Plants
Plant growth on beaches is limited to a few species. The plants that are able to grow here either need protection in the dunes from the harsh forces of the wind, or they have to be very well-adapted to the shifting sand, temperature, salt, and limited water supply. In general, you'll see very distinct zones on a beach.
Filamentous algae can be found in great numbers on the mud exposed at low tide. Seaweed is a type of algae and there are many different ones to discover. It is often found on the beach, washed ashore by the waves. The sand below the low tide line is too unstable and the water too turbulent for seaweed to grow.
As a result, these plants grow in the subtidal zone below the low tide limit, where a more stable substrate is available. You can gather seaweed on the shore. It can be used as a source of food or for plant study. Sandy beaches support productive and diverse micro-algal communities of species that are adapted to moving sand. They live between sand grains or attached to them.
Bayberry
Bayberry grows in the protection of the dunes. This shrub is also called Candle Berry. It contains a resin, which was used in candle making in earlier times.
wild rose
Beachgrass
Beachgrass or Marram Grass (Ammophilia breviligulata) is the most important plant on the beach. It stabilizes the shifting sand and prepares it for further plant colonization. You'll see it mostly in the foredune where conditions are most severe. Sea Lyme-Grass (Elymus arenarius) can be found growing with Beachgrass, and it also grows in coarser sand and sometimes even gravel. This grass can also be found in salt marshes, where the sand is mixed with mud.
Ammophilia comes from ammos (Greek for sand) and philos (Greek for loving). Beachgrass has to be covered by at least seven centimetres of sand over the year to be able to survive. Its rhizomes trap the sand like a very fine-meshed net. The amount of sand coverage stimulates the growth of Beachgrass. The grass sends out runners to cover more area. The dead plant material in the sand, the living rhizomes, and the living plants on the surface very effectively trap the sand and create a more stable environment. Beachgrass receives some nutrients from the salt spray.
Molluscs
In the beach ecosystem molluscs are found on the sandbars and mudflats. Some molluscs feed by filtering water for tiny sources of food such as plankton and others are carnivores. Some will graze on microscopic algae. Others feed on detritus from dead animals and plants. They are an important source of food for other species such as fish and birds.
How do clams bury themselves?
A Clam buries itself by extending its foot in a tapered point into the sand. Then the foot expands and becomes an anchor. The clam pulls the rest of the body downward.
Different feeding techniques of clams
Common Northern Moon Shell
The Common Northern Moon Shell is a carnivore whose shells and sand collars can often be found on the beach. 10 cm.
The Common Northern Moon Shell
The Common Northern Moon Shell lives just below the water's surface, in low intertidal and subtidal zones. Moon shell egg masses can be found on the beach in summer. Sand collars protect the eggs from predators. Moon shells are predatory and eat clams and worms. They bore holes in clam shells with a 'radula,' which acts like a drill. A radula is the 'tongue' of molluscs, a horny strip that is continually renewed and has teeth on its surface.
Where moon shells are common, the number of worms and molluscs may decrease.
Sand collar
Insects
Rarely are we disturbed by biting insects on the beach. They're usually kept away by the wind. But when the wind stops blowing, mosquitoes from salt marshes, horse flies, and deer flies can become a nuisance. Small flies feed on the detritus of the strand line and are in turn food for other creatures such as birds and shrews. Robins and warblers can be seen feeding on these insects. Ants and spiders live in the dunes and the holes of sandwasps can often be observed in the sand.
Short-tailed Black Swallowtail
The Short-tailed Black Swallowtail is a common butterfly in the dunes. Its caterpillars feed on the leaves of Scotch Lovage and develop into large, black butterflies with yellow and white spots.
Crustaceans
Crustaceans are a familiar group of organisms. Most of them are edible and quite visible in the sand, debris, and the water.
Sand Shrimps are lower shore carnivores that can be found at the seaweed, digging into the sand. They are about 9.9 mm long when mature.
Some amphipods get thrown up by waves and then feed on detritus. They dive back into the protection of the sand when the waves recede. Beach hoppers live in this zone and are around 3 cm large.
This common crab washes up on the beach or is caught in lobster traps. It feeds on dead animals but will also eat any live prey it can catch. To 13.1 cm.
Echinoderms
Sand Dollar
The Sand Dollar mainly eats microscopic algae that are found in the sand. To 7.5 cm.
Worms
Marine worms occur in the intertidal zone. Some are carnivores, while others eat seaweed or detritus (non-living materials). Marine worms put organic matter back into circulation. They also provide food for a great variety of animals such as crustaceans, fish, and birds.
red-lined worm
Fish
From the beach you can observe some species of flounders, Capelin, Atlantic Silverside and the American Sand Lance. Sand Lances are an important food source for Cod, Haddock, Pollock, Plaice, and Yellowtail Flounder. Winter Flounder are an important food source for seals, Osprey, Great Blue Heron, and cormorants. Capelin feed on plankton. Many bird species, fish, and marine mammals feed on capelin. The Atlantic Cod is presumed to be a main predator. Minke Whales and Fin Whales also feed extensively on Capelin.
