Page 45 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book. To close the book, close the tab.

 3 Rock pools contain a great variety of animals and plants that are well adapted to a difficult environment.
The oyster-catcher has a chisel-shaped bill, to open limpets and other shells, or to prise them off rocks.
The flexible, waving fronds of seaweeds move with the waves and so are not broken by them.
Tiny algae that float in the sea water are the food for many animals, such as limpets and mussels.
Hermit crabs eat food that gets washed in by waves.
Finding a home on the cliffs
The sea contains a huge amount of food, and this is why so many birds make their homes by the coast (picture 4).
Many of the most noticeable sea birds nest in colonies on tall cliffs, where they build their nests on ledges. Not only are they close to their food supplies here, but their eggs and chicks are more easily protected both from other wild animals and people.
Preserving wildlife
Wildlife is most affected when their food and homes are polluted by oil and sewage. But when we build on cliffs, nesting grounds can also be lost. This is one reason we need to leave large tracts of coast undisturbed.
Seabirds such as gulls, cormorants, fulmars, guillemots and gannets use the protection of steep cliffs to make their nesting sites.
Limpets have streamlined shells so they are
not easily pulled off the rock by breaking waves. Their shells are thick, so they do not crack easily if they are hit by pebbles in the waves.
The sea anemone closes up tight during low tide. It only opens when the sea rises
– then it sends out stinging tentacles.
Starfish can use suction cups to hang onto the rocky surface of the pool while waves are breaking.
A blenny is a typical small rockpool fish. It has eyes on top of its head, so that it can spot a bird trying to stab it from above. Its mottled colours help to camouflage it among the pebbles at the bottom of the rock pool.
 4 Seabirds use ledges on cliffs as nesting sites.
45