Although the boulders are heavily exposed to sunlight, the underpart of those that
remain half-buried keeps permanent moisture and retains organic matter of plant
debris. This habitat is rarely found in the Alboran Sea, being mostly developed in the
Strait of Gibraltar and, within the city of Málaga, at the site of Baños del Carmen
(Gofas et al. 2011).
This peculiar environment (Fig. 9.4) hosts gastropods, such as Paludinella
globularis, Leucophytia bidentata, Pseudomelampus exiguus and Pedipes dohrni
(the latter, a thermophilous species), collembolans such as Anurida maritima and
other arthropods (pseudoscorpions, centipedes) which require further study.
9.2.3 Midlittoral Rocky Shore
The midlittoral fringe corresponds to the intertidal zone, which is constantly exposed
to wave action. In most of the Mediterranean Sea, the slight oscillations of sea level
(which do not exceed 40 cm) are not cyclical and are due mainly to changes in
atmospheric pressure. In the Alboran Sea, the influence of the tides is still conspicuous, but it fades as we move away from the Strait of Gibraltar. The communities of
the midlittoral fringe are definitely organized as belts or horizons (Fig. 9.5), usually
Fig. 9.4 (a) Supralittoral boulders at Baños del Carmen (Málaga) are the home of little known and
specialized animals such as (b) marine collembolans [Serge Gofas]
294
J. L. Rueda et al.
remain half-buried keeps permanent moisture and retains organic matter of plant
debris. This habitat is rarely found in the Alboran Sea, being mostly developed in the
Strait of Gibraltar and, within the city of Málaga, at the site of Baños del Carmen
(Gofas et al. 2011).
This peculiar environment (Fig. 9.4) hosts gastropods, such as Paludinella
globularis, Leucophytia bidentata, Pseudomelampus exiguus and Pedipes dohrni
(the latter, a thermophilous species), collembolans such as Anurida maritima and
other arthropods (pseudoscorpions, centipedes) which require further study.
9.2.3 Midlittoral Rocky Shore
The midlittoral fringe corresponds to the intertidal zone, which is constantly exposed
to wave action. In most of the Mediterranean Sea, the slight oscillations of sea level
(which do not exceed 40 cm) are not cyclical and are due mainly to changes in
atmospheric pressure. In the Alboran Sea, the influence of the tides is still conspicuous, but it fades as we move away from the Strait of Gibraltar. The communities of
the midlittoral fringe are definitely organized as belts or horizons (Fig. 9.5), usually
Fig. 9.4 (a) Supralittoral boulders at Baños del Carmen (Málaga) are the home of little known and
specialized animals such as (b) marine collembolans [Serge Gofas]
294
J. L. Rueda et al.