411

Sand sour tolerant ephemeral reds (Porphyra sp) and greens (Entomorpha/Ulva sp) grow on the edge of the bedrock out crop. Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Eph (Ephemeral green or red seaweed communities).