Rockpooling Destination: St. Loy, October 2014 Summary

The shore is a high energy environment, comprised of boulders and bedrock, with crevices, rock pools and gullies.

Fauna are relatively sparse among the supralittoral and upper shore boulders, increasing within the rockpools, crevices and gullies of the mid and lower shore bedrock.

The upper most shore is charecterised by lichen communities, whilst barnacle communities occur across the rest of the shore, inter-dispersed by coralline rockpools. As the lower shore is reached, robust wracks and red seaweeds come to dominate.

A river flows onto the shore and beneath the boulders, until it emerges again on the shore, this time marked by an increase in ephemeral green algae.

Where conditions are sheltered enough, a strandline of kelp occurs.



Habitat classification:

Substrate	LR (Littoral rock)							LS (Littoral substrate)
Habitat	LR.HLR (High energy littoral rock)		FLR (Features of littoral rock)					LS.LSa (Littoral sand)
Biotope complex	LR.HLR. MusB (Mussel and/or barnacle communities)	LR.HLR.FR (Robust fucoid and/or red seaweed   communities)	LR.FLR.Lic.(Lichens on supralittoral and littoral fringe rock).			LR.FLR.Rkp (Rockpools)	LR.FLR.Eph (Ephemeral green or red   seaweed communities	LS.LSa.St (Strandline)
Biotope			LR.FLR.Lic.YG (Yellow and grey lichens on supralittoral rock)	LR.FLR.Lic.Ver (Verrucaria Maura on littoral fringe rock)		LR.FLR.Rkp.Cor (Coralline crust dominated shallow eulittoral rockpools)	LR.FLR.Eph (Ephermeral green or red   seaweeds (Fresh water or sand influenced)
Sub Biotope				LR.FLR.Liv.VerB (Verrucaria maura and sparse barnacles on exposed littoral fringe rock)	LR.FLR.Lic.Ver.Ver (Verrucaria maura on very exposed to very sheltered upper littoral fringe rock)	LR.FLR.Rkp.Cor.Bif (Bifurcaria bifurcata in shallow eulittoral rockpools)

Below are images of the broad habitat complexes and their occurrence in relation to one another on the shore. Please refer to previous posts for a more detailed account of each habitat.

The exposed nature of the shore leads to an extended lichen zone; within this zone the boulder field is comparatively barren, characterised by lichen communities and periwinkles. As the upper shore is reached, lichens occur in patches and barnacles and limpets increase in abundance. Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Lic.(Lichens on supralittoral and littoral fringe rock) ENUIS: B3.11  and LR.HLR. MusB (Mussel and/or barnacle communities) EUNIS: A1.11.

Periwinkles are the most common mobile fauna of the upper and littoral fringe boulders. Below, Ephemeral green algae mark where the river comes out from beneath these boulders. On the mid and lower shore barnacle communities cover much of the boulders and bedrock, in addition turfs of red seaweed edge the boulders of the lower shore. Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Lic.Ver.Ver (Verrucaria maura on very exposed to sheltered upper littoral fringe rock). EUNIS:B3.1132, LR.FLR.Eph (Ephermeral green or red   seaweeds (Fresh water or sand influenced). EUNIS A1.45,  LR.HLR. MusB (Mussel and/or barnacle communities) EUNIS: A1.11 and LR.HLR.FR (Robust fucoid and/or red seaweed   communities). EUNIS: A1.12.

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Barnacle communities characterise much of the mid  and lower shore interspersed by Coralline rock pools . Habitat classification: LR.FLR.Rkp.Cor (Coralline crust dominated shallow eulittoral rockpools) EUNIS:A1.411 and  LR.HLR. MusB (Mussel and/or barnacle communities) EUNIS: A1.11