Miscellaneous photos of the intertidal at the Giant Stairs,
Bailey's Island, Maine

 

 

View north, the black zone is to the left and the barnacle zone to the right.

 

Typical lichens growing in the Lichen Zone.

 

Typical winter wave action at the Giant Stairs. These waves were observed tearing up Chondrus fronds.

 

Refuges: In the center of the photo can be seen a cluster of small littorine snails using the larger barnacles (Balanus) as a shelter.

 

This a very sheltered location compared to the Giant Stairs. It is rare to find many mussels of this size on the exposed coast, although they are very abundant there.

 

These aggregations are frequently observed, and especially in winter months. This one is one the Cribstone Bridge.

 

Fissures in the bedrock form surge channels for wave action, acting to funnel water higher into the intertidal than it would otherwise. This permits localized extension of species ranges into higher tide levels than they would otherwise occupy.

 

Open rock space (primary space) is typically first occupied by a variety of algae, diatoms, and cyanobacteria, species that reproduce and settle fairly quickly. Examples of these "opportunists" are shown above.