Erin and Katie getting ready
to flip some cobble
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On either side of the rocky promontory are small patches of
cobble beach. At first glance it is easy to overlook this habitat when
hunting for invertebrates because it is less extensive than the sandy
beach and less impressive than the rocky outcrops. But underneath these
cobbles live a number of highly mobile crustaceans and molluscs--including
shore crabs, porcelain crabs, hermit crabs, isopods and limpets--as well
as polychaete worms that live in semi-permanent tubes or burrow into the
sediment. The cobbles provide a spatially complex habitat with large,
protected, and well-flushed spaces that can concentrate drifting food and
enable animals to hide from potential predators and avoid desiccation during
low tides.
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