The Characteristics of a Sandy Shore at Pallarenda Beach, Townsville,

Responses such as naturalness, unspoilt landscape, relaxing view are rated highly when people stated what they liked about the beach.

Limpets (Patella vulgate) live in algae rich environments on rocky shores. . It has been proposed that in more sheltered areas, limpet shells will grow to be flatter with a larger diameter, while in more exposed areas of coastline, they will grow a taller and narrower shell shape. To find out whether or not the shores of Aberdeen reflected this, samples were taken from two sites (Site A and Site B) along the Aberdeen coastline that varied in their exposure to wave action. The sites were chosen to provide two sample sites with a notable difference in their environment. In the more sheltered site A, limpets were not exposed to harsh waves, while at site B, there was significantly more wave action. Quadrats were used at both sites to provide an area of sampling for the limpets and they were placed around 5 meters from the waterline. The overall results from the study showed that there is a very strong relationship between diameter and height in Limpet shells and that there was an incredibly slight difference in the relationship between the two sites.

The coastal environment I have decided to talk about today is Ningaloo Reef. The reef is on the remote western coast of Australia, it includes one of the longest nearshore reefs in the world. Temperate and tropical currents converge in the Ningaloo region resulting in highly diverse marine life including spectacular coral reefs, abundant fishes and species with special conservation significance such as turtles, whale sharks, dugongs, whales and dolphins.

In south Texas there are several types of ecosystems one of those ecosystems are the dunes. South Texas dunes are found along the Texas coastline and the general abiotic conditions are sandy soil, high salt content, some fresh water, flooding in the occasion of severe storms and moisture from rain and waves. Sea Oats and Bitter Pancum are two types of plants that dominate the South Texas dunes. Bitter Pancum adaptation for living in this type of ecosystem is that they are tolerant to high salinity. Sea Oats are less tolerant to high salt but their adaptation is to grow rapidly. Some common animal species that live in the dunes are crabs, which are tolerant to high salt water, gulls, and terns feed on crabs and other species around the

Sand nourishment refers to the replacement of sediment on beaches that has previously been lost, generally through natural processes. It is a commonly used practice in coastal management. Collaroy Beach uses sand nourishment as longshore drift has moved sand, which cannot be replenished as there are rock formations preventing sediment from refilling the beach. Collaroy Beach also does not have an established dune system, and cannot trap sand.

The lower shore, or low tide zone, is mostly submerged underwater. The most noticeable difference of this sub-region is the large diversity of different types of seaweeds. Organisms found in this zone are generally less adapted to periods of dryness. The creatures are generally the largest and most complex organisms on the shore as there are more sources of food as marine vegetation flourishes.

A S U S T A I N A B L E F U T U R E

Although it supports a number of different organisms, Nudgee Beach lacks many of the fundamentals that make up a healthy and successful ecosystem. The first indicator of this is from the lack of birds present in the area. Although it has been noted for terrestrial bird species – such as kingfishers, pelicans, ibis, egrets, jabiru, stilts and heron – and wading bird species – such as golden plovers, curlews, tattlers and godwits – to have been spotted at Nudgee Beach and surrounding areas in the past; after a day’s worth of extensive observation and research, it was found that the birds observed were limited to magpie, ibis, great knot and eastern curlew species. To intensify this factor, at the time by which this lack of species was recorded, Nudgee Beach was expected to have started seeing tens of thousands of birds arrive for the migratory season [21]. This blatant lack of bird species diversity and quantity may have been due to the lack of small organisms within the ecosystem. The restricted number of small organisms at Nudgee Beach is detrimental to the entire ecosystem as these organisms make up the bottom levels of the food web and provide higher-level organisms with adequate amounts of food to consume. The smaller organisms expected to be observed – including; crustacean, shell, mollusc, lizard, frog, fish, worm, arachnid and insect species – was limited to the infrequent observation of crustacean, shell,

There are 2 types of beaches. One is erosion dominant and the other is deposition

* The sand dunes on the beaches. This area is affected by wind erosion as well as the tides if adequate vegetative cover is not present. The main type of erosion, from the sea, takes the sand from the sand dunes as well as the rest of the beach in a rip. The sand is then pulled out to sea where it forms a sand bar. On calmer days, the sand is brought back to the beach.

Long Island is famous for its sandy ocean beaches. Between the barrier beach and the main coast is the Great South Bay. The beaches and dunes have very different characteristics. The sandy beach is the junction of land and ocean. The sandy beach consists of two zones, the swash zone and the drift line. The swash zone is the area of wet sand, caused by the incoming wave. The drift line is formed by the dead seaweed and other aquatic plants. Behind the sandy beach is the primary dune. The primary dune's main function is to absorb the force of the ocean and protect the great south bay and the island's main coast. In some cases secondary dunes form. These dunes are behind the primary dune and are therefor protected from the ocean. This provides the stability necessary for plant growth. Many time a maritime forests will form on secondary dunes.

The coral reef surveyors were instructed to find the best sites that they believed had the most living coral and were thought to be least affected by human activities. This would allow Hodgson to determine if human activities were having an appreciable effect on the supposed pristine coral reefs, which were distant from urban centers. The invertebrate survey was undertaken at two depth intervals of 3m and 10m. Four 0.5 m wide by 20 m long belts were placed on the coral reef. Over a period of 3-5 minutes the observers counted the number of invertebrates found on the belts. The coral survey was performed, by placing four 20 m long belts on the coral substrate. At 0.5 m intervals the substrate on which the belts were lying was examined and recorded.

The intertidal rocky shore of Caloundra Beach is inhabited by diverse range of biodiversity of animals and plants, many of which have developed high levels of adaptations throughout their existence. The very boundary of marine and terrestrial ecosystem, this environment is subjected to extremes of the physical environment such as temperature, desiccation, wave turbulence as well the ecological interactions that commonly occur in biotic communities (e.g. competition, predation). However Rocky intertidal shores are easily accessible by humans and provide an enjoyable opportunity for passive recreation and for science and environmental education as well.

These invertebrates include ‘Serpulids, Branchiopods, Sponges, Ascidians, Bivalves, Echinoids and Benthic foraminifers.’ (书) these benthic invertebrates have contributed an important role in cool-water carbonate environment. As the pure carbonate accumulated in a distinctive shallow water, this environment is based on the influence of the assemblage of coralline algae and the beneath invertebrates, which were swept into shoals by the strong tidal

Flat rock beach is located at east Ballina in Northern NSW. The region has a warm temperate climate with a pronounced summer “wet” season and a “dry” mild winter season (Angels beach vegetation management plan, 2004). Flat rock’s coordinates are 35.2342o S and 150.5299o E. At Flat rock, there is a volcanic platform that stretches across part of the edge of the beach out into the ocean. This forms an intricate maze of rock pools that are homes to many different species of organisms. The beach at flat rock additionally has an abundant dune system, which is also the home to many species; some species include but are not limited to, plants, crabs and other life forms.