Life on the Lower Shore

The Seaweed Garden

The lowest section of the shore is only uncovered by the tide on certain days of the year but it is not as inaccessible as that makes it sound. Kimmeridge Bay is so shallow that it can almost be considered as a huge rockpool, with ledges projecting into it like jetties. By walking along the ledges at low tide it is possible to see into the shallow water alongside and to watch, without getting wet, the plants and animals that prefer to stay underwater as much as possible.

More delicate looking seaweeds occur here - many short and finely branched red seaweeds forming a miniature heather garden on the seabed. Some of the red seaweeds are coral-like, with "skeletons" of chalk.

The tamarisk seaweed is a victim of its own beauty - it is a strong, iridescent blue-green in the water, (but returns to a plain brown when removed - this has earned it the alternative name of magic seaweed). It shows a steady decline in shallow water during the summer as people pick it to see the effect, or even to take it home. There are almost always some loose pieces washed up on the beach to experiment with.

No amount of casual picking will affect the distribution of Japweed. This incrediblefast-growing seaweed was introduced in the '70s from the Pacific and is now flourishing in the reserve. More that most marine plants, it deserves the name seaweed and has defied all attempts to eradicate it.

It is here to stay, though, and it can be said to have some redeeming qualities - small fish and shrimps can take refuge among its dense canopy and it provides some shelter from the sun in an area where there is little other cover. The bright colours of the finer red seaweeds are other wise soon muted by the strong sun in the summer months.