Overview

An engaging account of the natural history of rock and boulder-strewn shores around Britain's coastline. 'As packed with knowledge and enthusiasm as a rock pool is filled with strange and beautiful species' Maya Plass, BBC Wildlife Rocky Shores explores the species, communities and landscape of the narrow strip of land surrounding much of the British Isles. While it may be limited in breadth, this habitat is incredibly biodiverse, and this insightful book details all the patterns of marine life that might be encountered on sheltered and exposed shores, from the inhospitable splash zone to the repeatedly submerged lower shore, and everything in between. Comprehensive chapters accompanied by exceptional photographs cover various members of the rocky-shore community in turn: striking lichens that colourfully adorn the rocks; seaweeds that have sustained human settlements for millennia; mysterious and often spectacular worms and their relatives; molluscs with variously configured shells; spiny-skinned echinoderms that move using tube feet; arthropods that range from tiny marine insects to heavy-clawed crabs; and microscopic species that drift around at the mercy of the tides. Rock pools provide pockets of diversity dotted across the shore, while the strandline at the high-tide mark supports a unique assemblage of microbes and invertebrates that attracts a variety of birds and mammals. For anyone with a love of the shore – from the occasional rockpooler to avid naturalists – this book is a must-have for your collection.

Full Product Details

9781399432757

Table of Contents

Reviews

Beautifully written and enticingly presented, Rocky Shores is a gem. Drawing on the authors’ expert knowledge and unbridled love of our seashores, this superb book takes us on a fascinating journey of exploration and discovery. As the sea encroaches and retreats, we witness a huge array of formations and wildlife and get a real sense of primeval awakenings on the wonder and value of nature. -- Professor Des Thompson FRSE As packed with knowledge and enthusiasm as a rock pool is filled with strange and beautiful species - the details of which Archer-Thomson and Cremona describe so well. -- Maya Plass * BBC Wildlife * The ability of these authors to communicate in a lively and memorable way shines out clearly in this beautifully written book. -- Frances Dipper * British Wildlife magazine *

Author Information

John Archer-Thomson and Julian Cremona have spent their working lives in environmental education and conservation. They are a former deputy head and head respectively of the Field Studies Council’s Dale Fort Field Centre in Pembrokeshire. John is now a freelance coastal ecologist, photographer, writer and tutor, while Julian is the author of several books on exploration, nature and photography.

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