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Intertidal Habitats
Lesson 1 • Structure and Behavior of
Marine Animals
- Relationship between structure and behavior of
intertidal animals and their survival adaptations
- Retreat into shell
- Detect and flee enemies
- Maintain body armour
- Seek shelter
- Camouflage
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Lesson 2 • Shoreline
Habitats
- Identify different types of habitat (rocky
shore, sandy beach, eel grass bed)
- Small scale habitats (tide pools, on or under
rocks, in crevices, among seaweed)
- Intertidal zones (spray, high tide, middle
tide, low tide zones) How is each area different? What animals live
where?
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Lesson 3 • Mud Flats
- Characteristics of a mud flat, creatures that
live there and their adaptations
- Limiting factors such as low oxygen, fresh
water, pollution, salinity, no hard surfaces to attach to
- Adaptations of animals that live in mud flats
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Lesson 4 • Sandy
Beach
- Limiting factors such as no hard places to
attach, crashing surf, abrasive sand
- Types of animals that live there
- Adaptations of sandy beach animals and plants
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Lesson 5 • Rocky
Shore
- Locate and identify where different animals
choose to live and predict why they live there
- Limiting factors such as temperature, drying
out, salinity, competition for food and space
- Adaptations of rocky shore animals and seaweed
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Lesson 6 • Eelgrass
Bed
- Characteristics of an eelgrass bed, the
creatures that live there and their adaptations
- Limiting factors such as many predators
- Why an eelgrass bed is considered a nursery and
why so many animals live there
- Contrast a protected sandy beach to exposed
sandy beach
- Who lives there
- Adaptations of eelgrass community members
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Lesson 7 • Marine
Animal Movement
- Comparison of the way different animals move
- Adaptations, ways of moving, reasons to move
- Fish vs. whale
- Use contrasting examples such as sea star,
clam, crab and marine worm
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Lesson 8 • Beach
Etiquette
- Understanding of beach etiquette when
exploring the intertidal
- Care and handling of marine animals
- Needs and wants (of people and marine animals)
- To collect or not to collect?
- Guardianship of the shore “What can I
do?”
- Stewardship
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Field Trip • Focus on
an intertidal area near each school
- Observe and identify marine animals and
habitats on a nearby beach
- Review etiquette
- Explore, locate and identify marine animals
- Look for clues ie. a sea star leg, a clam shell
with a hole drilled into it
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