Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 1 Bioerosion on the columns of the temple of Serapis (Pozzuoli, Italy). (A) Original
drawing from Charles Lyell's “Principles of Geology” ( Lyell, 1830 ). (B) Close-up of one column
with Gastrochaenolites . Photograph courtesy of Ester Farinati.
chemical, and biological environments. This transition occurs in diverse coastal
environments, sandy and rocky shores being prominent among them. Sandy
shores represent areas with net sediment accumulation, whereas rocky shores
are essentially erosional. Rocky coasts range from vertical to subvertical cliffs
to horizontal abrasion platforms, including extremely varied morphologies as a
result of their lithology, particular environmental constraints, and erosional pro-
cesses. Although rocky shores are fundamentally erosional, they may be asso-
ciated with a suite of sedimentary facies deposited generally under high-energy
conditions ( Anthony, 2008 ).
The rocky-shore habitat is characterized by the hard character of the sub-
strate available to organism colonization and by its littoral position. The latter
implies zones of variable subaerial exposure, and also common high-energy,
unpredictable conditions due to waves, storms, and/or tides. Nevertheless,
although it can be said that rocky shores are rather hostile environments sub-
jected to harsh and varying environmental conditions, numerous organisms
are capable of colonizing and thriving on them.
2.2 Rocky-Shore Inhabitants
Modern rocky-shore biota includes a wide range of organisms, many of them
specifically adapted to live in this habitat (e.g., Lewis, 1964; Little and Kitching,
1996; Southward, 1965 ). Even the supralittoral area hosts biota adapted to the
sporadic arrival of water. Sessile epilitho-episkeletobionts and endolitho-
endoskeletobionts (terminology of Taylor and Wilson, 2002 ) are the most char-
acteristic rocky-shore inhabitants, but vagile fauna is also present ( Figs. 2 and 3 ).
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