Kelp forests dominated by species of Laminariales are globally recognized as key habitats on subtidal temperate rocky reefs. Forests characterized by fucalean seaweed, in contrast, receive relatively less attention despite being abundant, ubiquitous, and ecologically important. Here, we review information on subtidal fucalean taxa of Australia's Great Southern Reef, with a focus on the three mo...

Larvae of many intertidal species develop offshore and must cross the surf zone to complete their onshore migration to adult habitats. Depending on hydrodynamics, the surf zone may limit this migration, especially on reflective rocky shores. As a logistically tractable analog of a rocky shore environment, we carried out a comprehensive biological and physical study of the hydrodynamics of a ste...

Experimental analyses of causes of patterns of distribution and abundance of intertidal animals and plants on rocky shores have been a major activity for many years. In this review, some of the themes and topics that have emerged from such analyses are briefly discussed to provide an up-date for practitioners and ecologists working in other habitats. Conceptual issues include the widespread occ...

A key feature of intertidal marine systems is the well-defined gradient of environmental stress generated by tides. In this study, resilience, i.e. the speed of recovery along this gradient, was explored in a temperate rocky shore system. The purpose was to test whether there was a negative relationship between environmental stress and resilience, as suggested by some previous empirical studies...

Intertidal ecosystems have primarily been studied using field-based sampling; remote sensing offers the ability to collect data over large areas in a snapshot of time that could complement field-based sampling methods by extrapolating them into the wider spatial and temporal context. Conventional remote sensing tools (such as satellite and aircraft imaging) provide data at limited spatial and t...

Vertical zonation of intertidal organisms, from the shallow subtidal to the supralittoral zones, is a ubiquitous feature of temperate and tropical rocky shores. Organisms that live higher on the shore experience larger daily and seasonal fluctuations in microhabitat conditions, due to their greater exposure to terrestrial conditions during emersion. Comparative analyses of the adaptive linkage ...

This study shows that, even on exposed, wave-swept, rocky shores in a nutrient-replete upwelling ecosystem, mussels (Mytilus californianus) facilitate the growth of the seaweed Porphyra perforata by enhancing nutrient concentrations in the nearby water column. In field surveys on emergent substrate in the mid-intertidal zone, we found ten times greater abundance of P. perforata on mussels than ...