{{short description|Rocky pool on a seashore, separated from the sea at low tide, filled with seawater}} {{redirect|Rockpool|other uses|Rockpool (disambiguation)}} {{use mdy dates|date=June 2019}} [[File:Porto Covo February 2009-2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A tide pool in Porto Covo, west coast of Portugal]]
A '''tide pool''' or '''rock pool''' is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. These pools typically range from a few inches to a few feet deep and a few feet across.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=US Department of Commerce |first=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title=What is a tide pool? |url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/tide-pool.html |access-date=2023-02-26 |website=oceanservice.noaa.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref> Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tide, as seawater gets trapped when the tide recedes. Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. A tidal cycle is usually about 25 hours and consists of two high tides and two low tides.<ref name="NPCA Tide pools" />
Tide pool habitats are home to especially adaptable animals, like snails, barnacles, mussels, anemones, urchins, sea stars, crustaceans, octopus, and small fish, as well as seaweed.<ref name=":0" /> Inhabitants must be able to cope with constantly changing water levels, water temperatures, salinity, and oxygen content.<ref name="NPCA Tide pools" /> At low tide, there is the risk of predators like seabirds. These pools have engaged the attention of naturalists and marine biologists, as well as philosophical essayists: 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."<ref name="NPCA Tide pools">{{cite news |title=NPCA Tide pools |publisher=NPCA |date=September 5, 2008 |url=http://www.npca.org/marine_and_coastal/beaches/tide_pools.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924061051/http://www.npca.org/marine_and_coastal/beaches/tide_pools.html |archive-date=2008-09-24 }}</ref> <!--Tide pools are also great places for finding dab fish.-->
Tidal pools are theorized to be one possible environment where life on Earth originated, with the chemical reactions needed for life's beginnings potentially occurring in these shallow, dynamic environments. Additionally, the conditions within tidal pools, such as the presence of fluctuating water levels and unique chemical concentrations, may have also driven the evolution of land-walking vertebrates from ancient fish approximately 400 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Witze |first=Alexandra |date=February 15, 2018 |title=Ocean tides could have driven ancient fish to walk |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02034-w |journal=Nature |language=en |doi=10.1038/d41586-018-02034-w |issn=0028-0836|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Some examples have been artificially augmented to enable safer swimming (for example without waves or without sharks) in seawater at certain states of the tide.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bromley |first1=Freya |title=The UK's most beautiful tidal pools |url=https://www.cntraveller.com/article/most-beautiful-tidal-pools-uk |website=CN Traveller |access-date=2 November 2024 |date=15 September 2024}}</ref>
Tidepooling is an educational and recreational activity in which people visit tidepools formed during low tide to view the rock formations and living organisms they contain.<ref name="OCNMStidepooling">{{cite web |title=Tidepooling |url=https://olympiccoast.noaa.gov/visitor/thingstodo/tidepooling.html |website=Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary |publisher=Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, National Ocean Service, NOAA |access-date=4 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="CalAcadTidepooling">{{cite web |title=Tidepooling 101 |url=https://www.calacademy.org/community-science/californias-tidepools/tidepooling-101 |website=California Academy of Sciences |access-date=4 December 2025}}</ref> Unlike scuba diving or other underwater ways of viewing undersea life, tidepooling is a low-risk activity that does not require expensive equipment or extensive logistics.<ref name="OCNMStidepooling"/>
==Zones == {{Main|Intertidal zone}} thumb|upright=1.2|Tide pools in Santa Cruz, California from spray/splash zone to low tide zone
The rocky shoreline exhibits distinct zones with unique characteristics. These zones are created by the tidal movements of water along the rocky shores from high to low-tide. They are:
* The supralittoral zone or splash zone: area above the high-tide mark, which is virtually a terrestrial environment. Occasionally gets splashed, but never gets covered by the ocean.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Intertidal - Oceans, Coasts & Seashores (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/oceans/intertidal.htm |access-date=2023-02-26 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref> * The intertidal fringe: area around the high-tide mark. * The intertidal or littoral zone: area between the high and low-tide marks. Can be further divided into high, mid, and low intertidal zones, which are explained below in more depth.<ref name=":1" /> * The sublittoral or subtidal zone: area below the low-tide mark.
