Rocky Shore Flashcards
1
Q
A
% Ulva intestinalis (gut weed)
- Simple thalli (fronds) arise from a small discoid base.
- Thalli light to dark grass-green in colour.
- Thallus completely tubular and elongate, increasing in width from base to mid thallus.
- Mature specimens, are ‘crisped’ and irregularly inflated
- Thalli typically unbranched
2
Q
A
% Ulva lactuca (sea lettuce)
- Up to 30 cm across.
- Frond broad and crumpled, that is tough, translucent and membranous.
- Disc like holdfast.
- Green to dark green in colour.
3
Q
A
% Ascophyllum nodosum (knotted wrack)
- Frond narrow without midrib.
- Large swollen egg shaped air bladders at intervals along middle of the frond.
- Reproductive bodies rounded on short stalks.
- Dichotomously branched.
4
Q
A
(%) Polysiphonia lanosa (wrack siphon weed)
- Reddish brown filamentous alga.
- An epiphyte of Ascophyllum nodosum, on which they look like ‘pom poms’.
5
Q
A
- Fronds are flat and straplike with a well developed mid-rib.
- Fronds edged with sharp, forward-pointing serrations.
- The frond bears no air bladders.
- The frond surface has numerous pin-pricks with clusters of tiny white hairs.
- Receptacles form slightly thickened patches about 4 cm long.
6
Q
A
% Fucus spiralis (spiral wrack)
- Frond with smooth margin.
- Prominent midrib.
- Without air bladders.
- Frond often twisted.
- Round reproductive bodies at ends of branches, which are almost round in outline.
7
Q
A
% Fucus vesiculosus (bladder wrack)
- Frond with prominent midrib, smooth frond margin and almost spherical air bladders.
- Air bladders usually paired but may be absent in very small plants.
- Frond dichotomously branched.
- A bladderless form occurs on more wave exposed shores
8
Q
A
% Laminaria digitata (oarweed)
- Frond is broad, leathery and digitate.
- Lacks a midrib.
- Stipe is flexible and smooth, oval in cross section and free of epiphytes except maybe Palmaria palmata in older kelps.
- Holdfast of freely branched haptera which spread out to form a shallow dome.
- May be confused with young Laminaria hyperborea plants. However, the stipe of Laminaria hyperborea is circular in cross section and stiff.
9
Q
A
% Saccharina latissimi (sugar kelp)
- A long undivided frond with wrinkled surface and wavy margins, rising from a smooth flexible stipe.
- Without midrib.
- Small branching holdfast.
- Yellowish-brown in colour.
- Up to 4 m long.
10
Q
A
% Corallina officinalis – tufted (coral weed)
- Erect stiff, articulated fronds, coarse to the touch.
- Purple, reddish, pink or yellowish in colour.
- Branching opposite (pinnate).
- Disc shaped holdfast.
11
Q
A
% Chondrus crispus - Carrageen
- Un-branched stipe gradually expanding into fan-like blade.
- Fronds repeatedly dichotomous (up to 5 times) with rounded axils, usually expanding but occasionally tapering towards rounded apices.
- Female fruiting bodies (carposporangia) occur terminally in cystocarps that protrude strongly as concave-convex swellings 2 mm in diameter.
- Form highly variable depending on environment.
12
Q
A
% Mastocarpus stellatus (false irish moss)
- Up to 17 cm in length.
- Channelled fronds with thickened edge widen from a narrow stipe.
- Disc like holdfast.
- Darkish reddish-brown to purple in colour
13
Q
A
% Osmundea pinnatifida (pepper dulse)
- A small red seaweed up to 8 cm in length.
- Tough with flattened fronds.
- Alternate branching, branches become shorter towards the top and broadly rounded.
- Highly variable in size and colouration depending upon its location on the shore.
- Colour ranges from yellow-green to reddish brown.
14
Q
A
% Rhodothamniella floridula (sand binder)
- Brownish red in colour
- The base forms a spongy, carpet like covering on rocks
- Fine branched filaments up to 3 cm in length
- Branches may be upright or creeping
15
Q
A
% Electra Pilosa (thorny sea mat)
- About half the front of the zooid calcified and perforated by large pores.
- Autozooids oval-oblong, about 0.5 mm long
- Colony has a more angular shape than Membranipora membranacea (sea mat)
16
Q
A
% Membranipora membranacea (sea mat)
- Encrusting colonies of varying size with lacy appearance.
