Marine, intertidal, boulder, exposed, eulittoral

Boulder habitats exposed to the full range of wave energies are found on the outer coast and at the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  Communities on tops and sides of boulders are similar to those on bedrock, but the spaces on the lower edges and beneath boulders provide additional spatial complexity; these microhabitats tend to be shadier (and thus cooler) and less exposed to wave disturbance. Boulder habitats thus often have very high species diversity.

Habitat attributes

Class ID: 
5
Class name: 
Marine, intertidal, boulder, exposed, eulittoral
Length: 
13.0 km (in WA)
Primary substrate: 
Bedrock
Secondary substrate: 
Boulder
Tertiary substrate: 
Substrate stability: 
Stable
Substrate key details: 
No sediment except sand scour at some sites
Wave exposure: 
Exposed
Blue book classes: 
Marine intertidal rock: Exposed; and Exposed: sand-scoured (mouth of Straits only)
Map/survey site examples: 
Cape Flattery and other sites all outside 'Puget Sound'
Fish sampling sites: 
Diagnostic species: 
  • Mytilus californianus
  • Pollicipes polymerus
  • Saccharina
  • Pisaster ochraceus
  • Anthopleura xanthogrammica
  • Balanidae
  • Lottia
  • Anoplarchus purpurescens
  • Gobiesox maeandricus
  • Oligocottus maculosus
VEC common associates: 
Phyllospadix
Haematopus
Species notes: