Aquascope Facts
Cliffs and rocky beach ecology Kelp forest

But the variety of specie is relatively great along rocky coastlines and the production of new organic material can also be great. The production per area that takes place in the kelp forests is amongst the highest ever measured in any environment.
    Exact measurements on the different types of rocky beaches and under varying conditions unfortunately are lacking in Swedish waters. We know for example very little about the quantities of biomass in the different environments and how much is produced during a certain time period. Little is known about how much biomass is brought into the beach environment, how much is taken away, and how much is consumed by grazers and predators.
    However, we do know alot about certain beach organisms, their eating habits and distribution, aswell as how currents and waves transport nutrients. This information can be used to construct simplified pictures of how organisms relate to each other on wave exposed and protected rocky beaches and what cooperation prevails between rocky coastlines and other environments.


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Cliffs and rocks are fantastic!
Zoning and flecked occurrence
Animals that are attached
Modular construction
Variation and change
Variations in water level
Wave exposure
Both cliffs and rocks
Freshwater and saltwater
Geography, climate and history
Organisms life cycles
Organisms effect on each other
Energy and the flow of material

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Bo Johannesson | Martin Larsvik | Lars-Ove Loo | Helena Samuelsson