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 ...

Photoacclimatory responses of the seagrass Zostera marina in the intertidal and subtidal zones were investigated by measuring chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters, photosynthetic pigments, leaf δ13C values, and shoot morphology in two bay systems. Intertidal plants had higher carotenoid concentrations than subtidal plants to avoid photodamage under excess light conditions during the day. The m...

Marine organisms in intertidal zones are subjected to periodical fluctuations and wave activities. To understand how microbes in intertidal biofilms adapt to the stresses, the microbial metagenomes of biofilms from intertidal and subtidal zones were compared. The genes responsible for resistance to metal ion and oxidative stresses were enriched in both 6-day and 12-day intertidal biofilms, incl...

The presence of large carnivores can affect lower trophic levels by suppressing mesocarnivores and reducing their impacts on prey. The mesopredator release hypothesis therefore predicts prey abundance will be higher where large carnivores are present, but this prediction assumes limited dietary overlap between large and mesocarnivores. Where dietary overlap is high, e.g., among omnivorous carni...

Shorebirds have declined severely across the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. Many species rely on intertidal habitats for foraging, yet the distribution and conservation status of these habitats acrossAustralia remain poorly understood. Here, we utilised freely available satellite imagery to produce the first map of intertidal habitats across Australia. We estimated a minimum intertidal area of...

Antarctic intertidal zones are extremely harsh environments, and the Antarctic limpet Nacella concinna is one of the most conspicuous components of the macrofauna, colonizing such areas at King George Island, South Shetlands. The limpet subpopulation encompasses an intertidal and a subtidal ecomorph; these differ with respect to shell height and inner volume. We studied morphological, behaviour...

Rocky intertidal organisms are facing pronounced fluctuations in environmental conditions even at small spatial and temporal scales. This heterogeneous habitat is a proper model system to investigate effects of physical parameters and their interactions on physiological performances of marine organisms. In the intertidal zone (especially in tidal pools), the temperature and salinity usually inc...

Intertidal wetlands are recognised for the provision of a range of valued ecosystem services. The two major categories of intertidal wetlands discussed in this contribution are saltmarshes and mangrove forests. Intertidal wetlands are under threat from a range of anthropogenic causes, some site-specific, others acting globally. Globally acting factors include climate change and its driving caus...

While intertidal habitats are often productive, species-rich environments, they are also harsh and highly dynamic. Organisms that live in these habitats must possess morphological and physiological adaptations that enable them to do so. Intertidal fishes are generally small, often lack scales, and the diverse families represented in intertidal habitats often show convergence into a few general ...

The distribution of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis spans a steep gradient of environmental stress between intertidal and subtidal habitats, and can provide insight into population-scale patterns and underlying processes of variation in physiological tolerances. I conducted a 7 wk reciprocal transplant of mussels between the upper intertidal and subtidal portion of their natural depth distributi...