The presence and abundance of flora and fauna vary between zones along the rocky shore. This is due to niche adaptations in response to the varying tides and solar exposure.
Tide pools exist in the intertidal zone (the area within the tidal range), which is submerged by the sea at high tides and during storms. At other times, the rocks may undergo other extreme conditions, such as baking in the sun or being exposed to cold winds. Few organisms can survive such harsh conditions.
===High tide zone=== The high tide zone is flooded during each high tide, which occurs once or twice daily. Organisms must survive wave action, currents, and long exposure to the sun and open air.<ref name=":1" /> This zone is predominantly inhabited by seaweed and invertebrates, such as sea anemones, starfish, chitons, crabs, green algae, and mussels. Marine algae provide shelter for nudibranchs and hermit crabs. The same waves and currents that make life in the high tide zone difficult bring food to filter feeders and other intertidal organisms.
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=== Mid tide zone === This zone is constantly covered and uncovered by water, so its inhabitants have adapted to surviving in these conditions. More plants and animals live here, compared to the high tide zone, because they are not exposed to drying conditions for so long.<ref name=":1" /> During low tide, anemones close up and can cover themselves in shells and mussels close their shells to keep in moisture. They reopen when the tide returns and brings them food.<ref name="NPCA Tide pools" /> thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Photo of dozens of palm-tree shaped seaweed plants exposed to the air|{{center|Low tide zone in a tide pool}}
===Low tide zone=== This area is mostly submerged and is exposed only during unusually low tide.<ref name="NPCA Tide pools" /> It usually teems with life and has far more marine vegetation, especially seaweeds. Organisms in this zone do not have to be as well adapted to drying out and temperature extremes. Low tide zone organisms include abalone, anemones, brown seaweed, chitons, crabs, green algae, hydroids, isopods, limpets, mussels, and sometimes even small vertebrates such as fish. Seaweeds provide shelter for many animals, like sea slugs and urchins that are too fragile for other zones.<ref name="NPCA Tide pools" /> These creatures can grow to larger sizes because there is more available energy and better water coverage: the water is shallow enough to allow additional sunlight for photosynthetic activity, with almost normal levels of salinity. This area is also relatively protected from large predators because of the wave action and shallow water.
==Marine life==
[[File:Tide pools in santa cruz.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The site of a tide pool in Santa Cruz, California showing starfish, sea anemones, and sea sponges.]] {{benthos sidebar|habitat}}
Tide pools provide a home for many organisms such as sea stars, mussels and clams. Inhabitants deal with a frequently changing environment: fluctuations in water temperature, salinity, and oxygen content. Hazards include waves, strong currents, exposure to midday sun and predators.
