Virtual Ecology Tours
This is the rocky shore page click here for sand dunes
Click HERE for instructions.
Charles Elton, regarded as the father of Animal Ecology (and here) had this to say about the science of Ecology
'The aim of our science is to declare
Why, and how much of what comes where'
(attributed to Charles Elton, Quoted in Seashore Studies by Morton Jenkins, publ. George Allen and Unwin, 1983)
In this virtual tour you will be able to answer, or at least partly answer, all of the above questions on screen.
There are various routes through the material, but in a standard visit to such a shore students would first familiarise themselves with the living things there (the WHAT question).
Then would come a distribution analysis, usually using a TRANSECT.
Measurement of environmental factors, looking for correlations and designing experiments to test for causality begins to answer WHY.
The Tides
Much of Rocky Shore life is controlled by TIDAL MOVEMENTS. These can be seen here, or by going to the seaside and watching!!
Before you can really begin to understand the ecology of a rocky shore, you need to be understand about tides.
Some experiments and observations
This is the advised route, but you can click on any link and go straight to that section as desired
If this site interests you in shore life, here are some links to take you further in your studies
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