...|Facts|Cliff and rocky beach ecology

Mass occurrence of blue mussels

This crevice is exposed to very powerful waves and its walls are covered with blue mussels. The mussels are woven together by their byssus threads to form dense mats. When the mussels grow it soon becames crowded and they start pressing against each other and away from the substrate and start growing on top of each other, thus forming a new layer. This makes it easy for the waves to tear loose large chunks out of the mat and other organisms such as red algae and barnacles get a chance to get a foothold on the free area.

Mussel carpet

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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© Aquascope 2000 Tjärnö Marine Biological Laboratory, Strömstad, Sweden
Bo Johannesson | Martin Larsvik | Lars-Ove Loo | Helena Samuelsson