life in the seashore, seashore

Life on the seashore is not easy for the creatures that live there As the tide moves in and out, most ‘beaches are covered by salt water and then exposed to the air. Seashore animals have to stop themselves from drying out and protect themselves from the waves that crash on to the shore.

On the sandy and muddy shores, many creatures burrow to keep damp and hide from their enemies. On rocky shores, shellfish and other animals cling on to the rocks so tightly that it is almost impossible to dislodge them. But on pebbly beaches, few creatures can survive among the shifting stones.

The High Life

As the tide comes in, the seashore comes to life. Seaweed that has been lying flat at low tide floats upright, and hundreds of sea creatures begin to move about in search of food.

Limpets move about under-the water to feed on algae. As the tide goes out, they always return to exactly the same spot. They scrape out small hollows in the rocks which match the shape of their shells perfectly.

Barnacles, upto 30,000 a square metre (3 sq ft.), open their shells under the water and push out feathery tentacles. The tentacles catch plankton to eat, moving in and out of the shell about twice every second.

At low tide, the beadlet sea anemone looks like a blob of jelly. When a is covered with water, it puts out 200 tentacles to trap its food.

Every day, mussels pump up to 140 hires (37 gallons) of water through their bodies to feed on the plankton it contains.

A Spiny Disguise

The spiny spider crab is not easy to spot. It collects small pieces of seaweed or sponge with its claws and fixes them on to spines and bristles all over its shell until it is camouflaged.

Somersaulting Starfish

If the common starfish is accidentally turned on to its back, it rights itself by turning a complete somersault. First it slowly lifts up the tip of one arm until it can grip a rocky surface with the suckers on its arm. Then it folds itself in half and pulls on three other arms until it lathe right way up again.

Buried in a Burrow

The king rag worm hides itself in a burrow in the sand, leaving no trace of its huge size on the surface. It can grow over 1 m (3 110 long and has powerful jaws and attacking other worms.

Tread Carefully!

Weever fish lie buried in the son din shalow water wading for shrimps and other food to pass by. If the spines behind a weever’s head are touched, they shoot out a powerful poison.

Did You Know?

There are over 1.600 000 km (1,000.000 miles) of coastline around the continents and islands of the world.

Some sandy beaches are black because they are formed from volcanic lava.

Hermit crabs do not have shells of their own. Instead they live in the empty shells of dead sea animals. As the crabs grow, they find bigger shells to move into.

The tides are caused by the pull of gravity from the Moon and the Sun. Twice a day, they make the level of the sea rise and fall.

One kind of razorshell can burrowuntothe sand so fast that it is almost impossible to dig it out whole.