Biodiversity & Conservation

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Rockpools in the supralittoral, littoral fringe or upper eulittoral which are subject to variable salinity and widely fluctuating temperatures are characterized by the ephemeral green alga Ulva spp. or the filamentous green alga Cladophora spp. Due to the physical stress imposed on these upper shore pools, grazing molluscs are generally in lower abundance than eulittoral pools, allowing the green algae to proliferate under reduced grazing pressures. The rock surface is often covered by the black lichen Verrucaria maura. On more exposed shores crevices in the rock may contain small Mytilus edulis. The bright orange copepod Tigriopus fulvus is tolerant of large salinity fluctuations and may also occur in large numbers in these upper shore pools. (Information taken from the Marine Biotope Classification for Britain and Ireland, Version 97.06: Connor et al., 1997a, b).

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