Dive In Deeper - The Rocky Shore

Sea creatures have to survive on land between the tides...

The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore is the area above water at low tide and covered by water at high tide.

Organisms in the intertidal zone are adapted to an environment of harsh extremes. The intertidal zone is also home to many animals but they are well suited to life in this challenging environment and have clever ways to cope with the stress of drying out and changes in temperature and salinity.

Those animals that are mobile, like crabs and fish may move up and down the shoreline with the tide, but can sometimes become trapped in tide pools. Animals and seaweeds that are fixed in place have ways to close off their bodies to trap water, or reduce their surface area, to prevent desiccation when they become stranded above the tide line.