.png)
Tide pools: Miniature ecosystems on our shores
- federicosocean
- Apr 20
- 5 min read
When we think of oceanography, a lot of big things come to mind. I stopped counting the number of videos or articles I've seen talking about the Mariana trench, sharks or whales.
But one thing that I learned while scuba diving is that sometimes in the ocean, the small can be as fascinating as the big. Today's article focuses on tide pools. Those miniature ecosystems where an entire food chain coexists and can serve as a sample to grasp the complexity of ocean life. As John Steinbeck wrote in The Log from the Sea of Cortez, "It is advisable to look from the tide pool to the stars and then back to the tide pool."
Let's go!
How are tide pools formed
As their name suggest, they are saltwater pools on the ocean shores created by the daily tide movements.
In simple terms, when the tide is high, the pool is entirely submerged which allows marine life to explore it freely.
And when the tide is lowering, the pool gets disconnected from the ocean and most marine animals that are in the tide pool have to stay until the next submersion comes in.
Depending on the location, this cycle can occur once or twice a day.
The importance of tide pools for marine ecosystems
Tide pools may seem anecdotal compared to the ocean immensity.
But they are essential for a lot of marine creatures such as starfishes, crabs, barnacles, mussels and a plethora of small fish. Despite their small size, tide pools are often teeming with life. As the tide comes, it brings a lot of nutrients such as plankton, allowing for the creatures that live in the tide pool to feed. Not only that but it also serves as a trap for prey such as small fish. They can then be easily hunted down by predators as escaping from a tide pool is much harder than in the open ocean. This is especially advantageous for marine animals that can withstand short amounts of time outside water, such as crabs.
Thanks to their ability to walk and stay outside water, crabs can travel from a tide pool to another feeding on whatever they can find. Tide pools are also a great feeding spot for sea birds, especially when the tide is so exceptionally low that almost no water remains. Wading birds are well adapted for feeding on this kind of environment.
According to a scientific paper that I read while preparing to write this article, there is very little correlation between the complexity of the ecosystem of a tide pool and its size. This means that no matter how small or big a tide pool is, it will almost always host a complex food web.
Tide pools are truly like the article's title. They are miniatures marine ecosystems on our shores.
Which brings us to the next section.
Why are tide pools important for humans?
For me, tide pools are one of the most beautiful and low commitment ways to explore the ocean.
And this is, I believe, its biggest appeal.
In terms of biomass, they may not represent a lot in the great ocean ecosystem. But I think they are important for education. A lot of people's first contact with marine life was on a tide pool. And that's not a coincidence. As they are close to the shore and above water, they can easily be explored.
Even for people who can't scuba dive or even swim, tide pools offer an opportunity to be one with the ocean and see its beauty.
As they are complete ecosystem, they can really teach you a lot about marine biology and provide you a glimpse of what lies beneath the waves.
It's not only vacationers and oceanography amateurs that love them. Tide pools never cease to amaze scientists due to their mesmerizing biodiversity and complex processes.
How to explore a tide pool
I think that after reading all of this, you might wonder about the possibility of exploring a tide pool. This is why I am going to give you some practical tips on how to do it!
The first thing is bring in some good shoes. Rocks near tide pools are very slippery and you could easily fall. Those shoes could also protect you from hurting your feet.
I would also strongly advise you to get some sunscreen as you're likely to spend a lot of time outdoors.
In particular, as water easily reflects sun rays and you could get more easily burnt. This piece of advice might seem trivial or blatantly obvious. But trust me, I learned it the hard way.
On top of that, I don't recommend you at all to touch or try to handle the animals present in tide pools.
They can be dangerous due to their venom or bite. Tide pools are a place of choice for stone fish, octopuses and moray eels. Stone fishes have some of the most painful venom in the marine world. Octopuses and moray eels bites could easily cut one of your finger.
If you're interested in getting to known the amazing world of tide pools and why they're so amazing, I strongly recommend you the video from YBS Youngbloods called Exploring For Venomous Sea Creatures In Tide Pools. In this video, Brodie Moss shows you the sheer diversity of tide pool creatures and even encounters a sea snake along the way. In case you're interested in sea snakes, I made an article about them where I discuss the toxicity of their venom and their behavior towards humans.
Conclusion
Tide pools are some of the best ecosystems if you want to get started exploring the ocean.
Vital for a number of marine species, they are teeming with diverse forms of marine life that you can see with your own eyes.
Those pools can teach you everything you need to know about marine biology thanks to their tiny ecosystems with complex food chains.
With this article, I wanted to demonstrate you that even in places around the ocean that may seem insignificant, you can find tremendous amounts of beauty and life.
The ocean will never cease to amaze me. And I hope for you as well!
I hope you loved this article as much as I loved creating it!
If you'd like to see more content from me, you can follow me @federicosocean on Youtube and Instagram.
See you on the next one!
Federico Zein
Sources
What's in a tide pool? Just as much food web network complexity as in large open ecosystems Mendonça V, Madeira C, Dias M, Vermandele F, Archambault P, et al. (2018) What's in a tide pool? Just as much food web network complexity as in large open ecosystems. PLOS ONE 13(7): e0200066. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.020006
Comments