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rocky coastal ecosystem

A rocky ecosystem supports a lot of plant life, from algae to the giant Bull kelp, and is also home to animals like molluscs (such as oysters, barnacles and mussels), starfish, sea slugs, crabs and sea anenomes. Most of the plants and animals cling close to the rocks to avoid being swept off by the waves.

This harsh ecosystem calls for some clever action - some of these animals and plants can only survive because they have special tricks for feeding and breeding. For example, barnacles (a small kind of shellfish) kick their legs out (to collect plankton) when waves come in.

As with all ecosystems, there is a food web -

Octopus ->	crab ->	barnacle ->	plankton
		^
		Whelk ->	mussel