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Rocky Shores
The rocky shore is a difficult place to live, with drying air at low tide and battering surf at high tide. Yet some of the largest and most diverse populations of marine plants and animals are found here. These animals have developed many ways to protect themselves. Some even drill into rocks or have become skilled stonemasons to create shelters.
Seaweeds and microscopic plants produce the basic food of the ocean using the sun's energy. Seaweeds provide food for such grazers as snails, sea hares and urchins.
Many sea animals look just like plants! Sponges, sea squirts, mussels, fanworms and barnacles filter tiny food particles from the water. Sea anemones and their relatives are hungry predators. These animals, in turn, are eaten by the flamboyant nudibranch slugs and other snails.
Hunters of the seashore capture their prey in different ways. Sea stars use hundreds of tube feet. Worms and snails may drill or harpoon their prey, while some crabs use powerful crushing claws.
In the "Touch Tank" you can touch a variety of rocky shore marine life such as a slimy sea hare or a prickly urchin. The "Touch Tank" expert will teach you the names and special traits of the marine life as well as answer any of your questions.
More hunters-the octopus and moray eel-follow. Try to find them in Aquariums 15 and 16. Animals in the Camouflage Tank are disguised to look like their surroundings.
The richest habitat along the California rocky shores is the kelp forest. Kelp grows up to two feet a day and provides attachment, shelter and food for a complex community of plants and animals. Kelp is harvested and used in a variety of ways, from toothpaste to ice cream.
In the "outdoor museum" we have built the Cabrillo Coastal Park Trail to provide accessibility for all visitors who wish to explore the rocky shores of the Point Fermin Marine Life Refuge and the sandy shore of the inner beach. A concrete path across the beach and boardwalk along the cliffs and rugged beach wheelchairs are available to enhance your visit to the tidepools. Please remember, collecting is not allowed along the shore!
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This site was last updated on July 3, 2003.