Over the last four years I've spent most of my time studying the weird and wonderful animals that inhabit our deep oceans, which has left me a little out of touch with things at the shallow end. Obviously this shabby state of affairs 'just won't do' (says the gentleman naturalist inside my head), so I took a few days off to get better acquainted with the intertidal zone.
The last two days have been spring tides, so the intertidal zone has been at it's most extreme, exposing some parts that would normally be underwater... and heaven forbid that I should have to go underwater! The deep-sea biologist in me knows that's what ROVs are for (duh!), but something tells me that I will have to take the plunge if I am to continue with these shallow water larks. As someone raised in the tropics, I still find it daunting to go swimming in the icy north Atlantic. Back in the Bahamas I will gladly spend hours exploring underwater, but I think my record is 40 minutes in the North Sea.
So I thought I'd start off with baby steps into the intertidal, a warm-up if you will. Over the last two days I did manage to spend hours exploring and I got my feet wet and the water was warmer than I thought. On top of that I saw some of the amazing beauties living just on my doorstep, so I think it's safe to say that you'll be seeing more from the sunlit zone in the future.
I've posted highlights in the gallery below. Some of these animals are probably pretty common and even a bit plain (in the Jane Austen sense) but I still find them amazing. As with anything on this website, feel free to use and distribute under creative commons - no copyright here!
So I thought I'd start off with baby steps into the intertidal, a warm-up if you will. Over the last two days I did manage to spend hours exploring and I got my feet wet and the water was warmer than I thought. On top of that I saw some of the amazing beauties living just on my doorstep, so I think it's safe to say that you'll be seeing more from the sunlit zone in the future.
I've posted highlights in the gallery below. Some of these animals are probably pretty common and even a bit plain (in the Jane Austen sense) but I still find them amazing. As with anything on this website, feel free to use and distribute under creative commons - no copyright here!
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