- Zooids are a rough rectangular shape
Commonly found on Laminaria digitata and Laminaria hyperborea.
17
Q
A
% Semibalanus balanoides (common rock barnacle)
Record % in 25 x 25 and 5 x 5 cm quadrats and take a picture of the 5 x 5 cm quadrat.
Other species will be identified in the photos.
- Shell wall of 6, grey-white plates.
- Opercular aperture diamond shaped.
- Rostral plate broad.
- Up to 15 mm in diameter.
18
Q
A
% Spirobranchus triqueter (tubeworm)
- The tube is up to 25 mm long.
- A single ridge runs along the top of the tube, ending in a projection over the anterior opening.
- Colouration of the worm is varied.
19
Q
A
Actinia equina (beadlet anemone)
- Broad base up to 5 cm in diameter, usually wider than tall.
- Smooth column.
- Red, green, brown or orange in colour.
- Bright blue wart like spots often present.
20
Q
A
Amphipods
Most species are small (5–20 mm), with a laterally compressed, many-segmented body.
- The sandhopper (pictured) is common on our coastline.
21
Q
A
Corella eumyota – INNS (orange-tipped sea squirt)
* Solitary but highly gregarious- often attached to each other.
* Attached to substratum by right side, causing recumbent posture.
* Musculature developed on both sides of body.
* 2-4 cm long.
* Transparent body.
* Looks like a Werther’s Original toffee
22
Q
A
Carcinus maenas (common shore crab)
- Shell (carapace) up to 8 cm wide.
- Front of carapace serrated with five teeth either side of the eyes.
- Three rounded lobes between the eyes.
- Variable in colour from dark green to orange or red.
23
Q
A
Cancer pagurus (edible crab)
- Claw pincers black, slightly unequal in shape and toothed.
- Wide, oblong-shaped carapace is distinctively marked along its fronto-lateral margins with 10 rounded lobes.
- Tufts of stiff hairs in rows on legs (pereopods).
Last leg segment (dactyls) of walking legs ending in spine-like tips.
24
Q
A
Gibbula cineraria (grey top shell)
- Small topshell with a bluntly conical shell up to 1.5 cm high and 1.7 cm across.
- Oval-shaped umbilicus.
- Shell has 5-6 whorls.
- Grey to light yellowish in colour with broad reddish-brown to purple stripes.
25
Q
A
Nucella lapillus (dog whelk)
- Broadly conical shell with spiral ridges and a short, pointed spire, up to 30 mm in height
- Shell colour usually white, but may be grey, brown, or yellow
- A short, open siphonal canal leads from base of the aperture
- Outer lip of aperture sometimes bears internal teeth.
26
Q
A
Littorina littorea (common periwinkle)
- Shell solid, with 5 or 6 slightly tumid whorls; sutures shallow.
- Spire prominent, pointed up to maximum height of 52 mm.
- Shell smooth, especially in older specimens
- Generally black or dark grey-brown in colour, often lighter towards apex, with dark spiral lines.
27
Q
A
Littorina saxatilis (rough periwinkle)
- A plump shell with 4‐5 whorls and deep grooves
- The shell is 18 mm high and 14 mm wide.
- The aperture of the shell is large, rounded and has a slightly everted lip.
- The throat of the shell is darker than the outer shell surface.
28
Q
A
Littorina obtusata (common flat periwinkle)
- Up to 1.5 cm in height.
- Body whorl slightly larger than aperture.
- Flat topped with minimal spire.
Variable colour, can be olive green, yellow, brown or patterned.
29
Q
A
Littorina fabalis (flat periwinkle)
- Similar to the common flat periwinkle, except the aperture is larger than the body whorl and the spire is even flatter.
30
Q
A
Mytilus edulis (common mussel)
- Oval in shape
- Up to 100mm in length, occasionally larger
- Outer shell dark blue or purple, sometimes brownish
- Mantle edge of live species typically yellow or brown
- Attach to substrate by byssus threads
31
Q
A
Pagurus bernhardus (bernhard’s hermit crab)
- Large hermit crab with a carapace length that reaches 35 mm
- Reddish in colour and will occupy any suitable shell
- Large right pincer, and smaller left
- Both pincers are covered with uniformly distributed granules or small teeth
32
Q
A
Patella vulgate (common limpet)
- Shell with irregular radiating ribs; apex central or slightly anterior; inner surfaces grey-green.
- Size up to 6 cm long x 5 cm wide x 3 cm high.