Waves can dislodge mussels and draw them out to sea. Gulls pick up and drop sea urchins to break them open. Sea stars prey on mussels and are eaten by gulls themselves. Black bears are known to sometimes feast on intertidal creatures at low tide.<ref name="Botanical Beach">{{cite news |title = Botanical Beach Tide Pools |publisher = British Columbia Parks |date = September 5, 2008 |url = http://www.juandefucamarinetrail.com/botanical_beach.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080724193444/http://www.juandefucamarinetrail.com/botanical_beach.html |archive-date = 2008-07-24 }}</ref> Although tide pool organisms must avoid getting washed away into the ocean, drying up in the sun, or being eaten, they depend on the tide pool's constant changes for food.<ref name="NPCA Tide pools" /> Tide pools contain complex food webs that can vary based on the climate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mendonça |first1=Vanessa |last2=Madeira |first2=Carolina |last3=Dias |first3=Marta |last4=Vermandele |first4=Fanny |last5=Archambault |first5=Philippe |last6=Dissanayake |first6=Awantha |last7=Canning-Clode |first7=João |last8=Flores |first8=Augusto A. V. |last9=Silva |first9=Ana |last10=Vinagre |first10=Catarina |date=2018-07-05 |editor-last=Hewitt |editor-first=Judi |title=What's in a tide pool? Just as much food web network complexity as in large open ecosystems |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=13 |issue=7 |article-number=e0200066 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0200066 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=6033428 |pmid=29975745 |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1300066M |doi-access=free }}</ref>
===Fauna=== The sea anemone ''Anthopleura elegantissima'' reproduces clones of itself through a process of longitudinal fission, in which the animal splits into two parts along its length.<ref name="Sea Anemones"> {{cite news |title = Sea Anemones |website = homepages.ed.ac.uk |author = Andy Horton |date = September 5, 2008 |url = http://homepages.ed.ac.uk/evah01/anemone.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081017210840/http://homepages.ed.ac.uk/evah01/anemone.htm |archive-date = 2008-10-17 }}</ref> The sea anemone ''Anthopleura sola'' often engages in territorial fights. The white tentacles (acrorhagi), which contain stinging cells, are for fighting. The sea anemones sting each other repeatedly until one of them moves.<ref name="Snakelocks Anemone "> {{cite news | title = Snakelocks Anemone | publisher = British Marine Life Study Society | date = September 5, 2008 | url = http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Snakelok.htm | access-date = 2008-09-06 }}</ref>
Some species of sea stars can regenerate lost arms. Most species must retain an intact central part of the body to be able to regenerate, but a few can regrow from a single ray. The regeneration of these stars is possible because the vital organs are in the arms.<ref name=" Biology:Regeneration "> {{cite news |title = Biology: Regeneration |publisher = Dana Krempels, Ph.D. |date = September 5, 2008 |url = http://en.allexperts.com/q/Biology-664/Regeneration.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090806060325/http://en.allexperts.com/q/Biology-664/Regeneration.htm |archive-date = August 6, 2009 }}</ref>
Sea urchins move around tide pools with tube-like feet. Different species of urchin have different colors, and many are seen in tide pools. With their spines that protect them from predators, they allow the urchins to feed almost undisturbed in tide pools. The spines of some species, such as ''Toxopneustes pileolus'', are toxic, capable of delivering an extremely painful sting when touched. Algae and other microorganisms are the food sources that attract the urchins to the tide pools.<ref> {{cite news |title = Sea Urchins |publisher = California Tide Pools |date = October 1, 2014 |url = http://californiatidepools.com/sea-urchins/ }}</ref>
The presence of the California mussel increases the supply of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus in coastal marine tide pools which allows the ecosystem the nutrients to be more productive.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pfister |first=Catherine A. |date=2007 |title=Intertidal Invertebrates Locally Enhance Primary Production |journal=Ecology |volume=88 |issue=7 |pages=1647–1653 |doi=10.1890/06-1913.1 |jstor=27651282 |pmid=17645011 |bibcode=2007Ecol...88.1647P |issn=0012-9658}}</ref> The shell of a California mussel is primarily composed of aragonite and calcite which are both polymorphs of calcium carbonate.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Bullard |first1=Elizabeth M. |last2=Torres |first2=Ivan |last3=Ren |first3=Tianqi |last4=Graeve |first4=Olivia A. |last5=Roy |first5=Kaustuv |date=2021-01-19 |title=Shell mineralogy of a foundational marine species, Mytilus californianus, over half a century in a changing ocean |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=118 |issue=3 |article-number=e2004769118 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2004769118 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=7826377 |pmid=33431664 |bibcode=2021PNAS..11804769B |doi-access=free }}</ref> Climate change and ocean acidification has led to a decrease in these amounts important compounds in California Mussel shells over many years.<ref name=":02" />