The American Sand Lance is a small fish that can burrow several inches deep into the bottom above the low tide level. They can be observed looking out of their holes from time to time, perhaps verifying whether the water is coming back. They primarily feed on copepods, but also to a lesser extent on snails, worms, etc. To 15 cm.
The Smooth Flounder is the smallest of flounders and is found mainly in estuaries. It feeds on copepods, small shrimp, crabs, molluscs, etc. To 32.3 cm.
Birds
Few birds use the beach for nesting. Among these are the Piping Plover, a small endangered bird. Horned Lark and Spotted Sandpiper, the Common Tern, Red-breasted Merganser, and several species of gulls make their nests in the grass of the dunes, where as the Piping Plover uses a shallow depression in the sand as a nest.
Horned Lark
The genus name of the Horned Lark, 'Eremphila,' means desert-loving. They prefer to nest in the dry upper reaches of the beach. This species is also known for its courtship displays. The bird will suddenly rise silently very high in the air where it will begin a high-pitched tinkling song as it circles for 15-20 minutes at a time. Then suddenly it drops to the ground with its wings closed. They breed on the northeast coast of New Brunswick and some winter along the coast of Nova Scotia while others fly farther south.
| Bird | Habitat | Food |
|---|---|---|
| Piping Plover | beach, sandflats, mudflats | marine worms, shore flies, beach hoppers, microscopic crustaceans |
| Semipalmated Plover | beach, sandflats, mudflats; abundant migrant; breeds in the Arctic and locally on dark cobble beaches in Eastern Canada | marine worms, small molluscs, small crustaceans, eggs of marine animals, insects |
| Semipalmated Sandpiper | nest in Arctic Tundra; abundant migrant; beaches, intertidal area | periwinkles, marine worms, amphipods |
| Spotted Sandpiper | adjacent to bodies of water, beaches, sand dunes | small fish, crustaceans, insects |
| Horned Lark | upper beach, sand dunes | seeds and insects |
| Common Tern | beaches, shorelines, shallow saltwater | Sand Lance, Pipefish, Gaspereau, sticklebacks, Mummichog, crustacean |
During migration, the beach and adjacent mud and sandflats are very important feeding and resting grounds for shorebirds. Worms, molluscs, and small crustaceans in the sand and mud provide the food necessary to continue the migration. Since shorebird species are very similar in appearance, they require time and patience to identify. Bank Swallows often burrow into cliffs on sand dunes.
Other birds like Gannets, scoters, or Common Eiders can be observed from the shoreline, although they in general do not visit the beach. Check the species list under birds for an idea of what birds you might find in your area.
Migration
The rate at which birds use up energy is very high. They have to eat large amounts of food, and often, in comparison to their body weight. As flying is an energy-intensive activity, their metabolic rate is of course high, and especially so during migration when they have to fly thousands of kilometres.
Despite this, birds use energy far more efficiently than any plane or machine. Birds use beaches and associated mud and sandflats for staging and resting during migration. Before they fly thousands of kilometres to South America or the southern United States, shorebirds will double the amount of fat in their body tissues: necessary fuel for the flight.
Piping Plover
The Piping Plover is a small, pale-coloured, sparrow-sized endangered shorebird. They are often called the 'piper' because of their pipe-like call. 18 cm.
Mammals
A variety of mammals can be observed at the beach ecosystem. You can sometimes see fox, mice, shrews, raccoons, meadow voles or at least their tracks. Deer also come to the shoreline to feed on seaweed on the beach. Sometimes Grey Seals come onto beaches to rest.
Fox track on the beach
Washed-up Treasures
Animals and plants often get caught in storms, currents, and tides and get washed-up on the shore. These organisms for the most part do not live here, but come from the deeper ocean. You can find bits of bleached shell, pieces from crabs, lobsters, and snails. Mermaid's purses (the egg cases of skates) are often washed up. In the strand line you can find sea stars, beached jellyfish, dog whelk egg cases (a snail), and lots of seaweed. Holes in driftwood often point to the work of Gribbles, a wood-boring amphipod.
Gribbles and shipworms: which is which?
Although both Gribbles and shipworms bore into wood they are not the same animals. Gribbles are related to shrimp; they feed on the fungus in the wood, not the wood. Shipworms are not worms but worm-like bivalves that bore into wood and eat the sawdust. They're more common in warm water but can be found in driftwood as far as Newfoundland.
