Ocean Life
Acadia National Park has a diverse environment of mountains, freshwater lakes and ponds, beaches and ocean shoreline. Along the shore, you will find a variety of ocean life forms thriving in the salt water. The multitude of tide pools provides an insight into the ecology of the ocean – each teaming with plants and animals, which exemplify ocean aquatic life. more info
A stroll along the ocean coastline can be fascinating. Scattered along the coastline of Acadia National Park are tide pools of various sizes. This shoreline provides a great way to witness the variety of adaptations of plants and animals who inhabit these rock lined pools of seawater.
Tide pools are formed when ocean water fills the depressions in the ground when the tide is high. The pools become isolated from the rest of the ocean when the tide retreats. Because the tide rises and falls twice a day, the tide pools do not become stagnant pools.
The organisms that can be found in tide pools have to be tough. Their existence depends on their adaptability to the severe changes that occur in their environment each day. Typical inhabitants include sea anemones, barnacles, chitons, crabs, isopods, limpets, mussels, starfish, snails, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and whelks.
Farther out to sea, you can witness birds including seagulls, hawk, puffins, Bald Eagles and Peregrine falcons. During particular times of the year, whale watching is a popular activity off the coast of Acadia National Park. Other marine life in the Acadia region includes dolphins, porpoises, seals, sharks and tuna.
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