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Intertidal Sandy Beaches as a Habitat Where Plastid Acquisition Processes are Ongoing

2007; Springer Nature (Netherlands); Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/978-1-4020-6112-7_12

1566-0400

Noriko Okamoto, Isao Inouye,

Marine Biology and Ecology Research

An intertidal sandy beach is a constantly changing habitat, and, in that sense, it could be regarded as an extreme environment. It alternates between a seabed and a land with every tidal transition, and this alternation changes physical conditions such as beach morphology, water level, nutrients, oxygen level, salinity, temperature, light intensity, etc. Sand is an unstable substratum. Tides and waves constantly move sands on the submerged shore face. Even a single rainfall during the low tide changes the physical conditions, and a one-night storm could change even the landscape of the shore resulting in a catastrophe for its microbial communities.