Lichens and barnacles live in the splash zone.<ref name="NPCA Tide pools" /> Different barnacle species live at very tightly constrained elevations, with tidal conditions precisely determining the exact height of an assemblage relative to sea level. The intertidal zone is periodically exposed to sun and wind, conditions that can cause barnacles to become desiccated. These animals, therefore, need to be well adapted to water loss. Their calcite shells are impermeable, and they possess two plates which they slide across their mouth opening when not feeding. These plates also protect against predation.<ref> {{cite journal |last=Connell |first=Joseph H. |author-link=Joseph H. Connell |date=November 1972 |title=Community Interactions on Marine Rocky Intertidal Shores |journal=Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=169–192 |doi=10.1146/annurev.es.03.110172.001125 |jstor=2096846|bibcode=1972AnRES...3..169C }} </ref> thumb|Hermit crabs in a tide pool Many species of hermit crab are commonly found in tide pool environments. The long-wristed hermit crab (''Pagurus longicarpus'') has been found to become stranded in tide pools and are forced to inhabit gastropod shells in response to the rapidly changing temperature of the pools.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gilliand |first1=Sarah |last2=Pechenik |first2=Jan A. |date=December 2018 |title=Temperature and Salinity Effects on Shell Selection by the Hermit Crab Pagurus longicarpus |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/700188 |journal=The Biological Bulletin |language=en |volume=235 |issue=3 |pages=178–184 |doi=10.1086/700188 |pmid=30624115 |s2cid=58602447 |issn=0006-3185|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Hermit crabs of different or the same species compete for the snail shells that are available.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Yoshikawa |first1=Akihiro |last2=Goto |first2=Ryutaro |last3=Yasuda |first3=Chiaki I |last4=Asakura |first4=Akira |date=2020-07-21 |title=Corrigendum to: Size and sex bias in air-exposure behavior during low tide of the intertidal hermit crab Clibanarius virescens (Krauss, 1843) (Decapoda: Anomura: Diogenidae) |url=https://academic.oup.com/jcb/article/40/4/488/5868759 |journal=Journal of Crustacean Biology |language=en |volume=40 |issue=4 |page=488 |doi=10.1093/jcbiol/ruaa039 |issn=0278-0372|doi-access=free }}</ref>
Many fish species can live in tidepools. Tidepool fishes are those inhabiting the intertidal zone during part or the entirety of their life cycle, including residents displaying morphological, physiological and behavioral adaptations to withstand the fluctuating environment and non-residents that use the intertidal as juvenile habitat, feeding or refuge ground, or as transient space between nearshore areas.<ref name=":2">{{Citation |last1=Gibson |first1=R. N. |title=13 - Intertidal Fish Communities |date=1999-01-01 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780123560407500147 |work=Intertidal Fishes |pages=264–296 |editor-last=Horn |editor-first=Michael H. |access-date=2023-12-18 |place=San Diego |publisher=Academic Press |doi=10.1016/b978-012356040-7/50014-7 |isbn=978-0-12-356040-7 |last2=Yoshiyama |first2=R. M. |editor2-last=Martin |editor2-first=Karen L. M. |editor3-last=Chotkowski |editor3-first=Michael A.|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Andrades |first1=Ryan |last2=González-Murcia |first2=Saúl |last3=Buser |first3=Thaddaeus J. |last4=Macieira |first4=Raphael M. |last5=Andrade |first5=Juliana M. |last6=Pinheiro |first6=Hudson T. |last7=Vilar |first7=Ciro C. |last8=Pimentel |first8=Caio R. |last9=Gasparini |first9=João L. |last10=Quintão |first10=Thaís L. |last11=Machado |first11=Fabíola S. |last12=Castellanos-Galindo |first12=Gustavo |last13=Ruiz-Campos |first13=Gorgonio |last14=Ojeda |first14=F. Patricio |last15=Martin |first15=Karen L. |date=2023-12-01 |title=Ecology, evolution and conservation of tidepool fishes of the Americas |journal=Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries |language=en |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=1263–1290 |doi=10.1007/s11160-023-09798-z |bibcode=2023RFBF...33.1263A |issn=1573-5184}}</ref> Tidepool fishes can be classified as residents and non-residents (sometimes called transients or visitors).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Horn |first1=Michael H. |last2=Martin |first2=Karen L. M. |last3=Chotkowski |first3=Michael A. |date=1999 |title=Intertidal Fishes: life in two worlds |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-356040-7.x5000-8 |isbn=978-0-12-356040-7 |via=Academic Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Thomson |first1=Donald A. |last2=Lehner |first2=Charles E. |date=1976-04-01 |title=Resilience of a rocky intertidal fish community in a physically unstable environment |journal=Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=1–29 |doi=10.1016/0022-0981(76)90106-4 |bibcode=1976JEMBE..22....1T |issn=0022-0981}}</ref> Residents are those that spend the whole lifetime in the tidepools.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Almada |first1=Vítor C. |last2=Faria |first2=Cláudia |date=2004-06-01 |title=Temporal variation of rocky intertidal resident fish assemblages - patterns and possible mechanisms with a note on sampling protocols |journal=Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries |language=en |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=239–250 |doi=10.1007/s11160-004-6750-7 |bibcode=2004RFBF...14..239A |issn=1573-5184|hdl=10400.12/1509 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Non-resident species are commonly divided into two groups: secondary residents (also known as partial residents or opportunists) and transients (which can be further classified as tidal and seasonal transients). Secondary residents are species that spend only a portion of their life history in tidepools, typically during their juvenile stage, before moving on to adult subtidal habitats.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> Transients, on the other hand, may temporarily inhabit tidepools for various reasons such as foraging, seeking refuge, or transit. Unlike residents, transients lack specialized adaptations for intertidal life and typically occupy large tidepools for a relatively short period, ranging from a single tidal cycle to a few months.<ref name=":3" /> The tidepool sculpin is a species of fish that is named for its tide pool habitat. The tidepool sculpin has been found to show preferences for certain tide pools and will return to their tide pool of choice after being removed from it.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Green |first=John M. |date=1971-03-01 |title=High Tide Movements and Homing Behaviour of the Tidepool Sculpin Oligocottus maculosus |url=http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/10.1139/f71-051 |journal=Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada |language=en |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=383–389 |doi=10.1139/f71-051 |issn=0015-296X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> This is a behavior known as homing. These fish crawl on the floor of tide pools using a back and forth movement of their tail fin and a rotating motion of their pectoral fins.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bressman |first1=Noah R. |last2=Gibb |first2=Alice C. |last3=Farina |first3=Stacy C. |date=December 2018 |title=A walking behavior generates functional overland movements in the tidepool sculpin, Oligocottus maculosus |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0944200618301223 |journal=Zoology |language=en |volume=131 |pages=20–28 |doi=10.1016/j.zool.2018.10.003|pmid=30502824 |bibcode=2018Zool..131...20B |s2cid=54486846 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Multiple species of Amphipods (Amphipoda) can be found in coastal tide pools. These small crustaceans provide an important food source for predator species as well as limiting the growth of algae attached to vegetation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Carvalho |first1=Jessica |last2=Mendonça |first2=Vanessa |last3=Vinagre |first3=Catarina |last4=Silva |first4=Ana |date=June 2021 |title=Environmental factors impacting the abundance and distribution of amphipods in intertidal rock pools |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1385110121000411 |journal=Journal of Sea Research |language=en |volume=172 |article-number=102035 |doi=10.1016/j.seares.2021.102035|bibcode=2021JSR...17202035C |s2cid=234822803 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
===Flora=== Sea palms (''Postelsia'') look similar to miniature palm trees. They live in the middle to upper intertidal zones in areas with greater wave action. High wave action may increase nutrient availability and moves the blades of the thallus, allowing more sunlight to reach the organism so that it can photosynthesize. In addition, the constant wave action removes competitors, such as the mussel species ''Mytilus californianus''.
Recent studies have shown that ''Postelsia'' grows in greater numbers when such competition exists; a control group with no competition produced fewer offspring than an experimental group with mussels; from this it is thought that the mussels provide protection for the developing gametophytes.<ref name="seasonalpatterns"> {{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222499834 |title=Seasonal patterns of disturbance influence recruitment of the sea palm, ''Postelsia palmaeformis'' |journal=Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology |first=Carol A. |last=Blanchette |pages=1–14 |date=April 1996 |volume=197 |issue=1 |doi=10.1016/0022-0981(95)00141-7|bibcode=1996JEMBE.197....1B }} </ref> Alternatively, the mussels may prevent the growth of competing algae such as ''Corallina'' or ''Halosaccion'', allowing ''Postelsia'' to grow freely after wave action has eliminated the mussels.<ref name="habitat"> {{cite journal |doi=10.2307/1941157 |last=Paine |first=R.T. |title=Habitat Suitability and Local Population Persistence of the Sea Palm Postelsia Palmaeformis |journal=Ecology |volume=69 |issue=6 |pages=1787–1794 |date=December 1998 |jstor=1941157 }}</ref>
Coralline algae "Corallinales" are predominant features of mid and low intertidal tide pools. Calcium carbonate (CaCO<sub>3</sub>) takes the form of calcite in their cell walls providing them with a hard outer shell. This shell protects from herbivores and desiccation due to lack of water and evaporation. Many forms of the Coralline algae bring herbivores, such as mollusks "Notoacmea", to the tide pools during high tides, increasing the biomass of the area. Once low tides comes, these herbivores are exposed to carnivores in the areas, fueling the food web.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Padilla|first=Dianna K.|date=1984-07-24|title=The importance of form: Differences in competitive ability, resistance to consumers and environmental stress in an assemblage of coralline algae|journal=Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology|language=en|volume=79|issue=2|pages=105–127|doi=10.1016/0022-0981(84)90213-2|bibcode=1984JEMBE..79..105P |issn=0022-0981}}</ref><!-- Possibly add a section here about how climate change has affected marine life. A good article I found is: {{cite journal|doi=10.1086/721229 |title=Climate Change Amelioration by Marine Producers: Does Dominance Predict Impact? |year=2022 |last1=Mahanes |first1=Samuel A. |last2=Bracken |first2=Matthew E. S. |last3=Sorte |first3=Cascade J. B. |journal=The Biological Bulletin |volume=243 |issue=3 |pages=299–314 |pmid=36716485 |s2cid=254904498 }} -->
<gallery widths="180"> File:Anthopleura sola is consuming Velella velella.jpg|A starburst anemone ''(Anthopleura sola)'' consuming a by-the-wind-sailor ''(Velella velella),'' a blue hydrozoan File:Postelsia palmaeformis 2.jpg|alt=Photo of speckled rocks, and various irregularly-shaped animals|''Postelsia palmaeformis'' at low tide in a tide pool File:Starfishmussel.jpg|alt=Photo of five-legged approximately radially-symmetric animal lying on rock with shelled animal in its mouth, which is in the center of its body|Sea star, ''Pisaster ochraceus'' consuming a mussel in tide pools File:Close-up of clone war of sea anemones.jpg|Sea anemones, ''Anthopleura sola'' engaged in a battle for territory thumb|Tide pool with several species including Coralline Algae, Corallinales (purple color). File:Tide pool in fog at extreme low tide, Kachemak Bay.jpg|Temporary tide pool at an extreme low tide, Kachemak Bay, Alaska </gallery>
=== Coastal predators === Tide pools are often surrounded by coastal predators who feed on tide pool flora and fauna. These predators play an important role in the tide pool food web and create competition for resources.
==See also== * Intertidal fish * List of British Isles rockpool life * Rocky shore * Sydney inter-tidal rock pools
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{commons category|Tide pools}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060907004331/http://homepage.ntlworld.com/oliver.merrington/lidos/lidos4.htm Tidal swimming pools in Britain]
{{aquatic ecosystem topics|expanded=marine}} {{coastal geography}} {{Modelling ecosystems}} {{pond}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Bodies of water Category:Tides Category:Marine biology Category:Coastal geography Category:Natural pools Category:Coastal and oceanic landforms