Wave-Swept Shore: The Rigors of Life on a Rocky Coast.

WAVE-SWEPT SHORE: The Rigors of Life on a Rocky Coast MIMI KOEHL AND ANNE WERTHEIM ROSENFELD

AS sure as the tide comes and goes each day, the area at which the water meets land is constantly battered. Despite this stress, the intertidal zone is home to many organisms that have adapted to this unique habitat. Aided by Rosenfeld's 87 stunning photographs of the shore's unique topology and the organisms that reside there, biologist Koehl pro vides a unique look at this hearty ecosystem. Using basic principles of marine biology and physics, she explains how moving water transports organisms and their reproductive cells among the rocky crevasses and other niches in the partially submerged shoreline. This constant mixing results in the proliferation of life in many microhabitats. The book describes how shore organisms exploit rocks and caves for refuge against the wind and water. Koehl and Rosenfeld reveal the evolved architecture of shore-dwelling plants and animals that now thrive in this unusual zone. Univ. Calif. Press, 2006, 189 p., color plates, hardcover, $39.95.