To see cold water creatures from the West Coast, click here.
To compare with warm water creatures farther south, click here.
 |
The cooler waters of the coast are part of the Atlantic
Boreal Region, an area that extends north of Cape Cod. These
waters are fairly stable and stay cold in the summer, with an
annual temperature range of about 20-degrees (F). To the south
at Sandy Hook, the waters are
much warmer in the summer and the annual range is about 48-degrees
(F). Up to 80% of the creatures found here are similar the species found in Northern Europe and Northwestern Pacific Coast of North America. |
 |
 |
|
(Above) Shorelines here tend to be rocky. Common sub-tidal organisms include anemones (Metridium) that are closed up for the day, and horse mussels (Modiolus). Anemones can move but cling to rocks with a pedal disk (See the underside view: Above, right). The moon snail (Lunatia) plows through the sand hunting for clams. To see moon snails hunting, go to the bottom of the page. |
 |
 |
Periwinkles (Littorina) graze on algae on rocks. In Canada they are harvested and sold for food. (Below) Brittle stars (Ophiopholis) hide under rocks in tidepools. Because of their snaky movements they are sometimes called serpent stars. They can move much quicker than the common starfish Asterias (Below, left). |
 |
 |
 |
Starfish are living pumps
and move water in and out of their "feet" to glide
on the bottom and grip their prey. (Below) A sea urchin (Arbacia) holds snail shells to camouflage itself in the intertidal zone. |
 |
 |
|
(Above) The hermit crab (Pagurus) lives in an empty snail shell for protection. (Right) Anemones (Diadumene) trap plankton by stinging creatures with nematocysts. Sea squirts (Ciona) pump water through incurrent and excurrent siphons to filter food from the water. (Below) Baleen from a Minke whale is a rare find on the beach. The whale uses it to strain food from the water. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
(Left) The sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon) is omnivorous and is common in marshes and tidepools. (Above) The black sea bass (Centropristis) is a common bottom fish and important predator in rocky areas. To learn more about fishes, click here. (Below) To observe a moon snail plowing the sand and hunting (Left), and a second one about to be captured (Right) hit your reset key (F5) or the start buttons below, or do what you really want: upgrade your computer.. |
