*Introduction*
- Sandy shores or beaches occur along coastal seas with considerable wave action
- Sand particles are constantly disturbed by tides and waves, preventing them from settling
- The area is highly influenced by ceaseless incoming and outgoing tides with pounding forces of breakers
*Substratum*
- Unstable due to strong wave action
- Changes in beach profile and slope occur throughout the year
- Particle size and shape affect the distribution of sandy shore animals
*Physical Factors*
- *Wave Action*: Causes erosion, leading to dislodgement of organisms and reduced beach width
- *Temperature*: Affects sandy shore organisms, which adapt by burrowing or migrating
- *Desiccation*: Affects organisms, which adapt by burrowing or migrating
- *Insolation*: Affects surface sand particles, but not deep layers
- *Salinity*: Varies, with oxygen replenished by wave action
- *Oxygen*: Never limiting in water bathing the beach, but may be reduced in fine-grained beaches
*Zonation*
- *Supralittoral Fringe Zone*: Inhabited by ghost crabs and talitrid amphipods
- *Sublittoral Fringe Zone*: Occupied by anomuran crabs and amphipods
- *Mid-Littoral Zone*: Home to polychaetes, bivalve molluscs, and other adapted species
- *Sub-Littoral Zone*: Features burrowing bivalves, razor clams, and other specialized organisms
*Life Forms*
- *Crustaceans*: Ghost crabs, talitrid amphipods, anomuran crabs
- *Molluscs*: Bivalve molluscs, razor clams, Oliva, Harpa, Tonna
- *Polychaetes*: Nephthys, Glycera, Arenicola, Pectinaria
- *Echinoderms*: Heart urchin, Echinocardium
- *Fish*: Shore fishes like Glossogobius, grunion
- *Reptiles*: Sea-turtles
*Breeding and Migration*
- Some species visit the intertidal sands for breeding, such as king crabs, grunion, and sea-turtles
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