An intertidal habitat for marine life constructed by the company Living Seawalls
Seawalls are causing intertidal habitats to vanish as ocean levels increase. But eco-entrepreneurs say artificial rockpools and crevices can save wildlife
“Species that inhabit the intertidal zone have evolved to live in that environment,” said Pip Moore, a professor of marine science at Newcastle University. These animals find the world’s rising temperatures very stressful, she says. “Lots of organisms use the natural heterogeneity in the rocky shore to hide away from those stresses – [but] a seawall or even a “riprap” boulder don’t have that complexity of habitat.”
Exactly how badly coastal wildlife is affected by coastal squeeze is not entirely clear, but scientists have found that structures such as Artecology’s Vertipools (above) show a “significantly greater” species richness when compared with a normal seawall after five years. One Bournemouth University team found species of crab, fish and periwinkle living in them that had been absent before.
So on the breakwater I poke my head into the space between the huge stone blocks to look for urchins and stars and stuff. I stuck my head into this one and came face to face with another mammal.
Low tide is crunch-time for so many animals who have the opportunity to eat high protein marine life for a few hours. Raccoons, mink, herons, crows, gulls, bears, and even WOLVES use low tide like a trip to the farmer's market. Indigenous people, the Lekwungen speaking peoples in this region, have also been sustainably harvesting from the intertidal and practicing aquaculture since time immemorial.
So I always try to respect the urgency of animals foraging in the intertidal. Respect their space and their time. The same is true for the marine life that spends their time exposed to the air and sun at low tide just holding on for dear life trying to stay hidden and hydrated.
Anyways once I put some distance between me and the raccoon I took some cute pics of it foraging. Enjoy!
Post-Canon, Romance. Completed. Rated: T. Word Count: 1223
Pairings: Kageyama Ritsu/Suzuki Shou
Trigger Warnings: None
“Shou turns his back on him. A sign of trust in some animals, but at this hour, Ritsu can’t remember which ones. He leans over to pick something up. Probably another seashell.
“You love me,” Ritsu says.
“Course I do.”
Even with his unpredictability, Ritsu should’ve expected this. The absolute audacity of him. But he didn’t, so Ritsu stutters and sputters and swallows the seawater air, wonders if he can drown in it. Wonders if that would be a mercy. “Why?””
A sense of peace and wonderment came over me as the music changed. As it switched to our song. The one I remember listening to that night I walked to Tyler’s after being driven to the brink by my desire—not knowing any better that this afflication would evolve into my joyous and welcomed demise. “Space Song” by Beach House. The song that we had debated over second only to “Days of Candy.” This was our song and I would only ever to be able to think of him now whenever it played. Of Tyler and how eternal his loveliness was beneath that stars that night—standing in the doorway waiting for me backlit with a halo of light.
Intertidal by @anotherbluesunday - chapter 30: Sweet Osmanthus
thank you for asking :D I love dorid nudibranchs they are the ideal shape for animal. they look like a cartoon mouse made of jelly but their "ears" are actually rhinophores, which are kinda like what they smell with! and their tail is actually their gills! also nudis are hermaphroditic in that they have both male and female reproductive organs at all times as adults instead of being able to switch between so they are literally all nonbinary.